Issue 3 / Winter 2019 (Suburban Rose Magazine)

MGMT

the anomaly of little dark age pg 12

MORGXN

on fate, joy, and carrying the weight pg 26

3: WINTER 2019 suburbanrose.com

plus! pull out poster in centerfold

+ hoax , leoniden, KOPPS, TREY, atlantis aquarius , supergold, & more

sponsored

ROLL CALL Editor-in-Chief

Head of Writing

Alex Music · Check it:

Silvia Pellegrino · Check it: A Brief

Artist to Watch: Supergold (16) IG: @alexmvsic

Junior Editors Sandra Garcia · Check it: MORGXN (26) IG: @garciuhs

Drew Martin · Check it: Tash Sul-

Inquiry into A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships by The 1975 (18) Twitter: @insideyourmiind

Playlist Coordinator Kylee Grimwood · Check it: Issue

Gabrielle Miranda · Check it: POLYDRIVE (44) IG: @l0vinggabby

Atlantis Aquarius (54) IG: @aetphotos

Writers Ian Bledsoe · Check it: Daughters-

Video Content

Preston Thurler · Check it:

You Won’t Get What You Want (33) Twitter: @yrthroat

Victoria Hamersky · Check it:

Head of Photography

Alexandra Thomas · Check it:

3 Mix (7) Twitter: @kyleegrimwood

Molly McCaul · Check it:

The Thing About Aniversary Tours (24) Twitter: @houseonaiake

tana (14) IG: @drewmartinphoto

TREY (8) Twitter: @torihamersky

MGMT’s Little Dark Age: The Most Popular Overlooked Album of the Year (12) Twitter: @payrentwithfun

Karoline Wechselberger · Check it: LEONIDEN (38) IG: @karowech

Photographers Taylor Brielle · Check it: KOPPS (22) IG: @taylorbrielle_

Brett Wodon · Check it: How Pop Punk Killed Scene Music (46) Twitter: @sonovthedawn

Bethany Camp · Check it: MORGXN (26) IG: @bethany.camp

WE

Disclaimer: Please respect our staff/community. Material from this magazine may not be reproduced without credit to or permission from its owner, which when not stated is Suburban Rose Magazine. Also, don’t be that person who doesn’t tag photographers. You’re better than that.

OUR STAFF

a note from alex music, founder & editor-in-chief

T

ime to expose myself: I’m writing this about 36 hours before issue 3 is scheduled to release, so I apologize if I don’t speak as eloquently as I’d hope to. Aside from a constant desire to procrastinate, 2018 has been filled with many twists and turns both in my daily life and with this publication. One of the more exciting ones, of course, was hearing that Morgxn had agreed to be our cover feature for issue three. I’m in love with the messages he puts out in his music, at his live shows, and on his social media, and seeing his face on this cover makes me totally proud of all the work that our staff and I have put into this magazine in the last year. 2018 saw us release two issues, pump out a ton

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of online content, and grow both our audience and staff roster. This year is going to bring many more wonderful things, and I’m extremely excited to roll them out and see what you all think of them.

Aside from the amazing Morgxn feature (p.s., turn to page 26 for the STUNNING gallery by Bethany and the interview by Sandra, which might be my favorite interview we’ve ever done), issue 3 is full of tons of goodies. Check out a playlist by Kylee, a hella good interview with Leoniden on their connection to fans by Karo, a gallery of Tash Sultana by Drew, as well as so much more that I’d LOVE to name right now but can’t fit in this little foreword. Life hack: the opposite

page lists them all, so you have no excuses not to check everything out.

So sit back, read, and reflect a little on where you are in life, too. Life is a wild, beautiful thing, and we couldn’t be more glad you’re taking a second to spend it with us.

Enjoy issue 3.

Alex Music, EIC

table of

contents interviews TREY 8 Supergold 16 KOPPS 22 Morgxn 26 Leoniden 38 POLYDRIVE 44 Hoax 48 Atlantis Aquarius 54

articles MGMT - Little Dark Age 12 The 1975 - ABIIOR 18 The Thing About Anniversary Tours 24 Morgxn 26 Daugthers - YWGWYW 36 How Pop Punk Killed Scene 46

galleries

community

Tash Sultana 14 KOPPS 22 Morgxn 26

What’s been new? 8 Kathy Pendril 17 Emerson Swoger 21 Anonymous 40 Anisha Essani 52

Atlantis Aquarius 54

other Issue 3 Mix 7 Love? Nah. 58 Trending 60

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community.

