Drain – Living Proof
Drain will release new album Living Proof on May 5 through Epitaph Records.
I hope with this record that when someone hears it, it gives them hope,” frontman Sammy Ciaramitaro beams. “This is the soundtrack of perseverance and people overcoming the naysayers in their world and inside themselves. I can’t wait to play these songs and hear a room full of people singing back to us. We’re what the title says, the Living Proof.”
Tracklist
Run Your Luck
FTS (KYS)
Devils Itch
Evil Finds Light
Imposter
Intermission
Weight Of The World
Watch You Burn
Good Good Things
Living Proof
Samiam – Stowaway
Samiam will release Stowaway on March 31 through Pure Noise Records. It is the band’s first album in 12 years!
Tracklist:
1. Lake Speed
2. Crystallized
3. Lights Out, Little Hustler
4. Shoulda Stayed
5. Shut Down
6. Scout Knife
7. Monterey Canyon
8. Natural Disasters
9. Stanley
10. Highwire
11. Something
12. Stowaway
Poison Ruin – Harvest
Credit: Cecil Shang Whaley
Poison Ruin will release new record Harvest on April 14 through Relapse.
“I’ve always found fantasy tropes to be incredibly evocative,” vocalist/guitarist Mac Kennedy notes, “that said, even though they are a set of symbols that seem to speak to most people of our generation, they are often either apolitical or co-opted for incredibly backwards politics.” With Härvest’s lyrics and imagery, Kennedy reworks fantasy imagery as a series of totems for the downtrodden, stripping it of its escapist tendencies and retooling it as a rich metaphor for the collective struggle over our shared reality: “Instead of knights in shining armor and dragons, it’s a peasant revolt,” he explains, “I’m all for protest songs, but with this band I’ve found that sometimes your message can reach a greater audience if you imbue it with a certain interactive, almost magical realist element.”
Tracklist:
01 – Pinnacle of Ecstasy
02 – Tome of Illusion
03 – Torture Chamber
04 – Härvest
05 – Frozen Blood
06 – Resurrection I
07 – Resurrection II
08 – Augur Die
09 – Blighted Quarter
10 – Bastard’s Dance
11 – Slowly Through the Dark
Carsick – Drunk Hymns
Carsick will release debut EP Drunk Hymns on June 30 through Alcopop! Records.
Derek Sanders – The Heavy Box
Credit: Matt Burke
Derek Sanders has announced his second solo EP The Heavy Box will be released on April 14 through Rise Records.
The Mayday Parade frontman said: “Slowly over the last few years I have poured as much love and energy as I could into these songs,”shares Sanders. “Thank you to everyone who helped make ‘The Heavy Box’ something real and available for those who find it worth their time. These songs mean so much to me, I hope you enjoy them.”
Tracklist
Home
With You On The Ground (ft. Mike Hanson)
True Story Of The Boy Whose Exploits Panicked A Nation
Howell Canyon
For Dear Life (ft. Jason Lancaster)
Lille Venn – Whatever, Together
Lille Venn will release EP Whatever, Together on March 24 through Little Friend Big World.
Tracklist
1. Whatever, Together
2. I Blew My Friends Off!!
3. What Would I Do
4. Mourning Sickness
5. Sleepover Song
6. Not D3@d
7. I Hate You, I Miss You
The Raven Age – Blood Omen
The Raven Age will release new album Blood Omen on July 7 through Music for Nations/Sony.
For the Essex quintet’s “all-important third album”, as George Harris puts it, they have expanded on every level.
This motivation is written into the album’s concept. Following the theme of its two predecessors, the raven motif looms large, this time centering on the overthrowing of old masters, with the band’s Raven King character coming to prominence. Even in the artwork, things are bolder, a close up of The Raven King, says George, “taking his rightful place on the throne.”
The theme weaves itself throughout Blood Omen, kicking off with ‘Parasite’ as MJ explains, “There’s the legend about the ravens in the Tower Of London, that if they were ever to leave, the monarchy falls. Without being too political, ‘Parasite’ is hinting at these dark notes of the hierarchy, the bottom feeders that tend to run everything and then screw everything up. Our Raven King, he’s basically ascending to the throne to bring down the monarchy, bring down the establishment, weed out the parasites, as it were.”
“It’s a heavy track,” MJ continues, “We knew we wanted to come back with a real punch between the eyes. It’s the full introduction to our Raven King, and it touches on elements of everything to come. It really shows where we’re going on this album.”
Tracklist
- Changing Of The Guard
- Parasite
- Serpents Tongue
- Essence Of Time
- Nostradamus
- Forgive & Forget
- The Journey
- War In Heaven
- Tears Of Stone
The Acacia Strain – Step Into the Light
The Acacia Strain will release new album Step Into the Light on May 12 through Rise Records.
Excited to finally be able to talk about the next chapter of The Acacia Strain,” says vocalist Vincent Bennett. “As soon as you think you know what you’re getting, we try to surprise you. Hold your breath for a bit — we might just surprise you again.”
Tracklist
FLOURISHING
CALF’S BLOOD
CHAIN (FEAT. JACOB LILLY)
FRESH BONES
TEETH OF THE CURSED DOG
OPEN WOUND
SINKHOLE (FEAT. JOSEF ALFONSO)
IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING?
UNTENDED GRAVES
NONE OF US ASKED TO BE HERE
Brodie Milner – Tragicomedy
Brodie Milner will release debut EP Tragicomedy on May 26.
“With my first three single releases—‘Acheron’ (2020), ‘Philomela’ (2020), and ‘An Open Letter’ (2021)—I played with some thematic continuity, especially in regards to the lyrics, which were all centred around Greek myths,” explains Milner of his forthcoming debut’s genesis. “However, they still felt like separate pieces of work. I came to the EP looking to make a more consistent body of work that felt like each song was part of a larger narrative. The result was a collection of characters who were all tragic in some ways, and all (darkly) comedic in others.”
In keeping with the EP’s Grecian themes of tragedy and comedy, the visual element of Milner’s work reflects his interest in the classics, the history of drama, and Italian street theatre in particular.
“I like to see each character on the EP as the same clown in different makeup,”he explains of the concept behind the single and EP artwork. “As such, it only felt right that the artwork was as theatrical as the narrative. I collaborated with Stew Baxter (drummer in fellow Hull outfit LIFE) on the visuals, and after convincing a local theatre to let us mess around with the stage and lights, we had free reign to get the concept down.”
The ‘clown’ has become a symbol of contention in pop culture of recent years, and for good reason. Hordes of incels brandishing Todd Phillips’ interpretation of the Joker on t-shirts and profile icons has set a very specific precedent. Milner’s clown is nothing like that one.
“I took influence from Italian street theatre and the Commedia dell’Artecharacter, Zanni—an erratic trickster who could be as sharp as they were dimwitted,” he continues. “I took the Zanni mask and combined it with a classic Pierrot clown outfit, a figure known for their comedic mischief. I actually had to get most of the costume specially made to get the character just right. A big thanks to Daisy Allen for helping me bring the clown to life. This patchworked clown, coupled with an empty theatre and no one to entertain, felt like a perfect representation of the two sides of ‘Tragicomedy’.”
The Used – Toxic Positivity
Credit: Anthony Tran
The Used will release new record Toxic Positivity on May 19 through Hassle Records/Big Noise.
