Nautical Mile is Perth’s newest breakout pop-punk band. Having released their debut album back in 2019, they return with their first non-single release since with last week’s new EP. I hadn’t actually heard of the band before I got the email about them, but I am a big fan of the band and there is so much good music coming out of that area of the world recently, so I’m excited to check it out!
‘Dying Light’ opens on some of the most pop-punk vocals I’ve ever heard and a pretty simple guitar riff behind them. It immediately gives me Neck Deep and ADTR vibes, which is definitely a good thing! It builds up pretty well with the introduction of the drums and bass before exploding into a HUGE riff for what I assumed was the chorus. My suspicions were confirmed by the time the second chorus hits, the same riff coming back but this time with some pretty catchy vocals over the top of it. The chorus grows on me more and more each time I hear it too, I love it by the third time through. Add that to the awesome little bridge riff and the dropdown and build-up leading into the final chorus and we have a great song! It was enjoyable, catchy and the structure was just different enough to keep it interesting, something that pop-punk seems to have always struggled with.
Lead single ‘Purgatory’ opens on a heavier riff than anything we heard on the previous song, definitely leaning more towards the ADTR end of the spectrum. It stays pretty fast-paced through the verse, the combination of chugging and lighter guitar notes behind the vocals reminding me of ‘What’s My Age Again?’ quite a bit. It again builds into a massive chorus, this one even bigger and catchier than the previous songs. The backing vocals add a lot of depth to it all and the vocals themselves sound a little like Gerard Way’s to me. The heavy riff comes out the back end of it but doesn’t last quite long enough, dropping back into the verse quickly. In fact, there are quite a few heavy riffs throughout this that could have been used a bit more, but in all, it’s not the worst as we get more catchy vocal hooks. A brief dropdown again builds into a massive final chorus to round out what is all-around an awesome song, and one that makes the playlist!
‘Where do we Go’ is another that opens on a pretty great riff, building up and exploding into a heavier version of it before dropping down again for the verse. It builds into a pretty catchy pre which, in turn, builds to a great chorus. It’s the best thing about this band so far that I’ve heard, they are VERY good at structuring a song, building it up more and more into some truly epic-feeling choruses. This song even has a breakdown, and a pretty heavy one at that, which was a nice surprise too! It’d be awesome to hear them go that heavy more, just as a little finger cross from me… Another good song too, by the way, this was awesome!
‘Suppression’ is another great track, the chorus being a particular highlight of it due to its infectious catchiness. The riffs again are pretty heavy behind the vocals too, which is always nice to hear. The same could be said for the final track on the album, ‘Embers’, too. It’s a good, pretty heavy pop-punk track that is a good way to close out the EP. It’s a bit more anthemic than the others, the lyrics being powerful and a classic breakup song. Great stuff!
Overall: This was good! It’s pretty difficult for me to find new pop-punk that I like these days due to the limitations the genre presents, but each song here was enjoyable and worth another few listens. I’ll definitely be checking out more from this band and am looking forward to future releases!
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Columbus formed hardcore punk/metalcore band Beartooth has achieved a lot in their nine years together. Being a band for less than a decade, they’ve released four studio albums and have toured around the globe, amassing a pretty large, dedicated fanbase. Having said all of that, I haven’t checked them out all that much. I know a couple of their songs that I listen to every so often but generally speaking, their style of music isn’t something I usually explore. For Overtone’s very first New MusicMonday, I thought Beartooth would be the ideal artist to kick off with.
The album’s title track starts out with a whole lot of fuzz and reverb before a steady drumbeat and some hardcore style screamed vocals that lead us into a HEAVY riff. The vocals get cleaner through the verse – Caleb Shomo’s voice being pretty punky and actually preferable to his screams in this writer’s humble opinion. The chorus slows things down with a catchy melody, even if it does come out of nowhere a little. The screamed lines at the end of the chorus are pretty great too and lead perfectly into that awesome guitar riff again. We head into a quick guitar riff coming out of the second chorus, accompanied by more screamed vocals. It builds up pretty perfectly into a sludgy, slower breakdown riff; this is definitely something I’d like to hear live. It’s again accompanied by more harsh vocals which I enjoyed more – maybe I’m starting to warm up to them? A great, heavy song to open an album on.
The lead single ‘Devastation’ opens on another huge scream and keeps the album heavy. The effects overall add a slight Avatar feel to it. The harsh vocals stop again when it comes to the clean, catchy chorus – the pop-punk type vocals giving me an earworm for the rest of the day. We get a great, low drumbeat coming out of the second chorus before a basic, chuggy riff builds it all back up again into a MASSIVE breakdown. Everything from the screamed callout of the song title to the slow-ish, basic but heavy guitar riff ties together amazingly well. We get another final chorus before the breakdown comes back around to finish the track. I preferred this one to the previous song and can definitely see why it was chosen as a single.