WHAT’S BEEN NEW? Music is there to put words and tune to my feelings when I can’t.

It makes me feel like I’m not alone.

-@erinchwannn It keeps me motivated and inspired.

The ability to connect emotionally to music is important to me.

-@lloyd_mccullough Music is my life. I wouldn’t be here without it. I’m who I am because of music.

-@silwho

What other small publications are you loving right now?

Floated Mag. -@lloyd_mccullough Heart Eyes Mag! -@31.emily

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What does “home” mean to you?

Home is somewhere you feel safe, loved, and accepted.

This can be a place or an event or art!

-@31.emily Wherever the people I love are, no matter where, is home to me.

-@erinchwannn Home is somewhere I’m surrounded by people I love and cherish.

-@hibbsspam

Photo: Bethany Camp / Background: Starline - Freepik.com

How has music impacted your life?

“Home is [a] who, what, when, or where [that] makes you feel alive and loved.�

-@haless_yeah_

SuburbanRose.Com | @SuburbanRoseMag

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by kylee

grimwood

f o ll o w t h e p la y li s t (& f o ll o w u s)!

Art: Alex Music SuburbanRose.Com | @SuburbanRoseMag

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victoria hamersky

Hey guys! Can you all introduce yourself for our readers?

Trey: Well, I’m Trey! I write our songs and sing, and play guitar and keys. I grew up in Saint Louis, lived in Nashville for a sec, and now live and work in Greenville, Illinois!

We’ve also been lumped into kind of an emo-pop grouping at times, which I’d say is pretty fair since our music is SAD. Who are some of your musical influences? Do you think they are an attribute to your own personal sound as a band?

Let’s get right into the music. What would you say your sound is?

Dan: The 1975 is definitely one of our huge influences for the band. We listen to most bands in our genre and play off of that with bands such as The Band Camino, Joan, THE WLDLFE, and Amber Run. We use other bands to help describe our band to other people. If we hear a guitar tone we like or the way a song is mixed we’ll take those ideas and build on it in our own way.

Trey: I’d definitely say we fall into some kind of indie-pop genre. A lot of our songs have a consistent vibe to them, but the sounds we use and the writing style of each track varies a lot.

Carter: My earliest influences are John Mayer and Kenny Wayne Shepherd; they introduced me into the world of guitar. I don’t think they really show through on our stuff as a band since

Dan: Hi, my name is Dan, also known as Danchi. I play bass for the band allcapstrey, also known as TREY. I’m from New Jersey.

Carter: I’m Carter from Springfield, Illinois! I play those sweet lead guitar licks.

it’s more blues oriented, but that’s still where my roots are. A lot of inspiration for the sound I’m creating with TREY now comes from a mix of Joan, Boston, 80’s glam pop, and honestly Jason from THE WLDLFE. Trey and I also bonded super hard over The 1975’s second album, so that definitely comes through on the newer stuff.

A fan wants to know what the inspiration was behind your band name. Was it intentional to have TREY be in all caps?

Photos: Anna Brannon

Trey: Great question. Back in the day, TREY was running under another name as The Great Indoors. There was another band about our size with the same name, so when smaller labels or management companies started contacting us, it got really confusing for everyone because sometimes they were looking for us and sometimes they were looking for the other band. After about a year of that whole ordeal, the drummer for TGI brought SuburbanRose.Com | @SuburbanRoseMag

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up the idea of rebranding and having the band name kind of center on the songs themselves, all of which I write.

It seemed natural to change the name to TREY. The all caps thing was also TJ’s idea (the drummer for TGI), and I think that helps set us apart from other artists that perform under “Trey.”

It’s also cool as hell to have kind of this double meaning, with “trey” being me, and “all caps trey” being the band.

Would you say you guys have a specific aesthetic as a band, or do your personal likes and influences go into your music and visual presentation?

Carter: I think we’ve been trying to create a specific aesthetic but we’re not quite sure what that is yet. It’s a journey, you know. We all bring different things to the table visually, musically, and physically on stage. We have different energies, but they mesh really well. If we’re talking like visual aesthetic though, I’m super into the current trend of over romanticizing the 90’s, for what that’s worth.

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Going back into your music, your most streamed song of Spotify is “Outofline,” currently at 178,336 streams and counting! Did you ever expect that song to do so well with the public?

