Expire - Pretty Low; Album Review

Milwaukee’s Expire are back with their sophomore LP ‘Pretty Low’ on Bridge Nine Records. Their debut LP ‘Pendulum Swings’ caused a big stir in the American hardcore punk scene and the band have become one of the giants of current hardcore punk.

The title track kicks off the album in style, a brutal opening of throat wrenching vocals combined with ferociously fast drums and a dark guitar tone, the song focuses on the theme of how low someone’s life can go.

‘Just Don’t’ starts in similar fashion, featuring a great low bass guitar tone and a superbly delivered chorus typical of passionate hardcore punk. ‘Fiction’ is dominated by a raucous riff and incredibly aggressive vocals, the song focuses on staying away from the perception of what beauty is within society, an interesting theme. ‘Gravity’ is another huge tempter to head bang, the bass line and fast instrumentals are brilliant and the vocals are noticeably ten times as aggressive as they were on the first album which just shows Expire’s progression.

‘Nobody’ focuses on despising those who only get to big places by knowing someone and not by working hard. The message is delivered with huge intent in this vigorous number, ‘Old Habits’ is probably my favourite track on this album - it reminds me a lot of their earlier  work which shared the same incredibly fierce instrumentation. The end of this track features the guest vocals from the vocalist of hardcore band Bent Life, they blend in perfectly.

‘Forgetting’ focuses on the theme of losing memory of past problems, a little solo moment from the vocalist towards the end of the track reminds me a lot of their previous LP ‘Pendulum Swings’. ‘Callous’ continues the relentless energetic theme of the album. ‘Rejection’ has an incredibly fast drum pattern and again; deep, dark low bass lines creating a very interesting atmospheric sound.

Drawing towards the close of the album ‘If It Were Up To Me’ gives no sense of winding down, the track actually has a very meaningful theme - the song exerts anger based on the fact that one of the band member’s close friends was a victim of sexual abuse. ‘Second Face’ starts with gloomy opening reminiscent of the likes of Weekend Nachos or Xibalba, the track suddenly springs into life with another crazy chaotic vocal performance which takes centre stage even amongst the loud blaring guitars.

Additional vocals are used to good effect to close out a pounding, non-stop record which deserved it’s place in the US Billboard 200. I hope vocalist Josh Kelting had a good rest after recording this album, I’m sure he would have needed it.

Real Friends - Maybe This Place Is The Same and We're Just Changing (Album Review)

Real Friends have been hitting great heights internationally lately and they are now establishing their selves as a top player in the pop punk scene with the timely release (July 22nd) of their debut album; ‘Maybe This Place Is the same and we’re Just Changing’. 

The album starts with a brief intro and kicks into life straight away with ‘I Don’t Love You Anymore’ - what I notice straight away in this song is the extra bite on the vocals which provides a great raw sound to accompany flowing guitar riffs and upbeat drum beats.  I can already draw comparisons to the likes of The Wonder Years with this number, an entertaining opening. 

‘Cover You Up’ is a typical Real Friends song with the reoccurring theme of heartbreak and emotional feelings. Again I am impressed with the powerful vocals and the wonderful chemistry it shares with the instrumentals. ‘Old Book’ is slightly more peaceful number and gives you an insight into the softer influences that the band share, quite similar to the recent works of Fireworks and Transit, it’s a nice minute and a half of musical versatility which is always welcome. 

Next track ‘Summer’ is superb – the vocals scream out emotion and are again very impressive. A mixture of different guitar riffs makes the track very catchy. Although the track is titled ‘Summer’ the main hook of the song is ‘I’ll get through the winter without you’ – again connecting to those fans who may share similar heartbreak or tough times after relationships which was a reason why their previous works have proven so popular with fans.

Fans should already be familiar with ‘Loose Ends’ which was released before the album release. Unfortunately it’s not one of my favourite tracks on the album; in parts I find the vocals to be a bit whiny and lacking control, what is good is the additional vocals towards the end of the track which brings a hardcore punk element to the song.  It seemed to go down very well on their recent UK tour when they played it live so I’m sure it will continue to be a favourite with their fans. 

