Jan 15
Can I get a huge fuckin ‘We’re. So. BACK’ 🙌
seen from Malaysia
seen from Russia
seen from Germany
seen from Israel
seen from France
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from Bulgaria
seen from France
seen from Denmark
seen from China
seen from Russia
seen from Australia
seen from France
seen from Argentina
seen from Malaysia
seen from Denmark
seen from Malaysia
Can I get a huge fuckin ‘We’re. So. BACK’ 🙌
Settle Your Scores // Worst Intentions (You Had 'Em)
What if I designed a fake album for an easycore band I’ll probably never be in?
Haha just kidding. Unless…
Pay no attention to the band name being different in these two images.
Also yes, these are all songs that I have in fact written, all inspired by bands like Four Year Strong, A Day To Remember, Settle Your Scores etc. The ones underlined in red are the ones I think would be the main singles if this was real.
🌈/250 Pre-order: HERE
State Champs - Kings Of The New Age Some albums or genres of music are made for specific seasons. I’ve always associated folk music with the wintertime, simply because folk music, like the wintertime, is quiet, sparse, darker (usually in its tone or overall presentation), and it’s not as huge, bright, or as loud as other times of year or other styles of music. I think another part of that is because I got into folk and indie music during the winter, especially when albums from bands like Mumford & Sons, Of Monsters & Men came out, as well as all of those types of bands when they were huge in the mid-00s and early 2010s, so I associate that kind of music with that time of year. The same thing can be said for pop-punk; I got into pop-puhk the spring / summer of 2012, and I remember it well; it had been around a year after I got out of high school, and I was looking into new kinds of music, as I had been into metalcore and deathcore throughout my high school years (I had also liked a lot of classic rock, but when I discovered metalcore, deathcore, and Hot Topic, everything changed), and I found pop-punk. I got into the genre at a really good time, because bands like The Wonder Years, Citizen, Real Friends, The Story So Far, and State Champs (who is the subject of this review) were popping up. I remember that I ordered copies I Call Fives and With The Punches’ new albums for my birthday, and I was really excited about them, because they were two really underrated bands in the scene at the time. Over the last ten years, though, my feelings on pop-punk have become very complicated. I wrote a review that was almost a breakup letter to pop-punk when I reviewed one of the last State Champs albums, and I don’t remember what I said in the review, although I’m sure I could look it up, I just remember talking about how boring that album was, and how generic, boring, and uninteresting it’s become, because every band started doing the same things that The Wonder Years, Citizen, Real Friends, and Man Overboard were doing, and it was just so lifeless. I’d say that my feelings have changed since then, because a lot of pop-punk bands have been moving into a more alt-rock / pop-rock direction, all the while still retaining their pop-punk sound. Bands like All Time Low, Neck Deep, and even State Champs aren’t really pop-punk anymore, but they seem to be doing just well within the genre. I’ve always liked pop-punk bands that place more emphasis on the “pop” than the punk, and bands like Broadside, State Champs, I Call Fives, and Stand Atlantic (stay tuned for a review on their new album, too, and I cannot wait to talk about that one) really caught my attention, but not many bands like that exist anymore, unfortunately. I don’t listen to too much pop-punk anymore, but there are a few bands I still listen to. We Were Sharks, Settle Your Scores, Belmont (they dropped a really cool album earlier this year), Four Year Strong (they aren’t new, I just really like them; they’ve always been one of my favorite pop-punk / easycore bands), and Sincere Engineer are some newer bands that I’ve gotten heavily into over the last few years, but State Champs is one of those bands I like to check in on whenever they release a new record. They were one of the original bands that really caught my interest in the whole “pop” over punk thing, because their vocalist, Derek Discanio, has a voice that’s very well-suited for alternative and pop-rock, versus pop-punk. He reminds me a lot of Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, and I think one big reason why I like pop-punk bands like this is because I love Fall Out Boy, and Stump’s vocals always stood out to me, because he can, well, sing. My big issue with pop-punk is that a lot of vocalists in the scene can’t sing. They do this really whiny yelp, or they just sound extremely flat and lifeless. That works for a majority of the bands in the genre, but it doesn’t mean that it’s anything more than “good,” not necessarily great. I digress, though, let’s talk about State Champs and their new album, Kings Of The New Age. I wasn’t originally interested in this record, even though I enjoyed their last album, 2018′s Living Proof, because it showed them going into that pop-rock direction, and it was really catchy, slick, and a lot of fun, despite not being anything of substance. I listened to the singles of this new album, and for the most part, it was exactly the same kind of thing -- catchy, fun, but devoid of any real substance. To be fair, though, is that what I’m looking for when it comes to pop-punk? Not necessarily, especially when this kind of music is perfect for this time of year. It’s either warming up where you live, or if you live in the south, which I do, it’s already summer, so pop-punk is great. I’ve spent the last week with this album, and I plan on spending more time with it, but I really enjoy this record. Kings Of The New Age isn’t necessarily the best album of the year, but I’ll be damned if it’s not one of the most fun albums of the year. Don’t get me wrong, Kings Of The New Age doesn’t do anything differently that Living Proof didn’t do, but if anything, it honed on what it did well. This band has always had a knack with catchy songwriting and really good hooks, and man, this album delivers. Songs like “Everybody But You,” featuring Ben Barlow of Neck Deep, “Fake It,” and “Outta My Head,” among others, are insanely catchy songs that I get excited about whenever I listen to them. It helps a lot that this album is only 35 minutes, like most pop-punk albums are, so it’s very quick and to the point. The album never meanders, nothing ever feels like it’s too long, and it just does what it sets out to do. That’s not a bad thing at all, and I commend the album for that, but it does lack any real substance. The most you’ll get, lyrically