5 Seconds of Summer - Sounds Good Feels Good (Record Review)

Constantly being in the media these days with basically everything you could think of, it's hard to not notice that these four Australian guys just released their sophomore record.

5 Seconds of Summer have been in the talk of basically everybody, no matter good or bad. Getting stamped off as a boy-band early in the days due to them doing several tours with One Direction. Quite frankly, it didn't shine the best light on them for a certain amount of time, but their latest release will show you the opposite once you plug it in your headphones to give it a chance.

All of the songs sound absolutely massive and a major reason for that is probably how the whole thing got produced by big names such as John Feldmann (Goldfinger), who has previously been a huge influence on record to bands such as All Time Low and The Used.

Having the support of not only him and ATL, but also other artists such as Good Charlotte, State Champs, Fall Out Boy and many others who have voiced their approval of them has helped them to gain a certain level of appreciation among other artists. GC being also massively involved in the recording of Sounds Good Feels Good is something you can definitely hear in many parts of it all.

Generally speaking, there are a lot of different factors why those guys have evolved so much considering song writing, lyrics, stage performance and general movement in the business.

Those guys know how grand their following of young (female) fans is and instead of continuing to write about only 'girl meets boy' stories, as they did for the most part on their debut, they actually use the power they have over their crowd.

By approaching subjects such as parental divorce, mental health issues and loneliness, they show that it's okay to not be okay. Having grown up and being discovered in the new age, they know what this generation is currently going through, being part of it themselves. Gaining their first fame through YouTube and having such a widespread social media accessibility, they know what it is like to get ripped apart on the web by millions of other people from a very young age on.

We've all seen it happening before with bands like Papa Roach who addressed similar things on their debut Infest and who were unquestionably one of the bigger bands in their era. While for that generation it was mainly Nu-Metal to talk about these problems in their songs, right now, these guys are the leaders of it. And they embrace it by calling it 'The New Broken Scene', being aware of their possible influence on kids these days.

Putting the ballads aside, 5 Seconds of Summer also have a proper amount of arena anthems piled up on Sounds Good Feels Good. Especially in songs such as 'Permanent Vacation' (which sounds awfully similar to Sum-41, nobody can deny that), 'Hey Everybody', 'Safety Pin', 'Castaway' or 'San Francisco', you can hear the influences and examples they've taken from bands like Panic! At The Disco and All Time Low (and even a bit of Brand New). There's also a very intense Fall Out Boy vibe going on for the most part of the record with chants in almost every song, using all four of their voices in their favor for it, making sure to incorporate the crowds into their upcoming live performances.

Instrumentally, it's out of question that these guys have come a long way from what they used to create. There's even a guitar solo, or two, included.
To pick up on something previously stated, the songs manage to sound ridiculously massive by including a big variety of instruments which are only minimalistic-ally used though. This is foremost prominent in 'Invisible', 'San Francisco' and 'Outer Space'. Undeniably, they had a lot of helping hands, but the fact that they managed to write this kind of music despite that, at such a considerably young age is certainly an achievement to be proud of.

Personally, the thing that bugs me the most about it is the track listing. To have it start with a bunch of upbeat and motivational songs, to then fall into this depth of ballads, one after another, is quite the downer. While it still gets a little more exciting every now and then, it doesn't flow through all too well. This is no criticism of the songs itself, but the placement of them on the list. Once I gave it another listen on shuffle though, it felt a lot more natural. There might be a concept behind it all as to why they chose this exact track listing, but as for now, that is unknown and I rather make up my own.

But as it always is with music, everybody interprets it in a different way and has an own reason and meaning to find in it.

Is it pop punk now?

Not really.

It's 5 Seconds of Summer and that's really all it needs to be.

Well done.

Overall: 8/10

Favorite track(s): Jet Black Heart, Castaway

Cheerio xx

State Champs - Around The World And Back (Record Review)

Having anticipated its release ever since Secrets got released, I finally managed to give the new State Champs record a proper listen. Going in with certain expectations of the guys, I get a little lost at the fact that I hear nothing all too new in any of the tracks. But then again, it’s not like there always has to be something ‚new’ about a band whenever they come back with ‚new’ music.

Generally speaking, if you look at State Champs’ past releases, you get exactly what you can expect from these guys. But better. While ‚The Finer Things’ was an already well-rounded Pop Punk record from one of the US’ finest exports in said genre, ‚Around The World And Back’ is still an improvement to it. With a few special highlights, such as the anthem that is ‚Secrets’, the thundering (as far as you can go to describe something pop punk as thundering) chorus of ‚All You Are Is History’, the resolve to the calmer things with the title track and the perfectly chosen outro track ‚Tooth & Nail’ to finish it all up.

