This record took me back to my childhood days when I would borrow punk and rock CDs and music video VHS tapes from our Youth Pastor. There is a heavy grunge sound present; at times, it’s reminiscent of classic Audio Adrenaline and Switchfoot tracks, even more so their secular contemporaries. The standout track on this release is “Y,” soon ripping into the first verse with a powerful guitar and vocal line. Closing the album we have a haunting duo; “Follow Me Anyway,” a slower almost-ballad of a song featuring female backing vocals, followed by the albums closer, “Zombieland,” a faster homage to hardcore punks (think about the essence of Hermosa Beach bands like Black Flag maintaining the grunge sound). Be aware, though. Some songs are lyrically edgy like, “Watch What You Wish For.” It may be a throwback sound, but they’ll need another album to mature before they’re considered a credible force.
Features
The Space for Rebirth
On Age of the Abstract's new EP, 'Rebirth,' the duo explores what a new sound looks like apart from the day-job in Canidria. Here, contributing writer Andrew Voigt talks with Julio Arias about influence, vision, and how writing in the wake of his father's death propelled the band forward.
Full Feature More from Age of the Abstract
The Top 25 Albums of 2020
When the going gets tough, artists create art. Despite a world reckoning outside our quarantined doors, musicians relentlessly created new music giving birth to genre-defining releases and, despite a year spent indoors, a marked 2020 full of passion and fervor. Here are our Top 25 albums of 2020.
Full Feature More from HM Magazine
Changing Focus
When Weathered wrote their debut album, 'Stranger Here,' it was an introspective take on life as they knew it. The appropriate way to follow it up? Turn the mirror around and tell the stories of those around you.
Full Feature More from Weathered
Droning On
The world came to a halt in 2020, but London-based Drones trudged on, giving a voice to the hurt that circulates with (or without) a pandemic: "You shouldn’t underestimate the power of writing things down or literally speaking them out loud, which I’m learning. I’m glad I made these songs, no matter how personal they are."
Full Feature More from Drones