Trey: I remember having the idea for “Outofline” in the middle of another

“It seemed natural to change the name to TREY.” project I was working on for someone else, and just throwing it down really quick as like a 2-minute chord progression. The next day, I wrote all of the lyrics in my car during like a 10-minute drive and demoed out the

rest of the instruments that night. I remember feeling like there was something a bit different about this track, and I think a part of that is because what I was feeling at the moment I was writing it was so genuine, that the creation of the song as a whole flowed so quickly. I think when people hear “Outofline,” they feel how natural it is and it really resonates with them. I think it’s also a pretty common feeling to be in love with someone and not be able to tell them how you’re feeling, so people just… get it.

Are there any details on when you guys are going to release your debut album?

Carter: I can’t give any details on what projects we’ve got going right now, as much as I’d love to. Always more, soon. ;) Trey: Yeah, we have some new stuff coming down the pipe! We can’t quite give dates yet but we never stop coming up with new material.

Speaking of albums, do you guys like

the idea of EPs more than full length albums?

Trey: Hahaha, we’ve had this conversation as a band so much lately. Personally, I think I like the shortness of an EP, because it gives a quick glimpse into a particular feeling or concept or story that an artist is going to convey.

Albums can do this too, but I think it’s a bit easier for a small indie band to lose the interest of a listener with a longer release.

Carter: For me, I enjoy albums more as a whole. There’s more potential there, more room to work. Artists can create albums based entirely around one concept, tell a linear story through individual tracks and the way they correlate with each other, or they can just show off the different sides of their artistry. EPs are more limited, used for kind of just testing the waters.

EPs have their place, and we’ve been set on utilizing that as best we can, but personally nothing beats a full length album.

When are you guys heading out on tour again? How have your previous touring experiences been?

Dan: We [went] to the East Coast in the middle of December. We have some shows on the East Coast this

“Shows and tours are where we get to bring these songs to life...” summer, and we had a lot of shows this past fall in the Midwest that you could call a tour. I personally enjoy traveling and long road trips, but having it with friends that you love makes

it that much better. Touring to a venue or a new city (even if it’s just an hour away) has become one of my greatest pleasures in life.

Trey: Yeah, I agree. Shows and tours are where we get to bring these songs to life in a new way, and it’s crazy because we get to play the same set at every show, but it feels different every time. And yeah, over the past few months it’s just been surreal to meet so many new people and to show up and have people that we’ve never met singing our songs.

What can we expect from TREY in the future?

Trey: We’re always working on writing and recording new stuff! We have lots of new songs coming soon, and we’ll be on the road as much as possible.

TREY has no plans of slowing down, so we’re all really really pumped about the future. The other day, Carter and I just kind of loosely outlined our next year of releases, and they are...so good.

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REVIEWS

MGMT’s Little Dark Age:

The Most Popular Overlooked Album of the Year

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018 was an exceptional year for indie music. Not only did we see the release of some stellar debut records from emerging artists like Tiny Little Houses, but also impressive “comeback” records from mainstays such as mewithoutYou and Hop Along. These comebacks usually fell into one of two categories: a return-

to-form for the group that brought back fans of yesteryear, or an overhaul of the band’s sound that took them to new horizons with fruitful results.

It’s strange, then, that the album that manages to fall into both of these categories went largely unrecognized for it. What album this year had singles with tens of millions of views on

YouTube, excellent chart performance, an urgently relevant message and the warmest critical reception of the group’s career, yet most people you’d ask wouldn’t even know they had an album this year?

Welcome to 2018’s bizarre anomaly: MGMT’s Little Dark Age.

It isn’t fair to say that MGMT made a splash in the music industry with their debut record Oracular Spectacular; it was more like a colossal, unavoidable wave. It was hard to walk 10 steps in any direction in the late 2000s without hearing the infectious synth leads of smash singles “Time to Pretend” or “Kids.” They’ve released two albums over the 11 years between their debut and Little Dark Age, and while they’ve steadily cultivated a pretty massive dedicated following, their departure from pop melodies into denser psych-rock territory alienated the fans of their debut.

Not only does the duo’s record this year bring back the pop sensibilities of the past, but it also applies the intricate instrumentals they forged post-breakthrough. This not only creates a happy medium for any MGMT fan, but also an accessible entry-point for new fans. For instance, I’ve never

Album art 12

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Photo: Brad Elterman

preston thurler

considered myself to be a follower of the group, but that changed the second after my first listen to album opener “She Works Out Too Much.” Existing as a mission statement for what they’re looking to accomplish this time around, bouncy synth pads and a complex, schizophrenic drum beat pave the way for catchy melodies. A new layer of instrumentation to each chorus ensures there’s always something new in the mix to pick up on, which only helps the poppy hooks stay in your head.

