St Louis punks Fight Back Mountain share “Sticker Book”. This new song is the final single released in anticipation of their Death And The Miser album (out Feb 13th). “Sticker Book” is perhaps the album’s most reflective and affecting outing; lyricist/guitarist Anjelica Aquilino describes the song’s inspiration, saying “I was thinking of my grandma who died of an eating disorder decades before I was born. It instilled a very deep specific feeling when I first heard that story. The song evolved to represent our moments of melancholy that stop us and invoke an undefinable yet specific emotion.”
“Sticker Book” stands in striking contrast to the most-recent Fight Back Mountain release “No Recourse”. While the latter placed the band’s hardcore influences up front on a raging dispatch against a world going to rot, “Sticker Book” slows the pace and incorporates 90s alt rock influences on a slow burner that steadily drives the emotions home.
Death And The Miser is the third full-length outing from Fight Back Mountain. Vinyl and digital preorders are now available, here. Across twelve cuts, the album lays out a testament to modern life in flyover country and the dawning realization that everything you were told growing up is no longer true. The first hint of the Death And The Miser arrived in November 2024 with the release of the stormy ripper “Trouble & Havoc”.
This new album is the result of the band’s latest sessions with longtime producer Gabe Usery at Encapsulated Studios. Usery previously helmed the band’s releases Times Beach (2019), Lavender Sky (2021), and the Backslider EP (2023). As always, the Fight Back Mountain lineup is comprised of vocalist/guitarist Adrian Barnello, lyricist/guitarist Anjelica Aquilino, bassist Andy Kohnen and drummer Devin Dessieux.
No need to front: You are completely forgiven if you are unaware of these Eugene, Oregon, skate-punk hellions. Starting in 1996, Cigar—vocalist/guitarist Rami Krayem, drummer Jon Sortland and then-bassist Jason Torbert—could’ve been a major contender in 21st century punk. Pennywise’s Fletcher Dragge was taken by the trio’s love of melody and straight-up acceleration, which led to the band aligning themselves with SoCal label Theologian Records for their Dragge-produced debut album, 1999’s Speed Is Relative. For the next six years, Cigar (who were named after the winning racehorse in the 1995 Breeders Cup Classic) lived the punk life by relocating to San Diego, appearing on some skate-punk compilations and videos while waiting for their lane to open. And during that time, the members’ lives began to change, from creating families to exploring other musical interests.
But here in 2022, with Sortland having acquired a playing resume that includes the Shins, Broken Bells and EV Kain, and Jonathan Hischke assuming the bass slot, Cigar were ready for reignition, writing songs and playing gigs in Europe before the pandemic hit.
“It wasn’t that I ever got tired of doing Cigar,” Sortland reflects. “I just don’t think that all three of us had a unified vision. We weren’t all going the same direction. When we came back to it more recently, we realized that it was just too much commitment to do this next level. And then Jason realized he just wasn’t capable of committing on the level that Rami and I could. Once he stepped down and we brought in Hischke, a lot fell into place. It turned out that Rami and I were willing to do a lot more than we were doing before. So I feel like we’re more unified now because we all have the same trajectory and vision for it.”
“Life gets in the way of trying to live up to… I guess I’d call them childhood dreams,” Krayem says, “but that’s not to discredit the value of those dreams and goals. Because to me, as a 49-year-old, it’s still the same dream for me. So age doesn’t really have as much to do with it, as much as the commitment to the passion. It’s not about chasing trends, like, ‘Okay, now this type of music is hot, so I’m going to jump over here.’ It’s more like ‘This is who I am as a musician and a songwriter.’ It was a long, long process to build [the album], but it’s more about our commitment to the passion that drove us from the very start.”
