In No Particular Order: Blast To the Past (08/07/20)

Things have come full circle.

On this week’s In No Particular Order, childhood memories, high school reunions, and ’90s inspiration play a big part in my picks for this week’s new releases. Including Glass Animals’ childhood-inspired Dreamland, post-hardcore greats The Fall of Troy‘s high school days, and some ’90’s throwback with D.C. ska band Kill Lincoln, our top picks may have you feeling a little nostalgic.

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Glass Animals – Dreamland

9/10

Electro-pop/Trip-pop

Dave Bayley has a knack for blending the personal with the imaginative. As the frontman of UK electro-pop group Glass Animals, his narrative-driven approach to songwriting has often lead to creating new characters to project his own stories and emotions into his music. The group’s 2016 album How To Be A Human Being was a collection of songs from the perspective of characters and people Bayley interviewed and constructed, but on the new album Dreamland, he goes into his personal life, drawing inspiration from within to create trippy, electro-pop brimming with humanistic qualities and stories.

In Glass Animals fashion, the beats are bass-heavy but lightly coated with Bayley’s tenor and falsetto. He allows himself to experiment with more hip-hop vibes on “Space Ghost Coast to Coast” and “Tokyo Drifting”, the latter featuring rapper Denzel Curry. But his most astounding tracks on the record come from a more personal, heartfelt place. “It’s All So Incredibly Loud”, a song about the painful silence after telling someone something that will hurt them, is wildly expressive in such a minimalistic way, using minor chords and subtly crescendoing to build into an explosive sense of realization and dread. Following the theme of the consequences of love, “Heat Waves” is a pop-forward love song about the dangers of changing yourself to fit a partner’s expectations. It’s dynamite hook and expansive chorus fills the room with bright colours despite the underlying message, lying to himself with “One more and then I say goodbye”.

His recipe of voice filtering and dripping textures works well across the album once again. While on the surface it may appear copy-and-paste from Gooey and How To Be, Bayley somehow manages to make Dreamland feel fresh and exciting. The intermitting cuts from home videos and the inspiration from his childhood helps to bring the artist into his art; perhaps letting himself open up was the missing piece to the puzzle to bring their sound even further.

Notable tracks: “Tangerine” // “It’s All So Incredibly Loud” // “Heat Wave”

Fast Romantics – Pick It Up

6.5/10

Indie rock/Alternative rock

Following the success of their 2017 record American Love, Toronto indie rock group Fast Romantics returned to the studio to work on their next record. Frontman and band leader Matthew Angus was plagued with a looming sense of self-doubt and a desire to find something different in his sound, and ending up scratching most of their songs. Touring would keep them busy in the meantime, and after heading to California for a songwriting retreat, the band was force to come back to Canada as COVID lead to border shutdowns. On the return flight, Angus realized life was too short to worry about everything and jumped back into songwriting.

Pick It Up, the band’s third album, is the result of the quarantine and at eight tracks just under thirty minutes, it’s a decently-sized taste of what a little bit of pressure can do.

While it may not stand up to their critically acclaimed sophomore, Pick It Up has its strengths, such as the motivational lead single “Pick It Up”, the honestly human “We’re Only People”, the deity-questioning “Hallelujah, What’s It To Ya?”, and the previously released “Do No Wrong”, each of which has its own spirit and charismatic energy to stand on its own as singles.

However, the remainder of the album seems to plateau, hitting its peak on the aforementioned hits and then slipping back into safe, mid-tempo style of Airborne Toxic Event as separators.

Nevertheless, considering the circumstances of the record, Angus’ drive to return to songwriting and bringing the band together once again was a relief for fans and Fast Romantics managed to create a few more timeless hits for their discography.

Notable tracks: “Pick It Up” // “We’re Only People” // “Do No Wrong”

Kill Lincoln – Can’t Complain

7.5/10

Ska/Punk-ska

Washington, D.C. ska sextet first made my radar with their single “Confession Obsession”, providing a taste of their rambunctious third wave ska sound. On their latest full-length Can’t Complain, which has been five years in the making, the year may read ‘2020’ on the copyright print, but their sound is dug deep in the roots of late ’90s ska. Reel Big Fish, Mad Caddies, and Planet Smashers all come to mind with their groovy riffs and blaring horn sections. With a slight pop-punk edge to their track list coming out on “Used Up”, “Last Ditch Denial”, and “Quarantine Dream” with its chorus hooks and vocal style, while the horn section still makes sure to steal the show with each song. They even get a little hardcore on “Ignorance is Bliss”, “Confession Obsession”, and “Well Spent; Wasted”, bringing in faster time signatures and grinding punk beats. Heck, there’s even crafty horn solos on “Who I Am This Time” and “Civil Surgery”. Frankly – it’s got everything you need on a ska record with replay value.

While it may not be revolutionary or overly unique, it is still a solid ska record that brings together ska, skate punk, and pop-punk that I can only imagine is even more feisty in concert.

Notable tracks: “Ignorance is Bliss” // “Confession Obsession” // “Civil Surgery”

The Fall of Troy – Mukiltearth

8/10

Post-Hardcore/Progressive metal

It’s been nearly four years since post-hardcore trio The Fall of Troy released new music. Their lengthy discography spans over a decade, and on their new album Mukiltearth (a play on words with their hometown of Mukilteo, Washington), the band reaches even further back into their teenage years as The 30 Years War, reworking and rerecording some of their earliest material for the first part of the album.

Even in the song titles touch back into their adolescent world: “Chain Wallet, Nike Shoes” – poking fun at the stereotypical scene kid; “The Day the Strength Of Men Failed” – referencing their obsession with the Lord of the Rings trilogy; “A Tribute to Orville Wilcox” – a man they would prank call for years who passed away before they could come clean; and “Knife Fight At The Mormon Church” – the place to settle scores back in their high school days. The youthfulness of the lyrics and subject matter ushers in a more carefree and wild sense of musicality, while the second half is a glimpse into their style after the hecticness of life, death, and addiction took over.

The band has always been known for their fast-firing riffs and mathematical time signatures and having the “before and after” of the album’s two halves allows listeners to get a glimpse of the transition and growth of the band’s songwriting style over the years. Their technicality and virtuosic ability has not depleted by any means, and having their original sound brought fifteen years into the future makes for an exciting release for lifetime fans.

Notable tracks: “Chain Wallet, Nike Shoes” // “The Day the Strength of Men Failed” // “Round House”