Label: Born & Bred Records
Press release: The latest effort from the Boston band will arrive on April 30 via Born & Bred Records, and co-frontman Ken Casey hopes that it will take “people’s minds off their troubles". "We’re so fortunate and grateful to be in the position to share a little happiness in our own way” he said. “Our gratitude levels are off the chart. Twenty five years ago, somebody bet me 30 bucks I couldn’t form a band with three weeks’ notice to open for his band. As kids, we’d never been out of New England and here we are – we’ve made 10 records and have been all over the globe. If there’s a message to this album, it’s ‘put your fist up and play it loud.'”
My thoughts: THE Celtic band is back. Everyone knows at least one Dropkick Murphys song even if it's just the riff to mega-hit "I'm Shipping Up To Boston". Turn Up That Dial is another dose of celtic punk party music that at this point I heard half the record thanks to singles roll out (though I realize at this point the album has been out for 4 months it's on me). The best songs are L-E-E-B-O-Y and City By The Sea with the other deepcuts lacking in energy compared to the singles and the previously mentioned City By The Sea.
Label: Fueled By Ramen
Press release: Meet Me @ The Altar's full six-track EP, Model Citizen, is due out on August 13. MM@TA enthuse: “We are so incredibly excited about Model Citizen being our first major release on Fueled By Ramen – these are absolutely our best songs to date. “Model Citizen was originally a different set of songs, but we decided to throw it all out just days before the EP was due because we knew we could write a more cohesive story with lots of energy. With a heavy easycore influence, we hope Model Citizen knocks everyone out of their seats!”
My thoughts: I was surprised the first 2 singles (Garden & Hit Like A Girl) were not found on this EP. Not that I'm complaining as I was surprised that I had only previously heard 2 songs, and Brighter Days is still pretty new to me. Those tracks deserve a home on a future release, weather it's a full length or a deluxe version of this EP since we also got an acoustic rendition of Feel A Thing featuring Dan Campbell of the Wonder Years. In any event let's deal with the tracks at hand. Feel A Thing is a certified bop as are all the other tracks in fact Brighter Days might be the weakest track on this 6 track EP. This will likely be near the top of most people's EP's of the year list (myself included)
Label: Hopeless Records
Press release: Trash Boat have announced details of their upcoming third album Don’t You Feel Amazing? – the follow-up to 2018’s Crown Shyness. The St Albans pop-punks are set to release LP number three on August 13 via Hopeless Records. Vocalist Tobi Duncan says “The album itself is unapologetic and candid wherever it goes. I’ve taken a far more direct approach lyrically and want to leave little to the imagination. We are exposed to so much of the world everyday now, to comprehend everything going on today is too much for any one person. It’s all inconsistent and overwhelming. Each song represents my frustration, desires, struggle, hedonism, pain and redemption while being bluntly honest about each topic.”
My thoughts: Trash Boat has leveled up with each album they release and this is the farthest they've travelled from the pop punk realm. Clearly UK artists such as Architects and Bring Me The Horizon have influenced them a good deal. There's still songs that throwback to that classic Trash Boat sound (Love Without Needing, He's So Good) but the vast majority of songs play with new pop infused sounds (Bad Entertainment, Maladaptive Daydreaming) or darker and heavier material (Vertigo, Idios). No matter what you're into you'll likely find a few songs up your alley on this record.