‘The Past is Dead’ was another pre-release track from the album and is the lightest so far. Opening on a catchy vocal hook/chant is always going to win over the hardcore-punk crowds. The lower harmonies over the vocals in the lighter verse are a nice touch and lead into a fantastic chorus, reminding me of A Day To Remember – it’s the most “arena-filling”, catchy chorus for sure. In comparison to other breakdowns on the album, this track’s breakdown is pretty tame and feels more like a filler-bridge. A stripped-back chorus leads to a final chorus to end the song. This was a simple yet pretty great song and another good choice for a single. This one easily made the playlist!
‘Fed Up’ opens on some more cringy, adolescent-style lyrics, again channelling their inner ADTR. At least it builds in to a pretty good, fast, hardcore punk riff that drops in and out for every vocal line – like a call and response between vocals and instruments to add an extra layer of dynamics. It’s another pretty basic song, building to a big, open pop-punk chorus. The only thing that separates it from the likes of Sum 41 is the heavier, de-tuned guitar riff at various intervals throughout. Oh and the usual breakdown, but again this one was nothing compared to the first two tracks – even if it was a pretty good riff. A final chorus and heavier breakdown (again) finishes this one off and, in comparison to the previous tracks on the album so far, this felt like the weakest.
‘Dominate’ keeps the vibe of the album going with screamed vocals and a crazy low guitar riff; it could be classed as a thrash riff in terms of the intensity and speed. The chorus is slower and features some generally cleaner vocals, although the screams are still present. There’s a crazy blast beat between the chorus and the second verse too; it blows my mind that drummers can play that fast. Another fantastic breakdown callout scream leads to an interesting breakdown, the riff being unconventional but pretty damn enjoyable. If anything, the breakdown doesn’t last long enough and quickly heads back into a final chorus before the blast beat and heavy outro finishes things off. This was by far the best of the heavier songs so far and easily makes the playlist.
‘No Return’ keeps things heavy for a moment with another awesome opening riff but outside of that, it’s another clean vocalled, slower radio-friendlier track. It’s not bad at all but there are better versions of this type of song, some of which are on this album. Again, the lyrics get a little cringy for me at times, too. ‘Phantom Pain’ gives off some more hardcore feeling through the verses, but again has a massively pop-punk chorus – a format that (again) has been done better on the opening two tracks of the album. Both songs are good, but just a little generic at this point. Either that or I’m starting to get sick of the album. ‘Skin’ is the closest thing to a ballad on the album but it is also their most ADTR-y song. Apart from a decent chorus, I have very little interest in this track.
‘Hell of It’ is the last of the pre-released songs and brings the heaviness of the album back with a vengeance by opening on a great guitar riff and some awesome harsh vocals. It leads into a pretty decent, quick riff and the harsh vocals stick around almost throughout this time. The chorus is pretty damn catchy and may be my favourite on the album, perhaps my favourite Beartooth track of all time. The breakdown’s mega-low guitar riff sounds a tad evil – much more to my liking. Playlisted!
Unfortunately, the final few tracks go back to being A Day to Remember-like. On paper or as an isolated listen, I like the songs ‘I Won’t Give Up’ and ‘The Answer’ but both remind me of slightly heavier ‘radio rock’ that has been done countless times before. Meanwhile, ‘The Last Riff’ is just a nearly five minute instrumental track revolving mainly around one guitar riff. It’s a good, heavy, almost epic riff, but a pretty boring and uneventful way to finish an album.
Overall: I enjoyed this more than I expected to. Would it make my album of the year consideration? Hell no. But it has made me more of a fan of the band, so that’s a good thing at least. There were some damn good songs scattered through here, but also a fair few just plane average ones. Still, I’ll probably be going back and checking out their older stuff as a result, so I guess overall it’s a pretty positive result and a pretty decent album.
Score:6/10
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Van Weezer has been a long time coming. Teased all the way back in 2019 with the first single, ‘The End of the Game’, the pandemic put a halt on things for a good while. However, the band stayed active throughout by releasing a further three singles in 2020 (one of which featured in the latest Bill and Ted movie) in order to keep up the hype for their fifteenth studio album. I have been a fan of Weezer for pretty much my whole life. Having grown up with them, despite not keeping up with their latest works, I still play their first few albums a lot today. Having said that, I’ve already listened to and fallen in love with the opening track. So let’s get on with the review, shall we?
As I said previously, I adore the opening track ‘Hero’. Everything about it screams great radio-rock single. From the verse’s vocals between the guitar chords to the rather simple and pretty relevant lyrics of one of the best choruses I’ve heard in years. I’m honestly trying hard not to say too much about it because I will just gush about it for a while. So, instead of doing my usual play by play on it, I’ll just say that no matter what music you like you should check this out. You won’t regret it. Heck, I would even put this up there with some of their early hits.
‘All the Good Ones’ opens on an almost indie rock guitar riff, but the sliding out of it is massively Weezer of them. The stripped back verse sounds great, starting with some simple bass and drums behind the vocals before the guitar is brought in over the top. It builds into a pretty simple but huge-sounding chorus – the vocal hook being so catchy and effective. The harmonies and backing vocals in the later choruses are great, too. There isn’t a great deal to this song. It’s effectively built around the fantastic chorus but it is a good, slower album track.
