It’d be hard to overstate how influential Mike Dirnt was on me as a young kid learning how to play bass. Really fun to see him geek out on some of the great material he has put out over the years.
Category: Music
Manchester Orchestra – Union Chapel (London, England)
https://embed.music.apple.com/us/album/union-chapel-london-england/1870686933
Manchester Orchestra has released a live record recorded in Union Chapel in England, and it is absolutely wonderful. Andy moves effortless through some songs. It really is a delight.
This is record is released on the heels of the unexpected death of the bands drummer, Tim Very. Andy wrote a nice letter following his death, and it sounds like there is quite a bit to be excited about as a Manchester Orchestra fan through the rest of the year.
Spiritbox Rig Rundown
These Rig Rundown videos are always great to see how modern band tour and set up their sound, but this Spiritbox video has completely blown my mind. I had no idea that they are digitally shirting tuning mid-song, and then just playing perfectly through the delay it causes. That is absolutely insane to me.
KINDA HARD – Bilmuri
Bilmuri’s new record KINDA HARD came out a few weeks ago, and its a great addition to their catelogue. The whole record is plays it a bit safe though, and I think they’re best when they’re at their weirdest (looking at you Eggy Pocket). Nevertheless, theres some great stuff on here. In particular, the end run of the album from “BACK, THEN” to “WAVES” really showcases how vulnerable John can be in these songs and they hit.
AFI – Nooneunderground
I know I’ve probably posted one or two too many times about AFI and their latest record Silver Bleeds the Black Sun, but thats only because its really great. That they’re still releasing music videos this late into the album cycle must also indicate that its doing well for them too. The song is one of my favorites on the album, and the music video is artsy and weird. Love it. Love the 4:3 aspect ratio, too.
L.I.V.E. in Sao Paulo – Bring Me The Horizon
Bring Me The Horizon’s live show has just gotten better and better in the past few years. They’ve released a live show to 50,000 fans in Sao Paulo, and an accompanying DVD of the performance as well. I bought the DVD since I don’t think they made the file available to watch online. Its great, so if you’re on the fence – just buy it.
On the other hand: BMTH what are you doing? Just let me download the video for a fee.
Saosin – Starting Over Again
Saosin are back with Cove in the band. This new song rips – its great. I know this is a bit of a hot take, but the self-titled they did with Cove is the best thing this band has done. Looking forward to some new material
New Found Glory – Listen Up!
I wish I had more to say about this album. Its fun, but its just not great. Its been a while since there was a really great New Found Glory record. This band really could use some rejuvination from some co-writers, much like what A Day To Remember did on Big Ole Album vol. 1, or Blink-182 did with California. “Frankenstein’s Monster” is a good track, but perhaps a little too on-the-nose.
Joy Next Door – The Maine
The Maine released their 10th record, Joy Next Door, a few weeks ago. Its another great record in their discography. “3:31″, and “It’s Not Over Yet” are two particular highlights for me. My one complaint about the record is that I don’t think its mixed well. This one would be a great candidate for a remastered version in 10 years.
Lastly, in the time since the album was released, the band added “Parking Garage Song #5” to the track list at number 8, subsequently pushing all the songs after it down the track listing. I really dislike it when bands do this. That is: change or edit the track listing after the album was released. This is distinct from releasing a “deluxe” version of the album with a few extra songs. Just off the top of my head, I know Blink–182 did this with ONE MORE TIME…, The 1975 just fully removed “Human Too” from Being Funny in a Foreign Language, and Every Time I Die and Chiodos have included “Bonus Tracks” embedded within the original track listing. This is all bad. Once its out, its out; pencils down! Bands, please stop doing this and just release a single or and EP or something.
Circa Survive’s Final Show Before 2022-2026 Hiatus
Circa Survive announced a series of reunion shows in Philly and a festival show later in 2026 after a Hiatus dating back to the start of 2022, which had me diving into their catalog this week. They were, and now are once again, one of the best bands in the scene.
I was then looking for concerts of theirs to watch on YouTube and came across the one above opening for Every Time I Die’s ETID The Season show in 2021, which then happened to be Circa Survive’s last show before their hiatus, as well as Every Time I Die’s last show. It’s a great show, but wow what a funeral of a show.
At Ken 