For a new band, a successful debut can be more a curse than a blessing. How can you escape the record’s shadow without making something so different that you alienate existing fans? It’s such a conundrum that there’s a term for it: the Sophomore Slump.
Bands rise or fall on the strength of their second record. Hundreds of acts fade into obscurity after failing to deliver on the promise of their debut.
But some bands make an indisputable masterpiece.
Hype is a strange beast. The whims of the masses (and record label marketing departments) are fickle and unreliable. Bands come out of the ether draped in hype and mass acclaim, only to disappear shortly after without much of an impact.
And when Gorilla Manor first dropped, I completely expected Local Natives to be another one of these flash-in-the-pan, Apple-commercial-soundtrack bands.
Rarely have I been more wrong.
Glassjaw has always been a bit of an outlier.
While the early 2000s Long Island punk scene was split between witty, weepy emo kids and muscle-bound hardcore tuff-guys, Glassjaw was a different beast entirely. Their ferocity and pop sensibility were never at odds with one another.
If you didn’t know, I play in a ska punk band called Dad Jokes. I don’t listen to a ton of ska, but I’ve always enjoyed it. Until we played a show with The Holophonics out of Denton, Texas, then I felt like a complete fraud.
Say what you will about the Bond series, but there is some absolutely incredible music across those films.
And if you ask fans for their pick for the best themes, this one will usually be somewhere near the top.
I’m a big Gorillaz fan. And while their unique brand of sadistic pop stands on its own, part of Damon Albarn’s talent is assembling the best collaborators possible. When I first heard Plastic Beach, I was immediately drawn to “Empire Ants,” and I set off to learn more about Sweden’s Little Dragon.
A week later, this record was on my turntable. Continue reading
Let’s set the scene.
It’s the year 2000. I’m a thirteen-year-old kid. I’ve just started to get into music, mostly through pop punk and ska. But at the same time, I’m coming to grips with how heavy the world can be.
Then, on a Thanksgiving trip to California, I stumbled upon Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park.
I’m an absolute sucker for blackgaze.
On paper, it might seem like black metal, post rock, and shoegaze are a strange mixture. The three genres share a fascination with ambient textures and heart-rending emotion, but they take wildly different paths to get there.
Blackgaze splits the difference, and manages to capture every good bit of each—and then some. Continue reading
Post rock is a strange beast. While there’s no shortage of climax-chasing, effect-laden, instrumental guitar bands, it can sometimes feel like very few post rock acts are able to use that template to create authentically engaging music. Most of them are just boring.
But BLAK isn’t most bands.
I first saw Pittsburgh’s Lawn Care passing through my local coffeehouse venue. They played a “stripped” set that included two guitars, a bass guitar, and a trumpet. And even in such a minimalist context, they were absolutely hypnotizing.
So when I caught them playing as a full band, I was entranced. I had to have the record.
Continue reading