Belmont is a relatively new band from Chicago and this is their new record out on Mutant League Records. I listened to the record and reviewed it for this zine.
The record contains 10 songs of nice pop punk done in a modern and fresh way. There are some faster stuff like Convalescence which is one of my favorite songs on the record. What surprised me and impressed me the most with these guys is their playing abilities. This is a very technical and progressive band, very different than most of their peers. Intelligent song structures, but at the same time they retain the old styled pop punk melodies beneath it all. I love the above said song, but also Recluse and Empty are my highlights of this record. You will have to get the album and make your own favorite tracks on this album. With bands like these, pop punk has a bright future.
The new album by Swedish crew Abandoned By Bears will be released on August 24th via Victory Records. We were lucky to listen to the record and review it for this webzine.
The album contains 11 songs and the music these guys play borders somewhere between modern melodic hardcore and pop punk. On the one side you can get chugga chugga stop and go breakdowns like in Drowned Out and also more calmer and tender melodies with backing vocals like in Outrun Reality. Some people in the scene don´t like such bands claiming that they only jumped on a bandwagon to grab some glory, girls and money. I don˙t think so. I am also more into old school faster stuff but albums like this are really sometimes refreshing to have a go and listen for a while. There are some faster parts like in Held Against You. I love the title song and the video those guys made for it. I also love Greyscale very much. It is true that some songs on this album might sound similar but there are more great songs on this album than those sounding similar, so this is a good record.
Miss Vincent formed in 2012, bonding over their mutual love of bands like Alkaline Trio, AFI, Against Me!, The Ramones and loads more, and have been sleeping on floors and sitting in traffic jams ever since. Their first EP, Creepy, came in September 2013, and their first release took them up and down the country, leading to support slots with As It Is, Plague Vendor, Sonic Boom Six and others, cementing a solid fanbase.
The band signed to Engineer Records for their sophomore EP, 2015’s Reasons Not To Sleep, which showed a darker edge and garnered press interest from major outlets, with Kerrang! calling them “South Coast punks whose DIY attitude and bleak, rapid-fire jams are turning heads up and down the country” and Rocksound noting the EP “oozes anthemic and melodic punk rock indifference, that harks back to the early days of AFI with a twinge of British moodiness”. The video for “Disparate, Desperate” gained airplay on all major music channels, and was selected by Scuzz Underground for their Best of 2015 show. Hitting the road in support of the release, Miss Vincent supported bands like Bayside, Fearless Vampire Killers, Calabrese, Dead! and Vukovi, as well as taking on their own headline shows.
Following their first, sell out headline show in London, Miss Vincent signed to Uncle M (Muncie Girls, Apologies I Have None) in early 2017 and released their latest EP, Somewhere Else, in May. Considered by the band as a big step up musically, it was recorded at The Ranch with Daly George (Creeper, Milk Teeth, Boston Manor) and featured a much more considered approach to production and songwriting. On release, the EP was well received by major press outlets, featuring in Kerrang and getting a nod in their 21 British Bands to Watch list, being featured at HMV’s Next Big Thing, and Rocksound saying “it’s an impressive release, and one they can be justly proud of”. After successful release shows in London and Southampton, the band supported Energy on their Summer tour, and rounded out the year with runs alongside Harker and Faux.
For most of 2018, Miss Vincent have been hidden away in the studio. Their new single, ‘Melanie’ will be released on 13th August 2018, immediately followed by an appearance at Badlands Festival (also featuring Crazy Arm and The Human Project), and a short tour with Creeper and Doll Skin.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 