In an effort to catch up on a bunch of albums that people have asked me about, here are some brief thoughts on releases from the last month or so.
1) Have Mercy: "Make The Best Of It"
Released: April 21 on Hopeless Records
I have really loved this band for a while now, and this new album simply reminds me why that is the case. They get labeled as pop-punk a lot, but it's the crossover between pop-punk and emo they have going that I find most appealing about Have Mercy's sound. I'm also a big fan of singer Brian Swindle's voice; he brings a grit and warmth that a lot of bands in the scene lack in their vocal performances without sounding contrived. Swindle lays his bones bare on Make The Best Of It and I was 100% along for the ride.
2) The Smith Street Band: "More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me"
Released: April 7 on Pool House Records
Smith Street have given us another solid album with offering number four, but I still feel like their best material is ahead of them. More Scared Of You... is painfully personal, by far the furthest songwriter Wil Wagner has let us listeners into his world, and he's still a sad dude. Sharp lines and clever observation are still a staple, but the consistent self-pity did get a little too much for me at a point.
3) Creeper: "Eternity, In Your Arms"
Released: March 24 on Roadrunner Records
I hear a lot of Black Parade-era My Chemical Romance in this album, and for the most part I was pleasantly surprised by Creeper's debut full length. Seeing the story they have been telling across two other EPs come together in its full form was really cool, and I give big ups to them for doing something different in a scene that I don't pretend to enjoy that much. Having said that I didn't find myself coming back to it as often as I thought I would after the first listen, and I guess that just comes down to personal taste.
4) Fit For An Autopsy: "The Great Collapse"
Released: March 17 on Entertainment One Music
The Australian deathcore scene is something I have desperately tried to get into more and more, but The Great Collapse is case in point as to why I find it increasingly difficult. There's chuggy-chugs and dark lyrics you can't understand without reading them and more chuggy-chugs. Not much else. Occasionally there's a cool riff to hang onto, but for a lot of the time I feel like the 8-string is being used as a safety net used to make riffs heavier when they aren't heavy enough by themselves. I found this pretty boring to be quite honest.
5) Kendrick Lamar: "DAMN."
Released: April 14 on Aftermath/Interscope
It was always going to be impossible to one up 2015's To Pimp A Butterfly, so I'm not disappointed in the fact that DAMN is a slight step down for Kendrick; that was something I was prepared for. I guess my main problem with DAMN is that conceptually it doesn't seem as fully fleshed out as To Pimp A Butterfly. Whenever he touches on an interesting issue he stands around it for a bit and offers some interesting questions, but moves on where on To Pimp A Butterfly would then go in deeper. I was taken aback in a good way by how sad Kendrick sounds on a lot of these songs though; it's a side of Kendrick we haven't heard before and in that sense is a step forward. Oh and there are so many bangers that I'm not even going to bother listing them.
6) Drake: "More Life"
Released: March 18 on Young Money Entertainment
Nah.
1) Have Mercy: "Make The Best Of It"Released: April 21 on Hopeless Records
I have really loved this band for a while now, and this new album simply reminds me why that is the case. They get labeled as pop-punk a lot, but it's the crossover between pop-punk and emo they have going that I find most appealing about Have Mercy's sound. I'm also a big fan of singer Brian Swindle's voice; he brings a grit and warmth that a lot of bands in the scene lack in their vocal performances without sounding contrived. Swindle lays his bones bare on Make The Best Of It and I was 100% along for the ride.
2) The Smith Street Band: "More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me"Released: April 7 on Pool House Records
Smith Street have given us another solid album with offering number four, but I still feel like their best material is ahead of them. More Scared Of You... is painfully personal, by far the furthest songwriter Wil Wagner has let us listeners into his world, and he's still a sad dude. Sharp lines and clever observation are still a staple, but the consistent self-pity did get a little too much for me at a point.
3) Creeper: "Eternity, In Your Arms"
Released: March 24 on Roadrunner Records
I hear a lot of Black Parade-era My Chemical Romance in this album, and for the most part I was pleasantly surprised by Creeper's debut full length. Seeing the story they have been telling across two other EPs come together in its full form was really cool, and I give big ups to them for doing something different in a scene that I don't pretend to enjoy that much. Having said that I didn't find myself coming back to it as often as I thought I would after the first listen, and I guess that just comes down to personal taste.
4) Fit For An Autopsy: "The Great Collapse"Released: March 17 on Entertainment One Music
The Australian deathcore scene is something I have desperately tried to get into more and more, but The Great Collapse is case in point as to why I find it increasingly difficult. There's chuggy-chugs and dark lyrics you can't understand without reading them and more chuggy-chugs. Not much else. Occasionally there's a cool riff to hang onto, but for a lot of the time I feel like the 8-string is being used as a safety net used to make riffs heavier when they aren't heavy enough by themselves. I found this pretty boring to be quite honest.
5) Kendrick Lamar: "DAMN."
Released: April 14 on Aftermath/Interscope
It was always going to be impossible to one up 2015's To Pimp A Butterfly, so I'm not disappointed in the fact that DAMN is a slight step down for Kendrick; that was something I was prepared for. I guess my main problem with DAMN is that conceptually it doesn't seem as fully fleshed out as To Pimp A Butterfly. Whenever he touches on an interesting issue he stands around it for a bit and offers some interesting questions, but moves on where on To Pimp A Butterfly would then go in deeper. I was taken aback in a good way by how sad Kendrick sounds on a lot of these songs though; it's a side of Kendrick we haven't heard before and in that sense is a step forward. Oh and there are so many bangers that I'm not even going to bother listing them.
6) Drake: "More Life"
Released: March 18 on Young Money Entertainment
Nah.
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