Indeed, the 10 tracks on The Visitor easily shatter preconceived notions of young listeners and long-in-the-tooth poonks, alike. The album’s opening salvo, “These Chances,” fires right out of the gate with Krayem’s strident vocal and Sortland’s amphetamine drumming powering the proceedings. Headbangers can find joy in the brisk riffing of “In Armor” and “Move On.” The duo are also quick to acknowledge the contributions of Hishke, who plays in EV Kain with Sortland and had a stint in post-everything math-rock masters Hella. (“He’s a prog nerd who’s really bringing in some gnarly stuff,” Sortland enthuses. “He honors and respects the style that Jason set up for us originally while embellishing and making it more his own.”) The Visitor doesn’t let up on velocity or honesty: No detours in the form of four-minute acoustic love songs, trite hip-hop beats or other sonic concessions. Cigar are skate-punk personified, with a well-tuned engine and the knowledge that in punk, only you determine your glory days.
But while the men of Cigar do sound like a flashing chrome time machine, the intention is different. While a lot of contemporary punks might sing through their adenoids about how their girlfriends hate them, Cigar bring a worldview that can only be acquired by being on Earth longer than the entire run of the Warped Tour. On The Visitor, the trio ponder the line where angst becomes neurosis, with a pedal-to-the-metal efficiency that appeals across generations of music fans. Cigar’s derailed search for glory is detailed in “We Used To” in a way that’s more factual than regrettable. When Rami sings, “Please just leave my records by the door,” at the beginning of “Forget About Me,” that’s a universal punk emotion, right there. And the closing track, “Knocked Down,” is the kind of self-help anthem punks need in an era where so many people should get a trophy for merely staying alive.
“Some of it is intuitive,” Krayem offers. “But then there’s also the element of intentionally pushing myself as a lyric writer and ourselves as songwriters. Jon and I collaborated on some of the lyrics which we had not done on the first album, so we were flexing new muscles. But in terms of the themes, there’s definitely the beginning of a relationship and growth in those relationships—including growing apart. I think that there were certain sentiments that eventually came full circle after the album was completed. It was almost like I was talking to myself about what was going to come, even though I didn’t know what was coming.”
Sure, the combined forces of real life, managed expectations and youthful pessimism may have stopped Cigar from their fair share of media coverage, ancillary stages at Warped, and tats on dedicated fans’ bodies. But the kinetic energy coming off The Visitor goes far to reconcile nostalgia and value systems. The fact that it took 22 years to get to this point? That makes Cigar all the more resonant.
“We can hang out and talk or whatever, but we have this thing between us,” Sortland says. “This fast, skate-rock, punk-rock thing we grew up on through skating and skateboard videos. And if we’re not doing that, it’s kind of like Starsky and Hutch not jumping and sliding across cars. It’s like, ‘Why aren’t we doing that?’ That’s what we do best: driving a ‘75 Gran Torino and sliding across the hood. Now that’s what we’re supposed to be doing together.”
On Friday, September 8, Sgt Scag released the single “Everest” off of At Least More than Half-Way Dead. The music video was directed by Mike DeMatteo of Sgt. Scag. About the “Everest” music video, vocalist Steve Lonergan says, “‘Everest’ is a song for all the people who ever had to attend a company kick off meeting or industry conference. Tony Robbins, Gary Vee, Snake oil salesmen, organized religions that pass a hat. All bad. All predatory. All nonsense. Plus, ain’t New Haven pretty from up there?”
The song “Feather” is about experiencing burn out as a creator against the routine of working to pay the bills. In the music video, an artist going about his routine is followed around by members of the band who take the scraps of his crumpled thrown up artwork to have a fight with the balled up artwork like snowballs.The video is warm and fun, much like the progressive groove matched with the earnest lyrics.
The video was directed by vocalist/bassist, Kevin Silveira. “Feather” features the artwork of Melon Bobby instagram.com/melonbobby Simple Minded Symphony will be available on all streaming platforms Tuesday, August 22. Vinyl pre-orders begin today at Ska Punk International: skapunkinternational.com
The Dirty Nil, Ontario’s rock ‘n’ roll torchbearers, are emerging with their fourth album, Free Rein to Passions, and it’s a return to a more reckless approach for the JUNO Award-winning trio. In order to incinerate their apparatus, they had to destroy it completely. After experimenting with some smoother, more radio-friendly sounds on 2021’s Fuck Art, The Nil promptly returned to the studio and got back to the basics of what their band is about at its core—thrashy riffs, bashed out drums, and levels-to-the-max volume.