Personally, I can hear a lot of similarities to All Time Low strike in certain songs. Especially so in ‚Losing Myself’ and ‚All Or Nothing’. Which is not a bad thing at all though. It’s simply soaked with sources of inspiration and shows how they managed to transform and include those into their very own style.

While the lyrical content doesn’t impress me much, Derek’s voice makes up for it straight away, being one of my favorites across the genre.

Having been on tour with the likes of All Time Low and 5 Seconds of Summer in the past year, playing to huge crowds every night, these guys are gaining popularity like crazy these days. This record will only increase that matter with its ability to put you straight back to summer with its vibe, despite its autumn release and their upcoming winter tours.

Check out their next tour dates on their facebook page and make sure to roll over to one of their gigs if you got the opportunity to do so. As much as you might be impressed by them on record, get ready for their rise and their tremendous live performance.

Favorite track(s): Secrets, All You Are Is History, Around The World And Back

Overall: 7/10

Cheerio xx

Bring Me The Horizon - That's The Spirit (Record Review)

Basically, throughout the first listening of the new record, you'll be asking yourself the same questions: "Is this still BMTH?"

The answer is, yes. Well, obviously. But it's simply such a typical thing you can expect from a big part of the audience. Whenever bands release a new record that differs immensely from their previous music, people will roar up with things such as: "I want |insert band name| back! What is this?! This is not them anymore!"
Sorry to disappoint, but that is literally them. The same people making music together and releasing it to the world because they're proud of what they've created. Just think of it as a new evolution. Think of them as Pokémon. Go from Magikarp to Gyarados, it's not like you expected that dull little orange fish to turn into this huge monster, did yah? (this is not a direct reference ... obviously they weren't dull before) Or ... go for Eevee. Depending on what stone you give it, you'll get a completely new development.

Anyway, this certainly is a whole new chapter musically for these British guys and it's gonna raise a lot of controversy in their fanbase, that's for sure.

Considering their song releases previous to the record, you could already shape the whole thing in your head pretty well. It's exactly what you expected, probably, if you followed them up to this release. A lot of songs have the same vibe and it certainly got a good ounce more pop. Pretty sure that Happy Song is their heaviest track on the album.

Is it weird? Surely.
Is it bad? Not at all.

Of course, not everybody will be into their new style, but to dismiss it because they took a different turn would be a foolish thing to do.

Personally, I do like the path into the pop/electronica direction, but I would've liked it a little more driven and pumped. The strongest aspect of That's The Spirit, to me, are the lyrics. While it's instrumentally new and fresh for them, there's not much that stands out in particular. But, e.g., Throne is such a strong and powerful song, despite its relatively redundant music. Yeah, yeah, we all got it now, we knot it. It sounds like Linkin Park. It's still a rad song.

Catch the guys on tour later this year, together with PVRIS and Neck Deep (UK only), and Beartooth (Europe only). If you miss this phenomenal line up, then ... well ... you're missing out big time.

Check their site for more info and ticket links.

Overall: 7/10

Favorite track(s): Happy Song, Blasphemy

Cheerio xx

Five Finger Death Punch - Got Your Six (Record Review)

Starting off with some extra info: Got Your Six is Five Finger's fifth (or sixth, if you count the latest releases as two individuals) record within just 8 years! You would think that, considering the time period and the amount of material they've put out that it'd feel like a burn out rather soon. But Five Finger found their own sound and path rather soon in their career and they continously grow bigger with every record. 

Got Your Six instantly reassures you of the band you're listening to with the first sound. There is no doubt that Five Finger are back yet again. It's nothing but pure hard rock, a quality one at that.
The previously released Jekyll & Hyde had already given a little bit of insight as to how the rest of the record might turn out, but as you listen to the title track, you know exactly what you're in for.
Every Five Finger fan knows the band's groove and sound and these guys deliver with each riff and rhythm they create.
While it's generally the same drift as always thoughout the whole thing, there are definitely a few special highlights. Such as Wash It All Away, during which you can hear and feel singer Ivan Moody just throw a huge ''fuck you'' out for the media and people who drag him through the dirt in the press, amongst others. Or Hell To Pay, which has a definite huge crowd moving riff from the very beginning and gets you instantly stoked to experience this monster of an album live. A personal favorite is This Is My War. That song will sound absolutely phenomenal in arenas, so I'm really hoping it'll make it onto their future setlist for their upcoming European / UK Tour.

All around, it could use the loss of a song or two, but, none the less, Five Finger delivered a splendid record once more. It's heavy. It's got the usual groove. It will make you want to tear down walls. It will certainly make you move.

Check their website for all their upcoming tour dates and make sure to check those guys out live, because, trust me, as big as they sound on record ... live, they will blow you away. 

