grandson ''A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1'' (2018)

Since I've been getting into the groove of writing these album reviews it's about time to tackle one of my all time favourite artists, grandson. I discovered this EP not too long after it's release and since then I must've played it hundreds of times. With startling aggression and frustration pointed at the continuous recklessness and corruption in the many systems that guide how society in America works grandson delivers some shocking and electrifying lines. This EP was grandsons first uniform experience with writing music, he's brought out multiple singles in the form of Bills, Bury Me Face Down, Kiss Bang.. Etc. 

Ditching some but not all of the powerful Alt Rock sound he's created in the singles before the release of A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1 grandson embraces some Trap music, something I haven't been super fond of, grandson does it just right though. Shill cries, wondrous attitude, dark metaphors and massive hooks combined with unique drops, grandson and his guitarist and drummer do it all. grandson is one of those artists who isn't afraid to talk and sing about all the horrifying reality going on in the world which is something I adore, with tracks like Blood // Water which talk about all the political corruption in America, or Stick Up which screams at the gun violence going on. Despicable is a track which grandson himself has described as ''a ballad of self loathing'', a daunting track with gentle guitar crashing into a huge drop later on in the song, again utilising grandsons vocal chords. 6:00 a haunting track with explosive guitar taking the front spot, heavy riffs droning on as grandson tears himself up over police brutality, a song released in 2018 mainly focused around unjust killing of civilians. And last but not least we have Overdose, a track that ties the entire EP together with grandsons ghastly vibe, powerful messages and drops like dynamite. 

This Ep is a perfect showing of what grandson is about, from singing and making music about what needs to be said to a lot of personal frustration making this sound possible, grandson really knows how to capture a vibe. The aggression is something that fascinated me a lot when listening to this the first time, it told me to be weary, that this isn't just music created to become mainstream, it's reality. All in all this first EP was a great opening to show everyone what's to come in the future.

9/10

 PUP ''Morbid Stuff'' (2019)

Pup is a band I've found about a year ago now, with their explosive sound, earnest screams, and lyrics I could do nothing but love them, with their objectively amazing debut album ''PUP'' and the slightly more experimental and lacklustre ''The Dream Is Over'' I was interested what the next album would hold for me but I was pleasantly surprised to hear more of the same quirks that this band made their own. With heavy and angsty themes such as anxiety, depression and death and the Punk Rock sound this record holds was driven home further.

Utilising songs like ''Closure'' and ''See You At Your Funeral'' PUP addresses that having things left unsaid and that unhappy endings are always an inevitable part of life, along with other valuable life lessons, something the band felt necessary to do seeing they've gone through a few changes since their first album, mainly in numbers. 

With this record PUP refuses to be held back by the Pop Punk label often held against them, embracing pop-tinged melodies on ''See You At Your Funeral'' or going for the whole campfire sing-alongs on the start of ''Scorpion Hill'' and let's not forget to mention the incredible ''Full Blown Meltdown'' which tip toes the lines of Metal with their sludgy, heavy guitar and drums, this record does it all without shame. That's one of the many things to love about this album, frontman Stefan Babcock wasn't afraid to write about his struggle with mental health. Depression and anxiety isn't something to glorify and PUP talks about it the way they do best, through dark tones and tunes that go straight for the jugular.

The guitars are something to embrace from this 4 man band, even if lyrics get a little dull the guitar stays energetic and interesting throughout. PUP has had a knack for memorable riffs and small licks since their debut, on this record they've done it tighter, darker and better resulting in the catchy song ''Kids'' or like mentioned above the sludgy and heavy ''Full Blown Meltdown'', one of my personal favourites on this album. ''City'' also has a different tone for the majority of the song, slow drums and playful guitar strums over sad vocal tones only for the song to start building up around the 2 minute mark and crash into spastic breakdowns near the end. 

8/10

Three Days Grace ''Human'' (2015)

With it's heavy Post Grunge guitar, drums blasting and gritty screams this record hit me back in 2019, discovering it shortly after falling in love with Starset's Transmissions, It felt a bit bare, missing all the electronic quirks that made Transmissions so special yet the energy and magic Human put on me wasn't anything short of what I'd gotten used to from Starset. 

Human hit me straight on with it's Post Grunge, Hard Rock aesthetics, utilising their heavy electric guitar, driving bass, crisp and carrying drums in amazing ways in the form of big crashes and fast riffs, the vocals are nothing to scoff at either, with gritty and raspy voices they produce some amazing and powerful screams that drive home their aggressive sound even further.

This record also knows how to give breaks, with a song like Car Crash we get to experience some more focus on the edgy lyrics I've grown to love from bands like these, they keep simple pickings on the guitar and give the drums a softer feel, the repeated kick drums almost feeling like heartbeats before jumping back into their heavy sound we've heard in all the songs before Car Crash further pushing the lyrics.

At 40 minutes in length this album manages to convey it's darker lyrics and tones perfectly, in 12 songs we touch on loads of topics like humanity, addiction, death and more, all heavy yet hopeful, this record is strangely motivating with it's powerful and meaningful singing. 

I can always come back to this band and more specifically this record, it's one that has grown with me over time, it's high energy always managing to keep my spirits and mood up.

7/10

Death From Above 1979 ''Outrage! IS Now'' (2017) 

On my first listens I quickly fell in love with individual songs by this band, their Dance Punk and Noise Rock feel, their gritty synths, screams and incredible noise produced from Jesse F. Keeler's bass guitar rig consisting of lots pedals and crazy tunings.

As an album Outrage! Is Now lacks some cohesiveness, but their almost DIY Dance Punk aesthetic makes it easy to groove along with these songs and their heavy riffs, aggressive drums and earnest screams. Yet some of these songs are really lacking in vital parts, the record starts of strong with the tracks Nomad and Freeze Me but until All I C Is U & Me I lose the magic those first songs give me, the pacing of these other tracks feels off, giving more attention to synths when this band's focus should be their unique and powerful sound, they just fall short.

The main thing most of these songs are missing is the continuous energy we get in the songs I listed above, Nomad, Freeze Me and All I C Is U & Me, they let their sounds drone through with drums adding some spice to form a nice sound that works along side the vocals to create a powerful combination. In a lot of the other songs like Never Swim Alone, Statues, NVR 4EVR and Holy Books, the strumming of the key component, the bass guitar noise machine is very repetitive with the vocals laid on top of it or riffs that don't integrate well with the vocals due to their energy being so mismatched.

Their sound has gone through a few changes throughout their start in 2001 - 2006 break up and get together in 2011 until now, and yet they don't stray too far from their Dance Punk and Hard Rock roots, in comparison to their 3 albums created before Outrage! Is Now they've become heavier and slower, ditching some of the instrumental quirks and generally refining their sound, a good change in my eyes.

All in all I don't have too much to say about this record but it's one I've wanted to think about and write about anyways, a few great individual songs you can really rock out to, but as an album it lacks some of the magic that I've grown so used to hearing.

6/10