Albums:
Too Close To Touch – Nerve Endings ( For Fans of: Sleeping With Sirens, Silverstein, & Alive Like Me)
Too Close To Touch release their debut album Nerve Endings via Epitaph Records. However this band sounds like it could belong in ranks of the Rise or Fearless Records bands. Combining Emo with Post-Hardcore like many bands before them (Silverstein, Hawthorne Heights, Sleeping With Sirens, Pierce The Veil, etc.). So if you’re into a mixture of screaming with singing and heavy guitar breakdowns with melodic guitar riffs/keyboards then this may be up your alley. Also has guest features from Kellen Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens and Telle Smith of The Word Alive.
Hit The Lights – Summer Bones (For Fans of: The Dangerous Summer, Sparks The Rescue, & Four Year Strong.)
This band brings more of an edge to the Pure Noise Records roster and to the Pop-Punk world . The songs are written like most pop-punk tunes, but the guitars will say otherwise. Summer Bones keeps itself light and bouncy but has plenty of grit that it would attract fans of heavier music as well.
Big Data – 2.0 (For Fans of Joywave, Bear Hands, & Atlas Genius)
If you’re familiar with their hit song “Dangerous” then you will be very pleased with what Big Data has to offer on the rest of their album. 2.0 is chalk full of electro-pop/dance club vibes that will keep you bouncing and grooving throughout the rest of the day. The album’s major theme is about distrust of social media, the internet, NSA, and the information age we live in.
Smallpools – LOVETAP! (For Fans of: Passion Pit, The Naked & Famous, and The Killers)
Speaking of electro-pop, you better keep your eyes on this new band, Smallpools. This band is gonna be making some big waves real soon. This album is full of sugary-sweet dance/pop hooks that will be stuck in your head all day long.
Singles:
Muse – Dead Inside
The Second single off of the upcoming Muse album, Drones (June 2015). The first single, Psycho, was focused more of the guitar while Dead Inside gives more of a new-wave dance vibe, throwing it back to sounds of Supermassive Black Hole and keeping some influences from their previous effort, 2nd Law.
Brandon Flowers – Can’t Deny My Love
Yes, the frontman of The Killers, Brandon Flowers is set to release another solo album titled The Desired Effect (May 18, 2015). This song may make you reminisce of Day & Age era The Killers, full of 80s pop grooves, sugary synth, and cool bass grooves.
Florence + The Machine – St. Jude
From the band’s third studio album, How Big How Blue How Beautiful (Summer 2015). This song is a slow burner, but is a beautiful tune full of atmosphere.
All Time Low – Runaways
All Time Low releases yet another song off their new album, Future Hearts (April 7th). Out of the three songs they have already released (Something’s Gotta Give & Kids In The Dark) this has the most pop of them all. The track escapes the realm of pop-punk and dwells in the land of pop/pop-rock. The band even experiments with synth and other atmospheric elements, giving it more of a Killers-esque feeling. Whether or not this is a good thing, is up to you.
Local Releases:
GiG – The Flowmance EP
Rapper Shaun Bussard (Stage name – GiG) of Better Taste Bureau released his first solo effort The Flowmance EP. Produced by Mason Brewer, also of Better Taste Bureau. These four songs are full of clever word play (Sick Day and Doctrine hold some of GiG’s best lines) and a lot of the same atmospheric/post-rock beats you would hear from some of BTB’s songs. Flowmance has never sounded so good.
Panthermilk – Totem EP
Logan’s own Benton Wood just released his newest EP via his new psychedelic pop-rock band, Panthermilk. This EP just oozes of soul and positive laid-back vibes. You can expect upbeat psych-rock licks(Slychology, Bonneville) and smooth/dreamy beach tunes (Golden Hills, Sun Lakes) all layered into this release. These songs could very well be the soundtrack to your summer this year.
Kemp. – Empty EP
Brimming with talent and potential, Andrew Kemp re released his 2014 EP, Empty, on Spotify and Itunes. Empty is full of west-coast rap vibes and very passionate lyrics. Even Kemp himself is from Rexburg, you’ll be seeing more of in the SLC area. And for us Utahns, that’s a very good thing.
Videos:
Hands Like Houses – I Am
Matty Mullins – Glory
Teenage Bottlerocket – They Call Me Steve
J.Cole – G.O.M.D.
