Album Reviews :: Strike To Survive, Heartsounds, Typesetter, and Stoked Beyond Bordom
Written by: Andrea Janov, CC2K Music Editor
Strike To Survive :: Yesterday’s News :: Don’t Look Down Records
Though I don’t listen to a lot of hardcore, when I do listen to it, I like there to be the slightest hook hidden underneath all of the screaming. Strike To Survive offer just that, the music is heavy and the vocals are pure discontent, but there is something underneath that simply grabs you and carries you along.
The stand out tracks are Sore Throats, which has a heavy beat that will have your whole body moving and Yesterday’s News, for some killer lyrics, “Tense and dull disposable/ forever keep my curtains closed/ your voice is like static on the radio/ so I’ll close my eyes on the long ride home/ last year’s tales are under my nails/ lost in my lungs as I inhale”.
This album clocks in at 26 minutes and made me feel as though I just watched a killer live set.
Heartsounds :: Internal Eyes :: Creator-Destructor Records
Heartsounds’s Internal Eyes is a great pop punk record with a dash of emo. It is so much fun to listen to and instantly puts you in a good mood. The male and female alternating lead vocals are seamless and share the spotlight well. The album starts out with A Total Separation of Self, which is a great track, but I liked the album more and more as it progressed. Stand out tracks are Constant Crossroads and The World Up, but are layered, a bit more passionate, and have a bit more of an edge than the rest of the tracks.
Typesetter :: #2
Typsetter is one of those bands who found me (which I am always super psyched on) but who found me just a few days after they played in Pittsburgh (which after listening to their EP super bummed me out).
Anyway, this 7″ by Typsetter is awesome. It is a punk rock gravely screamy record with a bit of indie. The songs are heavy, gruff, and abrasive in a way that gets under your skin and you carry their feeling around with you. I can’t get enough of it.
Each song has a different sound yet a common vibe, Anxious & Awkward is punk, gruff, and heavy, Cheap Seats is a bit lighter with more upbeat music yet heavy vocals, and Atonement is slow and brooding and yearning. The music Atonement seems like the white space in poetry…it carries the listener in such an understated way. About 4 minutes in, the track totally changes itself, and becomes an awesome indie song.
Stoked Beyond Boredom :: Not Another EP
Self proclaimed 90s pop punk junkies Stoked Beyond Boredom offers us some sugary pop punk gems. The dual vocals of brother and sister, Jeff and Sarah work perfectly to keep these tracks feeling fresh and offering something new.
Pop punk walks a thin line and that line is always debated within the punk circles. You have to have the right about of hooks, the right amount of melody, but also the right about of attitude and anger. These guys have nailed it, there is a substance to these tracks that set Stoked Beyond Boredom apart from a lot of other cookie cutter pop punk wannabes. This EP is only three tracks, but it totally got me stoked to hear what they release next.