Next we have the album’s lead single that was originally released all the way back in 2019 – ‘The End of the Game’. It opens on some great guitar tapping that not only fits the album name perfectly but also reminds me that Weezer are all amazing at their chosen instruments – not just some songwriters who know some chords. The Van Halen inspiration continues into a riff that sounds a fair bit like Panama and has some great harmonics thrown in for good measure. The verse is pretty steady and simple again, being pretty similar to the previous song. The chorus is good but I would say it’s the weakest of the three so far. It would still be amazing to see it live, though! We get a brief, indie-style riff, but some more awesome guitar work in the background. Then a final chorus finishes things off. Whilst it is the lead single, I found myself enjoying this one the least out of the songs so far.
‘I Need Some of That’ is the most recent single from the album. It opens on a fun drum roll before heading into a pretty light-hearted riff – their signature high guitar leads shining through perfectly. They launch into another slower, stripped back verse but the chorus that follows is great. It features some extremely catchy vocals and even some catchy backing vocals and harmonies. Speaking of the lyrics, I can’t help but appreciate. Anyone who has been in a band before can relate deeply. Heck, it feels almost like an anthem for folk like us. We are even treated to a brief and simple (yet effective) guitar solo between the last choruses. We then get the 90s/early 2000s trope of leaving studio sound clips at the end of the song for a good 20 seconds. This is something I never particularly got or understood, however if there are people out there that enjoy them and don’t immediately skip them then great! Another awesome song and maybe my favourite outside of ‘Hero’so far.
Now we reach a song that I should have heard by now as it was part of the soundtrack to Bill and Ted Face the Music. I am somehow yet to see that movie and that makes me sad. It opens on some ambient build-up before immediately dropping down into Rivers Cuomo’s vocals and clean guitar chords. It’s an odd transition but it sounds great. This one builds up a little slower than the previous songs. The distorted guitars come in for a second verse before we reach a chorus. In fact, the more I listen to this song, I cannot seem to find much of a chorus in it at all. There is a kick-ass guitar solo or two in it though, one that Bill and Ted would be proud of. I finally managed to find the chorus at the end of the song; it was simply just not all that catchy and there wasn’t a lot of difference between the chorus and the distorted verse so I lost track at first. It was still a good song and the first time since their debut I think I’ve found myself enjoying the instrumentation over the vocals.
‘Blue Dream’ blew my mind right from the get go due to the vast majority of the instrumentation being a blatant copy/homage to Ozzy’s brilliant ‘Crazy Train’. However, they do put some strange effect on the guitar during the first riff which makes the whole track sound a little like an early 2000s club song – definitely an odd change of pace. After that though, the song stays at a high quality. They have some fun with the iconic riffs and even squeeze in another pretty great guitar solo and some interesting half timed drums. While not as good as the actual ‘Crazy Train’, and not the best song on the album by a stretch due to a fairly weak chorus, it was still a fun, entertaining song that did something not a lot of artists do.
‘1 More Hit’starts off with a surprisingly heavy, essentially a metal, riff. However, Rivers’ vocals come in and somehow immediately make it sound lighter. It builds into a pretty great chorus too – catchy and pretty comical lyrically. We then get an even HEAVIER riff coming out of the second chorus. Weezer gives us a breakdown which is in equal parts surprising and fantastic. It if anything just makes me want more metal from the band! We also get another 80s staple, a key change higher for the final chorus, channelling their inner Bon Jovi. I loved this and not just because I’m a huge metalhead, I promise! Another amazing Weezer song and one that has made the playlist!
‘Sheila Can Do It’and ‘She Needs Me’feel like the inevitable dip in quality that 95% of albums suffer from towards the end of the album. They’re not bad songs at all, but they feel a little more like filler songs than an album priority. The former gives off slight ‘Buddy Holly’ vibes, but unfortunately it isn’t quite up to the same quality. At least we got another fairly good guitar solo in the latter song, though!
The final track ‘Precious Metal Girl’ features my least favourite modern rock trope: ending on the slow song. It always makes it feel like such a damp, lacklustre ending and I don’t understand why so many bands don’t go out with a bang any more. However, outside of my personal preferences on how an album should be arranged, this is another amazing song. It’s simple – just Rivers’ vocals and an acoustic guitar, but it is very effective. The lyrics are a highlight for me too. They’re my favourite on the album by a fair margin. If this song wasn’t featured at the end of the album, I might have been even better. However, it is still one of the best songs on the album.
Overall: I enjoyed this WAY more than I was expecting to. As I said, I am a big fan of the band but I haven’t checked out a whole bunch of their latest stuff over the last ten years or so. There was nothing bad here; a couple of the songs weren’t up to the same quality as the rest, but there were also some that stood out. If they hadn’t released ‘Hero’ last year as a single, it may have been my favourite song of the year so far. The likes of ‘I need Some of That’ and ‘1 More Hit’ are some of the best songs I’ve heard from Weezer since the very early 2000s. Overall, a very enjoyable album.
Score: 7.5/10
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