Let's Review Music That You Probably Never Heard Of!!

I haven't really done any writing in a while. And I am definitely still not ready to begin any writing projects that might actually really matter. But I do feel generally in the mood to write, even if - especially if - it's about unimportant nonsense stuff. So if you are looking for an unloading of my weary soul or a dumping out of all the things clogging up my brain - HA!! You won't find that here! Those things are best left to the undocumented, ephemeral existence of being spoken aloud.

What you will find is I am going to write about what I've been mostly writing about this year - music. A number of my favorite artists released new music this year. And in the last couple of months I have been catching up and listening to these albums a lot. So I wanted to share my thoughts about the albums and specific songs. People have been telling me they read these posts, so my utter shock and surprise! So hopefully it's not too long or dumb or boring to at least be worth 10 seconds of scrolling. Maybe if I say there's secret messages throughout the text if you can figure them out I can trick people into reading all the words!! Muahahahahaha!!!

I was thinking about what order do I talk about these - what came out first, what I listened to first or the most, who is the most popular. But since I have a playlist that automatically puts all songs released in 2020 into a smart playlist, I'm just going to go alphabetical by artist since that's how the playlist is sorted.

(I learned to put a picture at the top of my blog so it's the thumbnail instead of a random music video still.)

Wake Up, Sunshine by All Time Low

Overall I think this is a solid album. The thing I like about All Time Low is it's clear they are dealing with more adult related issues and emotions, so some of the topics are deeper and more self reflective. But there's still a buoyant energy to the music. I think there's a theme among the bands that I love a lot that have been around for years and years that they can keep up the energy even after so much music. To me All Time Low's last album Last Young Renegade felt like a departure for them. With that album I have some songs that are my favorites of theirs and have played 100+ times, while a couple I actually almost dislike, which hasn't happened before with this band, or frankly most of my fav artists. Wake Up, Sunshine feels like taking more of their usual sound and mixing it with the sounds from the last album. I find I am not super in love with any songs from this album like I was the last, but I like everything just fine. To be fair, I had to listen to Last Young Renegade awhile before I really fell head over heels for it, so that may happen here - I'm only 20ish listens in.

I really like how the album opens with Some Kind of Disaster. It sets a good tone - some great energy, enjoyable instrumentality with some real emotion depth. I also really like the music video. I don't know if being a blonde really suits Alex. Jack is as cute as always, of course!

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My favorite song off this album is Sleeping In. I know about myself that while I love a great emotionally captivating song, I am a sucker for some fast paced, high energy guitar work. The answer to the question is "Yes. Yes please." I know this album was released pre-quarantine, but this sounds like a great way to pass what will inevitably be long, sheltered fall and winter. I do love how the music videos have the boys getting cute animals despite the very different activities in the song.

I also really like melancholy kaleidoscope. I have also noticed I have this interesting fondness for songs that have high energy but are actually pretty, well, melancholy. Like, sometimes I feel like I'm feeling moody but I want something peppy to listen to too. Usually in that mood I listen to The Story So Far. But this song definitely hits that same kind of mood. I find the lyric "can't be 100 when you're only giving 95" pretty funny these days because man oh man how great would it be if I could give 95?! I feel like collectively I'm hovering around a smooth 55. Hahaha.

Monsters is probably the most unique track on the album, and it's soooo good! I really like the rhythm and the percussion in the verses. And I have never heard of Blackbear before and his flow is hella sick! Oooh and the bridge is so great! I don't relate to this song but it's really easy to get swept up in the feelings and I like to sing it. Extra bonus - this song is downloadable for Rock Band 4, so yeah I definitely did that!

It does sort of bother me that all of the songs I am really into are all in the front half of the album. It bums me out when that happens because it makes listening to the back half a chore and the front half gets more air play. 

In Sickness & In Flames by The Front Bottoms

Honestly I am still getting my head around this one. I am sure it will surprise absolutely no one that I have an onboarding process for new music. I have a playlist folder where I house playlists of new music. I then listen to the playlists until I feel I know the songs well enough. Then I integrate the new songs into my various playlists. It's a whole thing. Anyway, I've only listened to this album 10 times so I'm not quite familiar with everything. 

