CONTENT!
Everything going down right now within the DIY music scene and across the alt world.
After months of teasing, Fall Out Boy have unveiled their new single, "Love From The Other Side." The guitar-heavy track's accompanying music video, in typical eccentric fashion for the band, sees the Chicago quartet return home for a mystical adventure. The band also revealed eighth LP (So Much For) Stardust, the follow-up to 2018's Mania. The album, its cover art pictured below, will be released on March 24, the new era marking Fall Out Boy's return to Fueled By Ramen. Attached to the album announcement came the second letter of 2023 entitled "A Homeboy's Life" from the band, reading, "Sometimes you gotta blow up everything you were and put the pices back together in a new shape." You can read the letter below. Paramore have premiered new single "C'est Comme Ça" ahead of album This Is Why's February release. The track, just under two-and-a-half minutes in runtime, is accompanied by a lyric video, and follows the release of singles "The News" and "This Is Why." The trio, currently comprised of Hayley Williams, Zac Farro, and Taylor York, dominated 2022's close with the late September announcement of This Is Why, 2017 LP After Laughter's long-awaited follow-up, and its title track, an embarkment on a series of fall North American dates, and a string of tour for shows stretching from February through July. So far, the album cycle has seen the band further develop the sound introduced via After Laughter, with sonically edgier elements (the poetic delivery on "C'est Comme Ça" or "The News'" riff-based nature) incorporated seamlessly. This Is Why releases February 10 via Atlantic Records. You can listen to "C'est Comme Ça" here and pre-order This Is Why here. L.S. Dunes might be, by common definition, the post-hardcore supergroup to end all scene supergroups... but don't get too hell-bent on calling it a day and running with that "S"-word. At the end of the day, the project -- comprised of Anthony Green of Circa Survive and Saosin renown, My Chemical Romance's Frank Iero, Tucker Rule and Tim Payne of Thursday, and Coheed and Cambria's Travis Stever -- is the cathartic result of a group of longtime friends fulfilling a dream of banding together at long last during a time of need. In late August, following the emergence of an ominous social media presence, L.S. Dunes revealed their identities officially alongside the release of debut single "Permanent Rebellion." Much commotion followed as listeners of each of the members' various projects embraced the track's versatility, the five-piece soon thereafter making their live debut at Riot Fest and releasing an additional couple of singles ("2022" and "Bombsquad"). All this led up to the so-called "Dunesday," the November 11 release of the outfit's debut full-length, Past Lives, a day fittingly kicking off the band's brief North American run of album release shows (notably, their first tour), as well. And for their first east coast stop, the Dunes filled Toronto's Velvet Underground -- a 350-cap venue tucked amidst a city street, and one the members' other projects could fill a near-inconceivable number of times over. But this night wasn't devoted to those bands; no, this show was dedicated to the celebration of something new, offering an intimate look if there ever was one into this new entity the five pals had created together. Dead Tired, the southern Ontario hardcore outfit featuring members of Alexisonfire and Born Wrong, kicked off the evening's events. Marking the band's first show in over three years, the quintet celebrated the occasion via an energetic performance featuring tracks such as "Vast Lethality" from their latest full-length offering, July's Satan Will Follow You Home. The LP, perhaps the band's most refined work yet through its incorporation of an expansive variety of sonic influences, was reflected in the quintet's bringing of the noise and impactful presence with their return to the stage. Emotive, confessional pop-rock artist Kayleigh Goldsworthy appeared soon thereafter to perform a stripped-back acoustic set, the raw honesty of tracks off this past spring's Learning to be Happy undeniably leaving an impression on the audience. A joke made a song or two in by the artist, in regards to her presence as the sonic elephant of the room (or, in this case, the show's bill), became a running gag referenced throughout the set. A few songs in, backed by Goldsworthy's good-natured encouragement, a pit opened to one poignant track. It's certainly safe to say, then, that the crowd had already established a wholehearted sense of affectionate community by the time L.S. Dunes reached the stage -- "community" being very literal, indeed, as hardcore enthusiasts of each of the members' projects comprised the packed room to unite as one, matching