I feel like it’s been too long since I reviewed new music, but I haven’t really been in the mood to listen to new albums (new to me anyways) all the way through at the moment. Lucky for me, some great bands have released new songs and it’s definitely got me excited for their upcoming albums (and hopefully, tours!).
Paramore
C’est Comme Ca – Taking the phrase “that’s just the way it is” and giving it a French twist. For sure makes it sound more fancy, but really, the meat of the song is anything but. I don’t mean that it’s written in a simplistic way, it’s just that the subject matter is likely wholly relatable to a ton of people! Hayley Williams is singing about the pandemic, especially when she says things like, “It’s been a year but I’ve aged a hundred.” It also more generally talked about getting older. I feel that. Deep in my bones, but more specifically my lower back. Ouch. Other than the subject matter, this single also sounds completely different compared to the other two singles; however, when I take a step back I can still see how they will all work together. I enjoyed the kind of edgy mumble-talking in the verses, and she made me not totally hate “na na na’s” when they showed up in the chorus.
Fall Out Boy
Love From the Other Side – Finally! It feels like forever since one of my oldest and most favorite acts released new music. Sure, I got to see them perform about a year and a half ago, but the last time we got new music from them was back in 2018! Thankfully, if this first single is anything to go by, their new record, So Much (for) Stardust, is going to ditch the Mania sound and head back into the world of rock. That was most obvious in the opening notes of this single. It for sure gave me goosebumps, and I can’t wait to add this to a playlist. Lyrically, I haven’t nailed much down yet, but the line “give up what you love before it does you in” sure resonated. We even got a fun video where Pete was in old man prosthetics, Joe (well, not really Joe) was in a fox costume, Andy was in Kiss makeup, and it involved a more medieval storybook theme. Loved that they traveled to an “Emo Island,” too. I can’t wait for more!
Avatar
The Dirt I’m Buried In – These guys have steadily been releasing new singles the past several months, and I’ve not done them the service of checking them out! Major fail for me. I decided to start with the most recent single given that the album is coming very soon (next month!). I was really surprised with what this one offered! It’s my understanding that some of the other singles off this upcoming album are extremely hardcore, but this one presented a more straight forward, and almost classic, rock sound. I love that for them! It really shows their range. This song was also accompanied by a fun video where they’re the local talent in some classic monster infested town where they all happen to be big Avatar fans (except for the mummy). This just has me excited to see them live in a few months!
White Reaper
Pink Slip – I don’t feel like I ever have much to say when it comes to White Reaper songs, but I’ve determined that’s because it’s just so hard to articulate the feelings their music elicits in me. At a distance, you could argue this is just a song with some standard and classic rock riffs. It drifts into some more pop elements, for some reason conjuring images of California in the 90s for me. These guys always elicit strong images for me while simultaneously creating catchy riffs – that’s an amazing thing to do! I particularly related to the repeated lyric in the chorus: “hard to believe us when we grow up so slow.” That’s certainly how I feel my life is going. I get the honor of seeing these guys for the first time twice this year and I am so pumped!
Maneskin
Gossip – I’ve liked a good number of this Italian band’s singles in the past, so surely I’ll be checking out their next full length release due out this weekend, but for now, I’ve checked out their very recent single featuring Tom Morello. Even though they’ve got all the elements of a rock band and present as such most of the time, there is no denying the very pop roots of this song. There are still plenty of insane guitar riffs (one of them thanks to Tom Morello) and groovy bass, but rock is not the first genre that comes to mind. Overall, the song is not one that grabbed my attention immediately, but the video sure was fun. It was strange but fun, and something that I think shows off this band’s wild side well. When the whole album drops tomorrow, I’ll be interested to learn if they are going to have a mix of Italian and English songs on the track list. We will see!