This may sound familiar. So The Front Bottoms' last album felt like a departure for them. This album feels simultaneously moving back towards their usual sound but also off in a different direction. To be fair, I find each release from The Front Bottoms, while having a very The Front Bottoms style, also has it's own unique presence. As with the last album, there really aren't as many songs on this album that stick out. I still feel it's pretty good but not quite as engaging as past stuff. With most new albums there are usually 2-3 songs that really get me and I get excited to listen to them again after they end and want to skip to them before finishing the whole album. I don't feel that way about any of these songs. They are like "oh yeah, this is catchy" in the moment, but haven't stuck yet, if ever.

I do really like Everyone Blooms. I really like the message of this song. Everyone blooms in their own time. And that's great. Like for me, I feel like intellectually I really bloomed in law school. And career wise I have bloomed and receded and will hopefully bloom again, probably more than one more. In other ways I may be just beginning to bud or will bloom in the future. There are definitely ways I feel on a verge of a huge bloom and I feel like I just have to get through whatever this is now to get there, and then it will be magical!!

I am honestly not really sure what this (Montgomery Forever) is about. But it's hella catchy and I like it a lot. Definitely has some classic The Front Bottoms instrumentality.

Yeah, definitely seems like we're all going The Hard Way. I really like the lyrics calling the singer "the character" and "the animal". This song definitely resonates.

Forever and Ever x Infinity by New Found Glory

I know, you're all going to be shocked when I say that I've only listened to this album 3 times since its release in June. Yes, this is my favorite band. And yes, I do like it. It's like this. First of all, it is very peppy and energetic, and frankly until the last few weeks I have not been in that kind of mood - which explains why an album discussed below got a LOT of play time. Plus, like I know New Found Glory is solid for an enjoyable album, so I'm not in any rush to make sure it's good. I see it like this. If other bands or albums are some meal with some fulfilling substance to them, I find New Found Glory is like getting ice cream. Is it going to nourishingly sustain you? No. But there's enough variety and consistency, and overall sweet wholesome fun that it's worth it. I know that New Found Glory has never been deep. What I like is that they have been able to keep it fun and energetic without being stale over so many years. For a sizable part of my life I may relate more to the deep and/or moodier stuff, but I want to be the fun, energetic type. They bring me so much joy. Plus, I love that as heard in this album they still dip into their hardcore roots for some truly killer sounds. Some of the song topics and lyrics may be pretty shallow and silly, but the music part is so great.

So I don't know the songs well enough to really call anything out. But I thought Himalaya is a great example of the hardcore influence. I like it a lot. I would just like to say as someone getting older I like to see my fav bands getting older and still bringing the same energy. Just because I may have a different kind of life and concerns doesn't mean my life doesn't have need for really loud songs. 

A Beautiful Place to Drown by Silverstein

This is Silverstein's 9th album! And frankly I am super impressed, proud, excited for them! 2009's A Shipwreck in the Sand is an amazing album. Then it felt like with Rescue and This Is How the Wind Shifts that Silverstein was getting into that familiar path of a band whose new stuff sounds over and over like a less good version of their old stuff. I find bands have issues because they either get stuck in a rut or go way too far afield. It is hard finding the sweet middle of being creative and innovative, yet sticking to a core identity. Yet somehow with 2015's I Am Alive in Everything I Touch they found some new breath and really came with some new stuff that was really exciting. And then Dead Reflection continued on that course.

This album keeps that pace of brining new stuff and feeling creatively a stretch while also keeping true to the Silverstein core sound. I like it so much! I probably don't like it quite as much as the last two albums, but mostly because now I have expected them to be this great again, and there are a couple songs that I am not that into, which really didn't happen on the other two albums. What I do like though is this album feels like more variety and more stretching, so it's a fun mix. Plus, I found a video with Shane Told talking through what each of the songs are about and how they were brought about, which was super fun to watch! I listened to each song and then watched the part of the video explaining about the song. Longest 14ish minute video ever, but worth the experience! Hahaha.

Of course the album starts off with a banger! I would like to say that I am very pleased with all that Paul Marc has brought to the band over the past several years. He's a great guitar player, he helps write songs, he also sings sometimes, plus he's easy on the eyes.