‘Short Song’ is another brief number, the opening sounds very similar to the opening of ‘Loose Ends’ which is a little confusing – after a promising opening I find the track concludes abruptly after numerous outburst of ‘but that’s how it’s gonna be’ – I can imagine though that hook being screamed back to them on upcoming live tours. Next track ‘Sixteen’ is intriguing, the vocals seem to have a distant sound effect which is different; from the instrumentals I draw comparisons to again Transit and a little bit of Into It. Over It. This is probably one of my favourites on the album a very calming and welcome change to the much heavier instrumentals and prominent vocals. 

‘Spread Me over Illinois’ returns to the fast paced nature of  the majority of the album, throughout there is a change of drum patterns and the much more potent guitars, which have been somewhat lacking so far in the album finally has a chance to shine; a much more edgy track with more potency. ‘To My Old Self’ has a much more indie-like introduction with much softer vocals, again this track shows the growing maturity of the band’s sound, also showing that Real Friends aren’t just another pop punk band, they like to have a variety which is a good sign for them. A constant drum beat towards the end of the song leads into a vocal explosion which provides a great conclusion to the track.

A lyric in ‘I Think I’m Moving Forward’ backs up my suggestion of more maturity with this band. ‘I smile and think about how much I’ve grown this year’ – although the lyric suggests it’s a single person’s thoughts I believe it reflects the whole attitude of each member of the band. I think this track also suggests the band is moving forward positively and this song sums up the reception and success they’ve had over the past twelve months. 

The album comes to a close with ‘...And We’re Just Changing’ – this is certainly an uplifting number to end on, the instrumentals seem to have a summery feel to them and the vocals seem just slightly more relaxed and are not as angry as previous. Again I enjoy when the guitars and drums take centre stage and there are not just constant pounding vocals which can always get enough for any punk music fan. 

Overall I believe there is undoubtedly some progression in this release and should take them on to larger ventures. The album should prove popular in their homeland and overseas. A nice combination of energetic and driving vocals and continuously consistent instrumentals provide a pretty strong album which the band should be delighted to kick off their studio album career.

The Wonder Years, A Loss For Words, State Champs and Light You Up @ Great Hall 2, Cardiff.

 

Birmingham’s Light You Up took to the stage first on a bill packed with pop punk talent. Light You Up are one of only a few UK pop punk bands and they certainly done the UK proud tonight, all members of the band showed excellent energy and chemistry on stage to provide a strong performance, vocalist Tom Napier put a lot of effort in trying to encourage the quiet crowd besides a few fans. With a new album coming out soon, there are certainly positives for this particular band to look forward to.

There was more anticipation building before State Champs took to the stage, a band who have seen a meteoric rise in popularity since the brilliant ‘The Finer Things’ album was released. In fact the whole seven songs in the set list were all from the recent album. For their first ever UK show, the band showed absolutely no nerves and were immediately involved with the crowd with the start. The crowd responded greatly with all seven songs having at least 30-40 fans singing along, the band responded positively and provided an excellent showcase of their own brand of angry and passionate pop punk. The crowd were able to catch their breath before the delivery of the final song ‘Elevated’ turned the crowd into a pack of wild animals, the band could not have expected so many ferocious fans and numerous crowd surfers making the security guards earn their pay. This tour can only push State Champs on to bigger opportunities in the future and I wish them all the very best.

Unfortunately it seemed that the crowd were conserving their energy during Boston’s A Loss For Words set who received a mixed reaction throughout, they played a great blend of their last three studio albums and threw a Jackson 5 cover in which took everyone by surprise. It was my first time seeing the band and I personally was not disappointed, I’ve always enjoyed the soulful vocals of Matty Arsenault and rhythmic instrumentals. The crowd came to some life when Matty demanded a circle pit during ‘Stamp of Approval’. A Loss For Words remain one of the most underrated pop punk bands in the American scene, I hope they come back and do a headline show soon to hopefully get a better reaction than this particular night.