Set for release on May 26th, 2023 via Dine Alone Records, click here to pre-order Free Rein to Passions now.
“Fuck Art had a lot of singing on it. There were not a lot of parts where you could just jam out on riffs,” says frontman Luke Bentham. “Free Rein to Passions is a bit of a nastier record where we didn’t sweat the small insignificant details. If it sounded cool, we went with it.” The band pays homage to some of their loudest, gnarliest influences on Free Rein to Passions, with subtle nods to everything from Power Trip to the Jesus Lizard.
On the album’s catchy first single, “Nicer Guy,” The Nil reminds listeners that they also still wield the power to stitch a perfect, infectious pop hook into their rock fabric. “I’d been sitting on some of the guitar parts for a long time, husbanding them for a suitably righteous song,” Bentham explains. “In the depths of lockdown, I dusted them off and came up with the words. It was a happy day in an otherwise lonely time. Special shoutout to Kyle‘s extremely tight playing and Sam‘s stampeding elephant bass. Sincerity can feel uncomfortable, but this one feels right.”
Watch the accompanying “Nicer Guy” music video now.
New Jersey crust-ska punks Public Serpents (featuring former Choking Victim member Skwert Gunn) released their new song and video “When Pigs Lie” today. The video was shot and edited by Benjamin Clapp. Watch it below.
Berlin skate punker’s Hit The Dirt have released a lyric video for their song “<3 Social Chlamedia”. The track appeared on their Six Pack EP that was released earlier this year via High End Denim Records.
The band had this to say about the song: “<3 Social Chlamedia is a song about how our phones, social media and the modern digital world in general has taken over our lives. From the moment we wake up until the moment we go to sleep, we are mostly addicted to this crazy digital world inside of our phones.”
“[Gold Chain Punk] finds freedom in nihilism and something almost like joy in the idea that if people will try to punish you anyway, you may as well do whatever the fuck you want “- Consequence #11 of 50 Best Songs Of The Year So Far
“On their groundbreaking new album, the Philadelphia hardcore group mixes actionable rhetoric, absurdist humor, and breathtaking vulnerability like no band before them” – Pitchfork ‘Best New Music’
“It’s the album I’ve gone to over and over again to fill my soul back up when I’m depleted” – NPR
“One of the most thrillingly thrashy, brilliantly based, and convincingly punk hardcore albums in years” – SPIN
“Hardcore can sometimes be a formulaic thing, and it can also be an oppressively white thing, but Soul Glo push back hard against the idea that it has to be either”- Stereogum
“It’s the most breath-snatchingly thrilling and brain-nourishingly on-point hardcore album not just of 2022, but also in recent memory” – Revolver
Soul Glo has had a whirlwind year so far with no plans of coming up for air. Hot on the heels of their freshly released album ‘Diaspora Problems’, today they share the music video for opening track “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass?).” The scathing circle-pit ready song “finds freedom in nihilism,” via Consequence 50 Best Songs Of The Year roundup. “Something like joy in the idea that if people will try to punish you, you may as well do whatever the fuck you want.”
The experimental group is known for their inventive fusion of genres and while the evolution of their sound is inimitable, small-minded music fans desperately want to put them in a box. The music video satirizes the frustrations of being lumped together with other bands and artists due to the color of their skin when individually, they hold it down on their own. Vocalist Pierce Jordan, one of AV Club’s ‘20 Best Frontpeople In Modern Rock,’ explains,
“If you’re a Black person who is into any kind of hard rock, you’ve probably had a white person try to talk to you about Bad Brains. We are constantly compared to them. Apparently, I even look like HR. Can I fuckin live?”