Overall: 9/10
Favorite track(s): Hell To Pay, This Is My War

Cheerio xx

Halsey - Badlands (Record Review)

I haven’t been too big of a fan of anything Halsey has done so far, so I was rather interested to check out Badlands considering the praise she gets online these days. To my own surprise, Castle is quite intruding to me and certainly already starts to drown everything I first thought of her.
While I really do enjoy her voice, I’m not too sure as to how much I dig the music behind it all. Her lyrics seem very thought through and creative with a wide vocabulary, yet the first three tracks sound very similar to each other, e.g.

She knows exactly what she wants to bring across and say with her songs, but I’m still not over the fact as to how ... not different it all sounds. Surely, she has her own sound and you can easily tell her apart from other artists, but the record in itself is not setting itself above anything. Colors is a piece that finally gets a bit over the rest of it and manages to at least keep me interested enough to not stop at this point but actually finish the record properly. Luckily enough, Coming Down keeps sparking interest and shows that Halsey doesn’t necessarily stick to the same vibes over and over again, despite what the first songs implied (maybe just unhappy placement). The further the record proceeds the happier I am that I kept on listening cause some proper gems show up out of the dark, such as Haunting with its endearing rhythm yet calming aura.

Towards the end though, the hopes that got built up, all drop down again as the last couple of songs don’t impress much once more.

While I get how Halsey speaks to a lot of people, girls in particular, of the younger generation, I don’t feel that Badlands is as much of a huge differential record as it gets praised for (at least from what I've seen on the web). Without trying to bash her, I'm just not sure if I simply have very high expectations and easily get bored, or if it isn’t for me in general. None the less, I do appreciate her persona and what she stands for, plus I do enjoy a few of her songs and will probably continue to check out anything she releases in the future. But this record won't be in my Top Album countdown of 2015.

Overall: 6/10

Favorite track(s): Castle, Colors, Haunting

Cheerio xx

Ghost - Meliora (Record Review)

If anybody had any doubt that Ghost might not deliver with this record, they instantly get proven wrong as soon as Spirit starts. It’s an absolute fabulous intro to the record and instantly sets the familiar mood that both past records have had already. From The Pinnacle To The Pit was a bit of an unsure candidate to me, but it grows on you the more you listen to it. Cirice on the other hand had me enchanted within the first couple of seconds as soon as it got released. Same case happened once more with He Is, the first few sounds already pull you into their spell and the love for Meliora keeps growing bigger the further through the record you get.
For some reason though, there is a real hype happening around Mummy Dust which I don’t really get. While it is musically / instrumentally pleasing, Papa’s parts seem to be lacking some special spark.  
Apart from that little downfall, the rest of the record just keeps increasing with quality again. If you jump into it thinking that Spirit is amazing, your expectations will only rise with each track. Though two (short) completely instrumental tracks don’t seem to properly fit in and look like more of a filler than anything else, they’re still puzzle pieces to the record as a whole.
The last two tracks, Absolution and Deus In Absentia, are definitely in my personal top songs and I cannot wait to experience these in a live seance at their show in December.

All in all, with Spirit and Deus In Absentia being perfectly chosen in- and outros, it is simply a very well composed record that you will not get bored of, even if you let it run through on a loop (which it does for me currently).

Check their site for upcoming dates near you and make sure to get your bums out to one of their gigs because seeing this group live is a whole different, and special, experience on its own.

Overall: 9/10

Favorite track(s): He Is, Cirice, Absolution, Deus In Absentia

Cheerio xx

Stray From The Path - Subliminal Criminals (Record Review)

The first song already throws you straight into the right line of good old Stray material again. With its siren-ish guitars every now and then, it really gets you going on one hand, though it sadly feels boring after about halfway through the song. Despite that though, Outbreak pushes you back into the rails to keep going and keep on focusing.
Every song is drenched with powerful lyrics, as we know it from those guys. The collaboration with Architects’ Sam Carter is a special little treat here, unlike the rather unfitting addition of Rou Reynolds (which is just my personal opinion though, seeing as I’m not a fan of his voice nor of anything he has done with Shikari). During Shots Fired I realize once more that I’m simply not the type of person to listen to a Stray record and not get bored of it after some time. D.I.E.P.I.G. finally mixes things up a little more and pushes the bar up a bit further again. What follows isn’t outstanding once more, but Snap is a definite favorite instantly and seemed like a perfect ending to the record to me. Which is why I was rather bewildered by the fact that These Things Have To Fall Apart started instead of silence, not having read the track list thoroughly enough before apparently.


Subliminal Criminals definitely has its very high and very low points, but, as mentioned, neither of the previous records had me focused and interested all the way through, so it’s no surprise that it went the same way once more with this one.

Nevertheless, fans of Stray should be stoked with this new release by these guys from Long Island, they certainly delivered to their regular audience.
Critical, heavy, strong and groove-drenched.

Overall: 6,5/10
Favorite track(s): D.I.E.P.I.G., Snap


Cheerio xx