Finally, The Wonder Years took to the stage. A band who have gone from headlining Le Pub in Newport to headlining the small CF10 in Cardiff to headlining Clwb Ifor Bach to now headlining the Great Hall 2. The venue seemed pretty full to see them play and there was much excitement amongst new and old fans. I personally thought they played a fantastic set list it had everything ranging from the latest songs like ‘Dismantling Summer’ and ‘Passing Through A Screen Door’- back to the superb Suburbia with tracks such as ‘Came out Swinging’ and ‘Local Man Ruins Everything’ and then back all the way to The Upsides with ‘Melrose Diner’ and even ‘Dynamite Shovel’.

Soupy was his usual emotional self describing stories between songs and informing the crowd that they had travelled 20 straight hours from Germany, they showed no sign and fatigue and connected superbly with the crowd. One particular highlight for me was the spectacular sing along provided by the track ‘Devil In My Bloodstream’ the whole crowd seemed to be in perfect harmony which echoed joy and passion across the venue. It had to be the most powerful and emotive moments of the night with aggressive and controlled vocals and an excellent keyboard solo from Nick Steinborn.

The Wonder Years remain kings of the pop punk genre in my opinion, it’s great to see them taking younger US bands on tour with them like State Champs to help the scene grow worldwide. The Wonder Years are definitely on the path to enjoying the same success as previous pop punk bands have in the last fifteen or so years.

Real Friends, Modern Baseball and You Blew It! @ Clwb Ifor Bach

You would think the atmosphere would be low with it being an early show, not in this case. A packed Clwb Ifor Bach crowd gathers to view the first band on the stage, Florida’s You Blew It! - there doesn’t seem to be much enthusiasm in the crowd for the band’s first time in Wales. They waste no time at all launching into a couple of songs from their new record ‘Keep Doing What You’re Doing’ recently released by Topshelf Records. The band also throw in some tracks off their debut LP ‘Grow Up, Dude’ which draw some interaction from the crowd with a couple of fans singing along. Out of nowhere in the middle of the set a mini circle pit forms during ‘Pinball House’ which is superbly delivered. Despite the standstill of most the crowd, the band produced a solid showcase of their angsty emo influenced and they certainly left the crowd with something to think about. 
 
As Philadelphia’s Modern Baseball came on to stage, there seemed to be more shuffling in the crowd. A huge movement of bodies began as the band opened up with ‘Re-do’ which was shouted loudly back at the band by the crowd throughout the song. The first few tracks flew by and the whole set had this basement show sort of atmosphere to it, the faster tracks started an influx of crowd surfers and stage divers even in what seemed a very confined area. The venue suited the band perfectly, a packed crowd singing along must have made the band feel like they were back in Philly playing to a local crowd, it was very interesting to see a band who have not been talked about much in the UK get such a fantastic reception. I’m sure they would
have left Cardiff with some great memories and an incentive to return in the future. 


Finally the Windy City’s Real Friends take to the stage facing a crowd ready to tear the place up and ready to break their vocal cords. I remember the band getting a rousing reception when they played Clwb last time and I expected no different and more. What was to follow was to exceed my expectations; an hour of pure emotion and a whole lot of sweat. Straight from the off with the fantastic ‘Floorboards’ the young girl fans were getting peppered and bruised by dudes diving off speakers and the stage, there were several moments in the set where vocalist Dan Lambton stood back and smiled in amazement at is his own voice being drowned out by a fully charged and hectic crowd.

Real Friends gave a taster of what’s to come with a new track ‘Loose Ends’ which several people in the crowd had already known off by heart. The performance of slower numbers like ‘Hebron’ and ‘I’ve Given Up On You’ proved to be memorable highlights from the set with everyone present in complete unity and showing raw emotion. The set closed with ‘Late Nights In My Car’ which sparked a frantic frenzy which provided a perfect end to a special gig. Real Friends release their highly anticipated new album ‘Maybe This Place Is The Same And We’re Just Changing’ in July. I think their South Wales fans including me will hope that they return later in the year with an album tour.