Music

Top 5 Punk Releases: September

by Sam Sutherland

Each month, tons of new music from many taste-spanning genres is released into a fast-consuming, unforgiving audience; it can be tough to get a handle on what’s new before it’s on to the next. In an attempt to highlight the standout releases, at the end of each month, AUX staff re-cap the month in Punk, Metal, Indie/Pop/Rock, Hip Hop, Pop, and Dance with the top five releases in each. Consider it your cheat sheet for year-end lists.

Top 5 Punk Releases:
September

 

Samiam – Trips

Samiam are the best at what they do. Having been active in one form or another since 1988, they have perfected the art of melancholy pop-punk, the kind life-affirming, soaring songs that avoid the goofy narcissism of many of the bands that followed them. The gap between 2000’s Astray and 2006’s Whatever’s Got You Down made the wait for Trips a comparative breeze, but even without a full six years of built up expectations, it’s a record that manages to build on and exceed the band’s prior high water marks. There is still an earnest fire churning inside every one of these songs.

Polar Bear Club – Clash Battle Guilt Pride

Whatever criticisms were leveled at promising post-hardcore upstarts Polar Bear Club following the release of their occasionally uneven sophomore full-length Chasing Hamburg are ready to be silenced with this latest collection of bruising anthems. It feels like the band has returned to the core of what made their first EP such a successful and surprising release, opening up their songs to big gang vocals and the promise of a seriously massive sing-along when they roll back into your town.

This is a Standoff – Be Delighted

This is a Standoff continue to be our nation’s most reliable source for brainy, technical skate-punk with this five-song offering. Mining the same territory as Be Excited and Be Disappointed, their two previous full-length offerings, this EP manages to provide some the strongest hooks of the band’s career, finding a stronger balance than they’ve ever had between guitar parts that impress your brain and memorable melodies that impress your heart, or wherever you metaphorically hear stuff like that.

Bridge & Tunnel – Rebuilding Year

In the three years since Bridge & Tunnel last released a full-length, a lot has changed, both in the makeup of the band and the political landscape of the country they sing about. Hailing from Brooklyn but with an eye towards American culture as a whole, the band has always taken big ideas and brought them down to an intimate, relatable level. But with this record, they manage to craft their most direct and personal songs yet, hitting close to home lyrically, and stripping down their traditional wall of guitar effects to produce a lean musical package that matches the honesty of the songs contained here.

Nothington – Borrowed Time

If you read or post on Punknew.org, you either already love this record, or you’re about to. Nothington play note-perfect orgcore with few frills, and if they’re not reinventing the wheel, there’s something to be said for doing something really, really well. There’s big-ass “whoas” all over the place, songs to get psyched to sing at the Fest, and generally catchy songs that are just mean enough that you can still act tough, even though all orgcore is basically just pop music with too many cigarettes.

Surprises, disappointments and albums to watch for next month

Surprise of the month: It couldn’t quite crack the top 5, but there were some shockingly great songs buried inside Blink 182‘s first full-length in a million years, Neighborhoods. Sadly, some of the album’s strongest tracks were leaked ahead of time, but that’s probably the point, and it doesn’t make them any worse within the context of the record. Sure, there’s unbelievable duds like “Love is Dangerous” and “Snake Charmer” (hey guys, “Got the Life” called, it wants that riff back), but if you grew up with Blink as your gateway into more serious-minded punk material, there will always be something about the chemistry between Mark Hoppus and Tom Delonge that leaves you listening to “Ghosts on the Dance Floor” repeatedly, against your better judgment or the scorn of your peers.

Disappointments: Both the ÆGES and Amebix records are awesome, but better suited to the metal round-up.

Out in October: !ATTENTION!‘s Another Year, La Dispute‘s Wildlife, Shores‘ To Volstead, Dead to Me‘s Moscow Penny Ante, and more.