Screamo, Punk & Hardcore with The Armed, Gingerbee, Home Is Where, Pup & Turnstile: Rapid Fire Reviews
For the people who can tell the difference between all these genres, I'm sorry, and I promise I can to. But this was the best way to quickly talk about a bunch of records I wanted to comment on regardless in a rapid fire fashion. Enjoy <3
THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED - The Armed
When The Armed broke through to a massive new audience on their 2021 album ULTRAPOP they seemed to hit on something unique. They mixed the sounds and compositional styles from the indie rock umbrella into the pure ferocity of their screamo and hardcore demeanor. While I appreciated what the band did, I had an issue with the actual sound of the record. The production and mixing seemingly robbed the band of their most intense elements, with screams and churning guitars that felt like they never sounded as heavy as they were supposed to. Unfortunately, the EXACT same issue plagues this record.
The trio of singles for the album are the main reason I decided to cover it at all. "Well Made Play" is a ferocious introduction to the album with straining vocals that sound like they're fighting with the instrumentation to be the loudest thing in the mix. "Kingbreaker" is one of the records tightest compositions, but with the frenetic pacing it's a riot from start to finish. The best single of the bunch is "Sharp Teeth." I love the way it withholds its best instrumentation for just the right moment. When it explodes into a punchy, stunning chorus, it's easily among the album's best moments. Unfortunately, the only deep cuts I like anywhere near as much as are "Gave Up" and "Heathen," which pop up as a great one-two punch late on the record.
But I once again think the band is fighting against their own production to be heard. For such a loud record that seems to go out of its way to achieve dynamic performances, these songs are paper-thin and can't possibly conjure any impact. Examples of tracks I could have liked with different production include "Purity Drag," Broken Mirror," and "Local Millionaire." Occasionally, there are tracks whose production just feels outright unpleasant on the ears in all the wrong ways, with the best example being "Grace Obscure." Once again, I see the vision of what The Armed are aiming for crystal clear. But without any actual heft to back up their ambitions, there's never quite enough reason to keep listening. 5/10
Apiary EP - Gingerbee
Once every couple years, an EP comes out that's so good it makes me rethink how I handle smaller releases. Apiary is that EP. The skramz band that sends files back and forth over Discord from a variety of cities has assembled something that erupts with living, breathing beauty. It's present from the masterful opening track "Petal Dance" that the band is onto something special. Its vibrant instrumentation soars and shimmers with world music flavors, mostly samba, fused together with the twinklier side of midwest emo. Yet that serenity is both punctured and heightened by the shrill screams and dizzying mix of instrumentation. It's such a stunning way to start the EP that it only makes sense that everything that follows would be remarkable.
That trick of the band saving their most dizzying heights for later in a track pops up a few more times, and it works again and again and again. "Pinhole Blanket Sun" is dreamier than the opener but with instrumentation that's no less bouncy. Eventually, it gives way to a blistering chorus without blinking. The way the vocals layer on top of each other is pure bliss. The closing track "Honey" begins gently with fluttering brass and steady piano that backs gentle, near-whispered singing. Eventually, it develops into this detailed circular crescendo. It concludes with this absolute shootout of distant blaring screams and wiry sax that's absolutely infectious.
That's sort of also the case for "Feeling Like Children." This is a loungey/bossa nova channeling track that sways innocently at first with dreamy harmonies like a timeless love song. It seems consciously aware of the listener expectation to eventually erupt and works in several dramatic rises throughout. Despite that, there's never a moment that leaves the realm of purely serene. In contrast, "Say The Rest" hits the ground running with all its skramziest elements front and center. It eventually works through a catchier series of strings and refrains before returning to that noise. The entire outro is just a wonder of playful musicianship that's made even more mind-blowing by the remote way it was assembled.
At the core of the EPs hilarious combination of Samba and Skramz is the fittingly titled "Samba Do Nosso Ceu." I will say it features a moment, specifically the second half bridge, that feels a bit routine by the album's dazzling standards. But it's still eventually eclipsed by some of the rawest eruptions of noise and angst I've heard all year. What an absolute gift of an EP. The band takes a concept that feels like an impossible gimmick and strings one moment of genuine beauty and power together after another. The only possible complaint I could have is that there isn't even more of it to chew over. 9/10
Hunting Season - Home Is Where
Home Is Where is an emo band that is just barely loud enough to qualify for a list like this. After catching them live twice, I was pretty excited for their 2023 debut The whaler. I enjoyed that record and went forward anticipating a steady drip of good material from the band going forward. Unsurprisingly, that's pretty much what I got with their sophomore record,, Hunting Season. The biggest change here is a more direct embrace of country and folk stylings, which was apparent on two strong singles in the lead-up to the album.
