Bad Pop Punk songs, in our opinion, are probably one of the most throwaway and interchangeable kinds of music ever. How many bands emerged during the bigger boom of the genre during the mid-aughts and since and just delivered paint-by-numbers Pop Punk? Lots! Not naming names because we ain’t got time to negativify (Not a word) the already aggrieved parties but in terms of meaningful and memorable it’s rare that stadium-ready Rawkers like Green day, blink 182 or even Turnstile to an extent are even a thing much less thrive to this day.
[Read more…]RoseR Is Ready To (Rock & Roll) Rumble On Steps
Lowell produces some great shit. A lot of which gets lumped into the “Boston Music Scene” that does indeed tend to encompass a lot of the MA area but ya gotta give credit where credit is due and, from our experience at least, Lowell is getting to the point where there’s a need for a “Lowell Music Scene” category brought into the convo. RoseR’s latest is another reason for that.
[Read more…]RNRF X Rock & Roll Rumble: Week 2, Night 5
The end is in sight! Of the Preliminary Round, that is. But before we get to the end of this particular round, we’d love to introduce you to the four fresh new faces (Well, more than just 4 cuz BANDS) who’ll be getting their Rumble on during the penultimate Preliminary night:
[Read more…]Singles! Arrows Of Athena, “Reckless Heart”
There are some tracks you hear and for some reason or another they instantly hit. It’s the timbre of the singer’s wail sometimes or maybe the guitar tones or just an overall vibe. In the case of “Reckless Heart” from Arrows Of Athena it’s all of that and everything else under the sun that we couldn’t think to say. And if new single “Reckless Heart” is just a smidge of what Arrows Of Athena has up its’ collective sleeves then full-length The Ghost Archives has a LOT to live up to when it arrives later this month.
[Read more…]RNRF X Rock & Roll Rumble 2024: Week 2, Night 4
Week 2 of the Rock & Roll Rumble starts NOW! Well, for us and in the interest of this posting it does but in actuality it starts on Thursday, April 11th back at Middle East Upstairs with the first 4 of 12 fresh bands scheduled to appear during the final Preliminary Rounds. Are you sad that the rounds are almost over? Have a favorite yet? Well, here’s some more fodder to confuse and confound all those decisions you thought you already made:
[Read more…]Why Try? Emerge From Chrysalis On Enlightening Honeymoon
It never gets old when a local outfit we were into or covered previously (Alternately, Into AND covered) make a record that showcases how much they’ve grown and generally excel at their craft. Take Boston’s Why Try? for example (And also because that’s who we’re reviewing today) who we last featured around the release of the late 2020 record Just Fine and covers all of that sentiment and then some with an album like Honeymoon that just feels like it’s on the cusp of some greatness.
[Read more…]Robotic Hawks Get Down To The Business Of Rawk On Their Way To The 2024 Rock & Roll Rumble With New EP All Business
It’s Rumble SZN, everyone! And with that comes a time to not only revisit some artists we’ve already covered here (Like in our massive Preliminary Round preview pieces that have been steadily popping up recently) but for some of those same artists to drop timely new material ahead of their showcases. Like Hudson, NH’s Robotic Hawks who have a new EP slated to arrive slightly ahead of their opening night set on the last night of the Preliminary Rounds over at Middle East Upstairs on Saturday, April 13th.
[Read more…]RNRF X Rock & Roll Rumble 2024: Week 1, Night 3
Moving right along aaaaaand we’ve made it to the end of Week 1 and the competition is already FIERCE! On this particular night we’ve got veterans of the Boston Music Scene battling against relative noobs (Read: novices) that still sound like they’re 4 albums deep only a few years into a burgeoning career. And with that said, we present the 4 bands representing Night 3 of the 2024 Rock & Roll Rumble:
[Read more…]Singles! GUT HEALTH, “CONVERSATION LOST”
If you thought that GUT HEALTH’s debut single, “RUNAWAY HIGH”, was out of this world then just wait until you hear the follow-up. For those just tuning in, GUT HEALTH is a 508-based supergroup featuring members of Herra Terra, Ian Sweet, Gloss Goddess, Orange Island, usLights, and Not Bad Not Well to name a few. In fact, our initial edit of new track “CONVERSATION LOST” said that vocally they were similar to Not Bad Not Well until we realized that they share the same singer in Gregg Kusumah-Atmadja (For the record, we proudly own it when we fuck up or dive right in on the rare occasion when we’re not being more thorough).
[Read more…]RNRF X Rock & Roll Rumble 2024: Week 1, Night 2
We made it through Night 1! Or we will. For now, we’ve just made it through the first post about the Preliminary rounds so there’s a long way to go both in our postings and in, y’know, the actual shows that have so much behind the scenes work put into them ahead of time (Thanks, Anngelle Wood and Boston Emissions among others) before bands even hit the stage. Like they will once again at Middle East Upstairs on Friday, April 5th (See what we did there???) Anyway, our purported cleverness aside let’s see what Night 2 holds:
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