Massachusetts pop punk act Motionyear have just dropped their latest single, “Disarray”. The song discusses topics such as coming of age, questioning ones own future, and nostalgia for your teenage years.
Produced by fellow Bay Stater, Alan Day (of Four Year Strong), the song packs a punch with carefully crafted harmonies and vocal doubling riding on top of chunky guitars and a driving beat.
Take a listen now!
Orange County hard-rock quartet Against The Sun have done it again. Fresh on the heels of their recent single, “Chelsea Said”, the band have dropped “Back To Ruin”.
The track blends influences from hard rock and metalcore, as well as something a little different – woahs that seem cut right out of an AFI song.
Ultimately, it makes for an energetic and refreshing new take on hard rock. Take a listen now, and be sure to follow the band so you don’t miss their next track!
We’ve shared Connecticut-based heartland punks American Thrills a few times in the past, and the band keeps dropping great songs.
This time around, we’ve got “Blue Collar” which is off of a 4-way split EP that’s out today – you can get the split from your label of choice (each label has a unique disc).
“Blue Collar” highlights the classic punk style I’ve come to love, reminding me of bands like Dropkick Murphys – sans bagpipes – The Menzingers, etc. so if you’re a fan of those bands, be sure to give American Thrills a listen!
Find American Thrills on: their website | Instagram | Facebook
Nashville artist Townsend drops some real topics on us with his new track “Prisoner.” The song is a vocalization of songwriter John Townsend’s anxiety and entrapment inside his own head.
Despite it being on the less-heavy side of what I would post about, the track carries a lot of weight in content. Primarily acoustic guitar focused, with incorporated elements of electronic and rock music, the song has a nice mix of feeling. The combination of acoustic and distorted electric guitar is a difficult balance to achieve smoothly, and this song does it! The drums are also a nice touch moving from a less to more involved progression from the slower to higher intensity sections. The song really picks up on the latter half with some nice electric guitar tone.
Give a listen to Townsend’s new track and feel the acoustic and electric blend!
Find Townsend on: Facebook | Instagram | Soundcloud
Seriously, you can follow socal natives Against The Sun by clicking the links under the video embed… No searching needed, so just do it!
When you think of Orange County and Socal as a whole, you probably think of pop punk, skate punk, etc… But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a scene for heavier music. Metalcore band Against The Sun recently released their newest track, “Search To Find”, which is filled with massive riffs, breakdowns, and all the aggression you’d expect from metalcore – combined with a poppy socal influence.
If your musical interests toe the line between metalcore and slightly poppier sounds, you’ll love Against The Sun – listen now!
Find Against The Sun on: Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube
Nu metal band Ovtlier from New York, give us a taste of invincibility with their track “Bulletproof.”
The track starts out with a spidery guitar progression of impending doom. That’s enough said right there right? You’re probably skipping right down to the bottom to check it out! The piece doesn’t just contain tension building guitar lines though. Ovtlier has included included elements of nu metal, hard rock, and classic heavy metal with soaring chorus lines, big drums, and even a solo guitar section. With a smooth blend of all characteristics of metal music, you’re not going to want to sleep on this track!
Take a listen to this one and catch our dudes on their US tour over the next month!
New Hampshire metalcore band In Shallows, drop their powerful new track “Phantom Grace.”
The track starts off bringing in a tsunami of sound with pounding drums and and heavy guitar. The brutality is offset by wide synth progressions in the background giving the song a nice balance. With effective use of breaks and transitions throughout the structure of the song, it’ll leave you waiting for that heavy wall of sound to return!
If you are a fan of heavy tracks that would get you stomping around on the venue floor, give this one a listen!
Mothé is not like the other artists we share on RMP. Taking a break from pop punk, ska, and similar genres, “Dancing On An Empty Floor” caught my ear.
The track carefully blends pop production elements with gritty rock guitars and punchy drums resulting in an indie rock journey that wouldn’t sound out of place in a hit TV show or movie.
The bridge gets interesting with a much more electronic and synth based approach, and interestingly the song ends with a mellow, subtle outro that breaks the monotonous verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus/chorus mould. Overall, the track is quite enjoyable and I’m looking forward to hearing more.
Keep an eye out for Mothé’s upcoming debut album, I Don’t Want You to Worry Anymore, coming soon!
Written before COVID changed the world, “Puppies” is Compass & Cavern’s commentary on being an introvert in an extrovert’s world. Paying homage to Canadian act PUP, the song utilizes interesting rhythms to break the mould of the standard 4/4 song and give the listener a unique experience.
Though the song reminds me quite a bit of PUP, I also find that the band brought in their own unique twist on the sound, so it’s a refreshing and original sounding take – rather than a carbon copy.
As you’re listening, don’t forget to smile back… Because what monster doesn’t smile at the sight (or sound) of a puppy, right?
You can find Compass & Cavern on: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Fake a Home from Phoenix Arizona bring a new track under the genre of what they call “post-pop punk.”
You can really hear the differences from standard pop punk in this song with the diverse structure and the aggression in the lyrical content as well as the breakdown section. The song brings you through a fast paced personal story of manipulation that hints at an underlying aura of anger.
Be sure to listen to the whole track and catch the pounding wall of sound and emotion in the breakdown and outro section!
You can find Fake a Home on: Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp