Dead Dog Summer from my hometown of Čakovec have been active from around 2020 if I am not mistaken, but members of the band have decades of activity playing in various hardcore punk bands in Croatian underground scene. The new DDS album is out now and I thought that it will be hard to top the debut A Place Of Someday, but the guys did it again! This new album is even better than the first one and I think the new material will go great at gigs. I immediately noticed two things. The album is a bit rawer in guitar work, some drum parts are faster making the new songs closer to hardcore punk side of things. But, the new album is also more melodic than the first one, Igor’s singing is more clean and melodic, he gave up from screaming parts which were featured on the first album. I love the mix between hardcore energy and melancholic melody. Lyrics are again on the spot, personal but hit you right in your face with something you can relate to in your life. Besides already known songs Bridges, Scars and Believe It, my personal favorites on this record are Screens Of Hope and Paint The Sky having such beautiful atmosphere and melody. But, you must find your own listening to this superb record. 10/10
Canadian punkrockers Curbside are back with their new opus, first one after long 13 years. If you thought that band got mellow or soft in those years you are so wrong. This is a masterpiece in fast melodic hardcore punk coupled with 90s influenced skatepunk and emotions pouring all over. There are 14 songs on this record and they all rock! We are talking about fast drumming, great guitar work and riffs that deliver superb melodies. Vocals are very important in this kind of music, I can asure you that singing parts are awesome, when you add to it fantastic backing vocal harmonies you get something close to perfect. If I must mention some of my favorites on this record, they change all the time, but here are three of them: The Devil Wears Vans, Handshakes,Missed Takes and A Lifetime To Outgrow, but as I said, my favorites change all the time. I must also add a great cover of SNFU’s hit Painful Reminder done in fast version and being a perfect blend of fast and slower parts. Lyrics on this record are somehow personal but I can relate to them and that is very important to me while listening to the music. So, this is one of the best melodic hardcore punk records this year. 10/10
Darko from UK are back with their conceptual ride in new effort called Canvas. These guys have always been purveyors of fresh melodic hardcore combined with skatepunk and melodic punk influences but with all ferocity and groove of harsh riffs topped with superb harmonies and great vocal lines. New one is like that, seven songs of high energy bomb. Album starts with post punk calmness in Grey Havens but continues with bomb after bomb. There is also a combination of harsh growls and screaming vocals in Hectic which adds to variety of material on this album. My personal favorites are more melodic driven hardcore punk songs like finisher AUX III and Dared To Dream but I must also refer to title track which is one of the standouts on this album. I haven’t seen these guys play live for some time now, but I am sure that the new material from this record fits perfectly to the energy that this band always delivers from stage. Great album for lovers of more technical side of melodic skatepunk and hardcore. 9/10
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 