speaking, are songs about summertime, or songs about girls and relationships, but these are songs typical for pop-punk. There’s nothing worthwhile in the lyrics here, but they’re just fine for the genre. What is interesting, though, are the features on this album, and I already mentioned Ben Barlow of Neck Deep, but Four Year Strong appears on “Sundress” (which is kind of weird, but oh well; it’s not like it’s an easycore song), singer Chrissy Costanza of the band Against The Current is featured on “Half-Empty” (I just looked her up, because I had no idea who she was, but that makes sense), and the weirdest feature is country singer Mitchell Tenpenny on the song “Act Like That,” and his feature is really good, even if it’s extremely brief. None of these features add anything to the album, despite being all good, it’s just these artists come and go real quick without contributing much. I’m sorry this review ended up being really long, I didn’t intend for that, but it’s been awhile since I’ve written a very long review. I have a lot of things to say about this record, but nothing surprisingly negative. This album is great, and it took me a few listens to really sink my teeth into it, but I couldn’t blame someone that didn’t really care for this. I wouldn’t say this album is worse than their older material, and I think it’s better, but they are more of a pop-rock band at this point, so I could see the pretentious and annoying pop-punk fans that think any band that either gets bigger or moves into a sound like this as “selling out,” even though they got a lot of flack for that on Living Proof. I just have a lot of history with this band, because it’s been ten years since I’ve been a fan of them. I remember hearing their first EP back in 2011 or 2012, and really enjoying it, so it’s cool to see them going a decade later, and they’re still one of the biggest bands of the underground pop-punk scene. If you are a fan of these guys, I’d check it out, and if you enjoy some catchy, fun, and well-written pop-rock / pop-punk, you might enjoy this one. Like I said earlier, it might not be super high on my yearend list, and it’s not one of the greatest albums of the year, but it’s still going to be there in some capacity. I’ve had a lot of fun with this record, especially in a way that I haven’t had fun with an album in a long time, but I think it’s because this record came out at the perfect time. This is the perfect album for summertime, so I can see myself playing this a lot during the next few months, and I won’t be complaining whatsoever.
HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (6.9-6.15.21):
NEW MUSIC:
Capstan shared the second track from their upcoming second album Separate, titled “Take My Breath Away // Noose.” The album is set for release on July 23 via Fearless Records.
Tiny Moving Parts shared a brand new track titled “Life Jacket,” following the release of their previous tracks “You Lost Me” and “Guardians” last year. The band released their last full-length Breathe back in 2019.
The Pretty Reckless released a visual accompaniment to their track “Only Love Can Save Me Now.” The song originally features Soundgarden's Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil.
Settle Your Scores announced the details of the new album titled Retrofit. The album will be released on August 20 via Mutant League Records and features the opening track “Meant for Misery.”
Hot Milk released the title track off of their upcoming EP I Just Wanna Know What Happens When I’m Dead. The much-anticipated release is scheduled to drop on September 10 via Music for Nations.
Olivia O'Brien shared a new track titled “No More Friends” featuring Bring Me the Horizon’s Oli Sykes. The track appears on the singer’s newest EP Episodes: Season 1.
A Few Too Many returned with a huge new track titled “Unhealthy.” It follows on from their previous single “Someday,” which was released late last year.
iDKHOW shared one of the B-sides from their Razzmatazz sessions titled “Mx. Sinister.” The track was available on a special Record Store Day release over the weekend.
Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! shared the title track for their upcoming album Gone Are the Good Days. The highly-anticipated LP is set for release on July 30 via Fearless Records.
Between You & Me released a new track called “Supervillain.” It marks the first new music from the band since the release of “Famous” in 2019, which frontman Jake Wilson also played as part of Rock Sound’s Shower Sessions last year.
Justin Courtney Pierre shared a track titled “Oxygen Tank” from his upcoming EP The Price of Salt, his second release of this year. The EP is set for release on July 9 via Epitaph Records.
TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:
My Chemical Romance revealed another rescheduled date on their 2022 tour, now playing Prague Rocks at the Sinobo Stadium on June 11. Their full worldwide tour will begin in New Zealand on March 12 and will end in Los Angeles on October 15.
After kicking off their new era last week, Hot Milk announced the details of a UK headline tour. The short run of shows will kick off in Glasgow on September 8 and finish in London on September 16.
Biffy Clyro played their 2007 track “Now I’m Everyone” during Scotland’s first game at a major soccer tournament since 1998 yesterday. The band recently confirmed that they had just finished work on their new album.
OTHER NEWS:
Asking Alexandria revealed that they have signed to Better Noise Music, having previously spent the entirety of their career with Sumerian Records. Their new label is home to Papa Roach, Escape the Fate, Five Finger Death Punch and others.
All Time Low announced the details of a brand new wine called Summer Daze 2020. The wine is a Rosé made in collaboration with Real Nice Winemakers in the Willamette Valley.
Linkin Park’s track “In the End” surpassed one billion streams on Spotify, with their other hit “Numb” not far behind at 842 million streams. The video for the track also surpassed one billion views on YouTube recently.
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Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley,” only at @sagehaleyofficial!
Settle Your Scores Sign With Mutant League Records
@syspoppunk are the newest band to join the Mutant League Records roster.
Cincinnati easycore five-piece Settle Your Scores have inked a deal with Chicago-based label Mutant League Records (A Better Hand, Rest Easy, Wilmette). The band announced the news on Tuesday along with a brand new track called “1999”, which is slated to appear on their upcoming third album coming out later this year. The music video is packed full of 90’s nostalgia, featuring Blink-182,…
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