6/16 New Music Roundup
Four new releases to talk about today: the new Sorority Noise album and EPs from Koji, Ma Jolie, and High School Football Heroes. Plus, a new single and acoustic session from Frank Turner!
I only recently became acquainted with Sorority Noise and gave their debut album, Forgettable, a quick run-through (at just 21 minutes long, this was easy to do). It was loud, angry, snotty, and raw, and it showed real potential. At times it reminded me of Nirvana, other times of Modern Baseball.
The album also had a consistently depressing theme, which made for a great listen when you’re in the mood for that kind of thing, but it was a little too much when you’re not. However, in reading hype stories about their new record, Joy, Departed, I learned that the singer had been diagnosed with manic depression, began seeing a therapist, and wrote an album about the positive changes this has had on his life. All very intriguing, powerful stuff.
The singles released before the album were all good (especially the banger that is “Using”), but the album as a whole was unfortunately a bit disappointing on first listen.
This is mostly due to an unexpected change in sound. I had read that they were moving toward a more straightforward, poppier sound, which I would normally welcome when done correctly, but I did not expect them to lose their edge as much as they did. This album is just too soft most of the time, and a lot of its songs blend into one another. I expected more jams like “Using,” and I left dissatisfied.
I also expected the lyrics to shift from depressive to something more uplifting and constructive, which they definitely are. However, too often, they come across like cliché advice being read straight from a self-help book. The aforementioned “Using” isn’t exactly ruined by the line “I stopped wishing I was dead / Learned to love myself before anyone else,” but it just lacks the poeticism and, well, lyricism I’m used to in music.
As a whole, this album is good, but it’s not the great leap forward I anticipated and hoped for after hearing the first few samples of the album. But seriously, listen to “Using” and rock the fuck out. Punk needs more riffs like that one’s.
Listen: Full album (Spotify, non-Spotify), “Using”
Just four songs from one of the louder solo artists out there. I haven’t listened too extensively to Koji, but this album caught my ear. I hear a little Death Cab in there, along with a healthy dose of Silversun Pickups-style fuzzy, noisy indie. Maybe even a little Smashing Pumpkins, too (okay, that might be a stretch). No Sleep Records continues to crank out hit after hit.
Listen: Full EP (Spotify, non-Spotify), “Fury”
This is some noisy, noisy punk rock. Four real rabble-rousers here. They get a lot of comparisons to Latterman, and they’re warranted. They’ve also clearly spent a lot of time listening to Hot Water Music’s Caution (or maybe just “Remedy”). Listen to this EP if you need something to wake you up.
Listen: Full EP (Spotify, non-Spotify), “Pittsburgh”
A surprise release from the only band to successfully combine ska and emo! High School Football Heroes went dormant from 2006 until releasing last year’s surprise EP, 2K14. Now they’re back, quietly dropping the three-song 2K15: Like Dynamite onto the Internet for free with little to no chatter.
If you liked HSFH back in the day, you’ll like this release just fine, although it leans closer toward We’ve Fooled Around Long Enough than Close Only Counts In Horseshoes and Handgrenades. If you hate ska, you actually might like these guys. If you haven’t listened to ska since high school but still get nostalgic for it every now and then, welcome back!
Listen: Full EP (non-Spotify)
Frank’s second single from his upcoming Positive Songs for Negative People, out August 7th, was released yesterday, along with a video of Frank doing some wrasslin’ with CM Punk. This song features more positive vibes from Frank, a healthy dose of piano, and a raucous chorus. It’s safe to say that the dude hasn’t lost his touch with his new stuff. Neither single has yet caught me the way “Recovery” did two years ago, but they are still strong songs that I’m sure I’ll fall in love with once I get a better handle on the lyrics.
Frank also recently did a Punks In Vegas session featuring three new songs from the album, “Love Forty Down,” “Glorious You,” and “Josephine.” Along with the previously-performed “The Opening Act of Spring” and the two singles, we’ve now heard half the new album in one form or another.
I’d have to say “Josephine” is my favorite of this batch of songs. It reminds me a bit of “I Am Disappeared,” which is always a good thing. It also is the only one of the three in a minor key, which suggests that not all the songs from PSFNP are going to be so upbeat. “Glorious You” sees Frank indulging his love for Ryan Adams. “Love Forty Down” is fine, but will probably not be one of my favorites from the new album.
That’s all for today! Check back next week to see if I decide to do this again!