Conceptualized over the course of 2016 to 2021, Diaspora Problems was recorded in an unfinished warehouse and the band’s practice space during the hottest parts of summer 2021. The self-produced albumexplores an artist and individuals’ self-doubt and self-hate, past traumas that can only be worked out in adulthood, financial instability and how it affects an artist, the effects of institutional and state violence, and the power of community that delivered Soul Glo through each struggle the band has endured from their inception and beyond.
‘Diaspora Problems’ has been noted in almost every major music publication, from a coveted 8.5 from Pitchfork to the mid-year “Best Of” lists in Stereogum, Consequence, Pitchfork, Revolver, and NPR. Celebratedamongst established peers of all genres, Soul Glo has cemented themselves as an anomaly in the hardcore genre. The timeliness and significance that the album holds in the world of music has the makings of AOTY written all over it.
Soul Glo is going on tour for the rest of the summer with Show Me The Body, kicking off in NYC and ending in Louisville, KY while playing some one-off shows along the way. On August 26th they’re opening for Turnstile and My Chemical Romance, and then heading off to sets at Furnace Fest and Desert Daze. You can find tickets here: https://bnds.us/jkpc2o
Soul Glo Tour Dates
Sun-Jul 10 Queens, NY Knockdown Center (The Ruins) *
Tue-Jul 12 Columbus, OH Rumba Café *^
Wed-Jul 13 Kansas City, MO recordBar *^
Thu-Jul 14 Colorado Springs, CO The Black Sheep *^
Sat-Jul 16 Los Angeles, CA CORPUS Presents: LA IN BROAD DAYLIGHT
Sun-Jul 17 Tijuana, BC Black Box
Mon-Jul 18 San Fernando, CA The Midnight Hour Records
Tue-Jul 19 Los Angeles, CA Zebulon
Wed-Jul 20 Phoenix, AZ Valley Bar *^
Fri-Jul 22 Dallas, TX CheapSteaks *^
Sat-Jul 23 Austin, TX Sunny’s Backyard *^
Sun-Jul 24 Houston, TX The End *^
Mon-Jul 25 Oklahoma City, OK 89th Street
Tue-Jul 26 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad *^
Wed-Jul 27 Tucson, AZ Club Congress *^
Thu-Jul 28 Bakersfield, CA Temblor Brew *^
Fri-Jul 29 Oakland, CA Starline Social Club *^
Sat-Jul 30 Santa Cruz, CA Santa Cruz Vets Hall
Mon-Aug 1 Reno, NV Holland Project *^
Wed-Aug 3 Seattle, WA Madame Lou’s *^
Thu-Aug 4 Vancouver, BC Fortune Sound Club *^
Fri-Aug 5 Tacoma, WA Real Arts Tacoma *^
Sat-Aug 6 Happy Valley, OR Pickathon 2022
Mon-Aug 8 Salt Lake City, UT Beehive *^
Tue-Aug 9 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge *^
Thu-Aug 11 Louisville, KY Portal *^
Fri-Aug 12 Morgantown, WV 123 Pleasant Street *^
Fri-Aug 26 Raleigh, NC PNC Arena %
Sun-Sep 25 Birmingham, AL Furnace Fest
Sep 30 – Oct 2 Perris, CA Desert Daze
w/ Show Me The Body *
w/wifigawd ^
w/ MCR + Turnstile %
About Soul Glo
Soul Glo is Pierce Jordan (vocals), GG Guerra (bass, vocals, programming), and TJ Stevenson (drums). Fusing hip-hop, hardcore, and punk, the Philly outfit are fearless in their approach and even more ruthless in their delivery. Injecting their colorful narratives into predominantly white spaces, Soul Glo has the scope and ability to transcend outer appearances in hardcore music. We’re at the precipice of a sonic revolution as a higher variance of people find room for themselves and the expression of their lived experience within the genre.
Check out the new video from The Slackers for “Hanging On.” Their new album “Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya” will be out on April 15th, from which they have already released singles “Windowland” and “I Almost Lost You”. They previously released their self-titled album in 2016.