So in the video I mentioned where Shane was talking through all of the songs, he mentioned how like this one may be a sleeper hit. And I cannot agree more. This is one of the songs I have listened to way more times than most of the others. I think it has a really great ebb and flow. The guitar riffs in the chorus are super sick. I do worry that I may listen to this song way too loud because I want to feel like I've crawled in between chords and can feel the music from inside of it. Plus, this song is about that oh so relatable situation where you're into someone and you don't know what they're doing and you're all worried that they out there with someone else that's not you. I've been there. On like the giving end. I don't know if you'd even know if you were on the receiving end of this scenario, and it's not like I ever go anywhere with anyone that's worrisome. 😂😂😂😂

I love Say Yes! so much! It's got a fun mix of Silverstein's moody lyrics with some run pop punk vibe. I love the little guitar solo. I just really vibe with the high energy and great instrumentality. Plus I really relate to the metaphors used in the chorus. They really resonate with some of the personal lessons I've learned over the past year. I've learned that I already have a lot of interpersonal skills that really let me connect with people and for the most part I can be casually charming and engaging with others. Just sometimes I can get really in my head about things and that cuts me off from these skills disrupts my ability to connect with people. People like me and I have to just relax my anxieties and just engage with people the way I naturally want to, because I genuinely really enjoy just talking with and listening to people. Evidently my intentional use of eye contact is a great skill to have that others don't use enough. So now I'm sharing some wisdom.

September 14th is probably my least favorite song on this album, but I thought it really interesting that a Canadian band in 2020 felt compelled to write a song about what it felt like being a US person whose birthdate was pulled first in the draft.

Folklore by Taylor Swift

I have listened to this so much! I love this album so much! I get it is very mellow and very different from the last few albums. But honestly I feel like this is what my soul needed. I have spent many a melancholy evening listening to this album while playing Minecraft. Plus, the whole folk vibe really works with adventuring out in the Minecraft woods amongst the trees. This album really shows how versatile a song writer Taylor Swift is and how great she is with telling stories in her music. I did learn the hard way though the other day after mixing this in with her other music and listening to it in the car that maybe don't listen to some of it while driving, especially if I'm about to do a live streaming show, because I came into one of these songs at the wrong moment and was just bawling for whatever reason. There are some really impactful emotion moments with this album.

I usually don't end up liking the first song of an album the best. But that's not the case here. I really like The 1. It really doesn't make me think of anything personal. And it seems pretty simple. But there is this wistful beauty to it and a great artfulness in it's simplicity.

Exile is probably the song I first really latched onto when I first listened to this album. I have never heard of Bon Iver before this, and I probably wouldn't listen to them. But I really like this dude's voice. And this song is so beautiful. I like the two sided story of it. The lyrical metaphors are great. The blending of the two sides when they sing together is so impactful and sad.

I also really like Invisible String. The imagery that Taylor Swift uses in this song really tells the story and feels really vibrant. Just listening to this song plays a video in my head of what is happening in each part. I also really enjoy the folksy sound. 

Dang this song (Peace) really hits me hard with the emotions. Case in point, as I start it to blog about it, I immediately burst into tears because (1) it's beautifully touching and (2) I'm really emotionally sensitive right now, so like whatever. Hahaha. This makes me think of how sometimes I listen to different Taylor Swift songs and think "she's great, but clearly I have much better emotional intelligence and emotional control." Like listening to Me I think "yeah, there is no one like me, I'm awesome. And also I won't do all the less than ideal stuff Taylor sings about before that." Hahaha. So here Taylor doesn't think she can bring peace and that makes sense for her. I thought about myself and I feel like I have never really been the best at making peace for myself, but in that or maybe because of that I find it much easier to make peace for others. Yeah, maybe I should have listened to more New Found Glory because if I listen to stuff that's too deep or emotional then I think about things and A to B to C deep thoughts and it gets ... interesting? Boring? Eye rolling? 

So that takes me to the end of this. I swear every time I'm like "this is only going to take 30 minutes". But then I have to listen to some songs multiple times, and I go off on tangents because I think too much. And I have to Google things and second guess word choices. Anyway, if anyone is still here, thank you!

As a bonus, Coheed and Cambria wrote a sequel to Jesse's Girl and got Rick Springfield involved, and it's a delight!