While the second single “milk & diesel” is at points grittier, the track that really had me hyped for the record was the lead single, “migration patterns.” I love the way the elastic guitars bounce along with the instrumental while the vocals strain and screech out over them. In addition to an impressive array of instrumentation, it also features some of the catchiest refrains on the entire record. The sound of this track turned out to be extremely indicative of what the whole record sounds like. A great example is “black metal mormon.” On top of its hilarious name, this is one of the best examples of the band combining a twangy jangle with the sputtering angst I've come to expect from them.
My favorite deep cut on the record is probably “bike week.” It all starts with this utterly irresistible guitar riff that drilled itself into my head. But it gets even better as it soars into a grating but still shockingly infectious hook. I love how playful the vocals are with their timing and how snappy everything sounds despite all the edge it deploys. It really feels like the sonic concept of the album consolidated into its very best execution. I also think “drive-by mooning” is an absolutely killer finale to the album. There's a lot I could say about the song, but the lyrics “I love you but sometimes you're the worst person I've ever met, I love you but sometimes I'm the worst person I've ever been,” really say more than I ever could.
The record is at its best when it's loud and intense, but there's a flip side to that coin. Gentler tracks like “shenandoah” or the snarkier “mechanical bull” just don't quite have the same spark as the punchier moments. I also think the 10-minute-long “roll tide” is often a completely unnecessary indulgence on a record that is otherwise pretty tight with its time. Though not perfect, “Hunting Season” is a strong second effort from Home Is Where. The record expands the band's sonic palette while also maintaining their raw demeanor and distinct songwriting. The addition of country and folk elements feel like a completely natural extension, and it isn't hard to imagine the band venturing even further in this direction going forward. 7/10
Who Will Look After The Dogs? - PUP
Pup's pop-punk antics in the latter half of the 2010s won me over quickly. They delivered the brash intensity of punk at its rawest edge with the infectious poise of pop-punk at its catchiest. But as the years go by, the band has gotten increasingly tepid, save for a few excellent singles. That's a trend I once again hoped would be bucked by some of the singles. The lead single, "Paranoid" is an absolute rager that feels air-lifted out of Pup's heyday and is the best song on the album by a great distance. "Get Dumber" pulls out a Jeff Rosenstock feature and he makes for a great addition with a ton of chemistry with the band.
There are admittedly a few moments that the album lives up to that energy. Opener "No Hope" is a sweet and right-to-the-point pop-punk jam to start the record off. "Falling Out Of Love" and "Best Revenge" are two deep cuts I like, with the latter being a funny subversion of the theme of getting the best revenge on someone. Unfortunately, most of the record lacks any of that kind of appeal. The songwriting doesn't have any of the memorable refrains and snappy hooks that I'm accustomed to. But there's actually a worse problem, the humor the band has been known for their entire career is missing.
Don't get me wrong, they are trying. But consistently, the jokes that they serve up fall flat, and it makes the mediocre songwriting even harder to swallow. "Olive Garden" dropped as a single and really personifies this issue. There's an even worse example among the deep cuts in the form of "Hunger For Death." It's all indicative of a record that doesn't feel like the band crashing out dramatically, just tapering off slowly. 4/10
NEVER ENOUGH - Turnstile
Turnstile are a hardcore group that have been around for over a decade now. In the past 5 years, however, they've transcended from beloved underground outfit to staggeringly popular torch-bearers for heavier genres of music. Most of that happened on the back of a great 2021 record, GLOW ON, which worked cloudier elements of genres like indie rock and even a bit of shoegaze into their hardcore sound. That made the band's long-awaited follow-up a highly anticipated affair that even made a splash on the charts. But it's hard to see the record as anything other than the band trading in even more of their urgency.
That's a negative way to start a review, but it wasn't my initial reaction after hearing the singles. That group of singles included “SEEIN STARS,” the tightest song on the album, which packs one catchy refrain after another into the mix without wasting any time. The title track also dropped as a single, and it's admittedly grown on me a bit. It works better as a starting point for the entire album than it did as a standalone song, though even then, it feels like it's a little bit repetitive and indulgent with the refrains it has that really work. Similarly, “LOOK OUT FOR ME” is one of my favorite tracks on the record still, despite the fact that its nearly 7-minute runtime feels excessive.
Though there are certainly deep cuts on the record that I like, with “DULL” being the best example, that's not what I want to focus on. A lot of this album isn't outright bad and I think the band instrumentally manages to maintain a similarly effective balance to their last record. What doesn't translate at all are the explosive and catchy refrains that also defined that record. Songs like “SOLE” and “SLOWDIVE” have an energy that grabs me right away. The only problem is that the longer they go on the emptier the refrains feel. It's also the problem with a song like “I CARE,” which managed to make its fluttering guitar work stick, but not its hook.
You'll be surprised to find, as I was, that this isn't actually a crippling factor for the record. The energy really is gripping in a way that keeps me coming back to moments, even when I know the eventual payoff isn't everything I'd hope for it to be. Despite losing some of their immediacy, the band's propulsive energy and distinct style is enough to coast on. The result is a record that I wouldn't ever turn off, even if its presence does represent a bit of a disappointment. 6/10