each member's diverse contributions to Dunes itself. As the band arrived onstage for an extended introduction of "Bombsquad," it was further solidified that this show was front-to-back an unequivocally unique bunch, band and audience member alike. One of the most downright rock tracks off the album, the crowd was off its feet in an instant for the gritty, confident four-minute single, between its zestful finger-pointing during the "Thy fear will eat you dead"-led chorus and its animated attempts at rushing towards the front to high-five Green (who, with one glimpse, anyone could sense was unmistakably thriving off the room's exuberance). Miraculously, despite the just week and a half that had passed between the release of Past Lives and this very moment, nearly everyone in sight joined in for an immersive singalong for the duration of the show, the album's lyrics already committed to memory. "Grey Veins" manifested itself as one of the most obvious representations of this phenomenon, the crowd joining together in sheer enthrallment for the obvious fan-favorite's chorus. An L.S. Dunes show isn't all dramatic performances and emotional singalongs, though. Considering the band's only released songs at the present are those off the 11-track Past Lives, the Dunes and crowd are left with a decent amount of time per show to get to know each other a bit. In between songs, the group of friends' chemistry was made clear as Iero and Green poked fun at each other and themselves, the spectacle somehow winding up in the crowd conjuring up an equal-parts joyful and comically out-of-tune rendition of "Happy Birthday" in honor of Rule. After a brief lamentation from the band regarding the songs going by quickly, they launched back into the music after a declaration that they simply need to write more (In fact, the band, on multiple occasions, have confidently asserted their commitment to continuing to write and perform together -- it's clear, then, that L.S. Dunes is no one-time side project). "Permanent Rebellion" (cited enthusiastically by Green as his "jam") was an obvious highlight, as fitting for such an explosive debut single. For the song's duration, the singer could be spotted hanging over the crowd more than he was found onstage. An infectiously likable frontman, indeed, this level of interaction came as the physical embodiment of the impressive, affectionately close-knit ethos regarding their listeners seemingly coming as second nature to the band from one look at their social media presence. Come time for Past Lives' title track, Green, audibly reeling from the room's vitality, wasn't just crouched over the crowd from barricade anymore, he was on top of it, holding onto the rafters of the Underground's low ceiling and pointing the mic towards every last audience member who wanted it. Spirits contagiously high, it was a therapeutic culmination of the overpowering sense of emotion already present throughout the evening. After a much-needed momentary breather, "2022" was teased as the band checked in on the crowd's wellbeing, just thereafter launching into the melodic, post-hardcore epic of an album opener to kick off the evening's encore. Despite the track's innate, hauntingly desperate nature, its live form felt more like a reclamation and celebration of present-day liveliness, looking back on all L.S. Dunes had accomplished in their just three-month public existence as a band — and taking into consideration the warm feeling of comradery radiating throughout the packed room, suggesting everyone in attendance was meant to end up there in such a moment. To conclude the evening's events, mirroring the tracklist of Past Lives' studio edition, the Dunes immersed the Underground in the most sonically serene track off the album, the melancholy (yet constructively reflective) "Sleep Cult." The band was joined by Goldsworthy for the chorus, a portion of the song which, accompanied by the crowd's enthusiastic contributions, as conducted by Green, more so felt like a choir putting the near-out-of-body experience everyone seemed to be sharing into sound. Despite the not yet overly lengthy collection of songs comprising the band's discography, such an ending felt purposeful, and in turn, just right. The band exiting the stage, it was made awe-inspiringly clear to all those having witnessed the evening's spectacle of kindred harmony that the five simply belong on a stage together. In fact, one could only leave such a memorable night of live music with, much like the band themselves, an overwhelmingly optimistic view of the future and longing for what comes next from L.S. Dunes. Next up, the band is set to head out on their first UK/European run to kick off the new year, before returning to the states in the spring for Atlantic City's inaugural Adjacent Festival. You can listen to Past Lives here. |