Celebration Summer
Patience In Presence
A-F (2022)
As the album begins, following a Twin Peaks sample, the guitars build in a familiar punk chord progression with some post-hardcore flair. At about the one-minute mark, you know the vocals are going to kick in, and you half expect a group “Hey!” That’s not quite how it goes, but the vocals are emphatic and punchy with a similar syncopation as it builds to the chorus of the opening title track, “Patience In Presence.” The chorus owes a lot to Hot Water Music but the sound is more rooted in the melodic punk style that A-F Records typically releases. It’s singalong and catchy, but with nuance thrown into the melodic punk structure. It’s a pattern that continues throughout this 11-song debut full-length, though each song takes its own direction. I won’t go into a play-by-play on each song, but Celebration Summer play singalong punk, the kind that is built around group vocals and shouted choruses. It’s familiar so-called orgcore in spirit, but with a lot of nuance from track to track. Some show clear East Bay influence (some of my personal favorites) with gruff, direct vocals. Others insert dual vocal layers and sometimes we get a mid-tempo, thoughtful jam like … Read more
Siblings Of Samhain
Tales of Love, Death and the Macabre
Independent (2022)
UK horrorpunks Siblings Of Samhain offer us up album number three just in time for the spooky season! Tales of … Read more
An Abstract Illusion
Woe
Willowtip (2022)
At a chance recommendation of one of my best friends, I was introduced to An Abstract Illusion some three years … Read more