The mixture of inventive production and a poppy approach to songwriting makes for a batch of catchy tunes with some real replay value to them. “Me and Michael” is just as beautiful as it is completely strange, regrettably spending most of 2018 waiting to get the pop radio rotation that it deserved. Lush arpeggios scale their way across the verses, leading to a soaring chorus that thrives on its smooth simplicity. What seems to be an over-dramatic parody of mushy ballads turns out to transcend itself and become a very solid ballad on its own.

Lyrics tend to stay confined to an urgent anxiety of technology in the modern day, presumably where the title Little Dark Age comes from. The title track lives up to its name, carrying a minor-key, maturely gothic vibe throughout its runtime. The composition remains unflinchingly distant throughout, with only the occasional warm, sticky bass groove cutting through. The album seems unable to go even a couple minutes without some mention of technology, much like we as people have become unable to go a few minutes without our phones.

While most lyrics stay vague and opaque on the record’s main topic, “Tslamp,” (an abbreviation of “Time spent looking at my phone,” of course) has pointed words to say about how our smart phones are isolating people considerably more than they’re connecting us. “I’m wondering where the hours went, as I’m losing consciousness, my sullen face is all aglow, time spent looking at my phone” details a unique attachment to one’s cellular device. There are a couple times on

the track where singer Andrew VanWyngarden actually addresses his phone directly as if it’s a human being, stating that he wants to “turn you off, but can’t detach” over a jerky beat. The indecisively groovy instrumentation and nervous lyrics on the record seem to work together to create a cautionary tale for the listener, wishing to show how calculated the technology-driven future can sound, even at its most danceable.

While its place in 2018’s music landscape is bizarre, it sort of fits Little Dark Age as a whole. Each aspect of this record seems to directly contradict itself in some way. Beats are synthetic and cold, bursting with life and charisma. Vocals are filtered and modulated, personable and full of life.

Songs are mature and long, youthful and danceable. This record is popular and deserves it, yet overlooked and deserves better.

And you know what? Maybe it shouldn’t be any other way.

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TASH SULTANA

BY DREW MARTIN

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SUPERGOLD

artist to watch

FLORIDA-BASED INDIE ROCK BAND SUPERGOLD HAVE RECENTLY RELEASED THEIR SECOND SINGLE, “ALLIGATOR.” STREAM IT NOW FOR ALL THOSE FEEL-GOOD SOUNDS WE LOVE FROM THEM.

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Tell us a little about who you are as a band. What makes Supergold a unique project?

The band is Kyle Santiago, Dana Miral, Pablo Falcon, Tanner Collins, Christian Ballon, and Alex Alston. I think Supergold is unique because we focus on authenticity in all aspects of the band.

Our recording process was almost entirely analog because we wanted to capture our live show and bottle it into a record. Our live show is about taking all the songs and giving them as much life as possible, and hopefully that connects with the audience and we have a giant dance party.

How did you come up with your band name?

I keep this list of random words and phrases that I come across for when I’m writing lyrics, in case I hit a road block, and it was written in my enormous list and I didn’t consider any other names. It was the first pick.

Do you think you’ve evolved as musicians since releasing your first single, “Moneylover,” to now with the release of “Alligator?”

Yes, absolutely. Before, when we were playing shows, it was hard to play and have nothing to share, but now that we have the single out, we play with a whole new sense of purpose because we can actually share our music with

people. I tell the guys I didn’t really consider us as having started as a band until the song came out. It’s funny because “Moneylover” and “Alligator” are such different songs musically and I thought it would be interesting to make those the first two singles because I think it kinda leaves everyone who’s heard [them] guessing what the third single will sound like.

What inspired you to write Alligator?

“Alligator” was written in DecemberJanuary-ish of 2017/18. It’s a song about wanting someone who is toxic and how that can make you want [that person] even more than someone who treats you right, and how that toxicity can be addicting and can make you feel stuck.

What was the writing process like for Alligator? Any good stories?

I had the riff for Alligator for a really long time; it was actually the first voice memo in my phone. It took a few weeks to complete, but it was one of those things that just needed time to come together and we are all very pleased with the result.

Any last words for the readers of Suburban Rose?

To anyone reading this, if you make it out to a show, just come say what’s up, we wanna tell you thank you for listening!

community.

Dinosaur

kathy pendrill /@hello_heathcliff

The indent of your shadow leaves A meteorite crater where once you lay beside me sends Dust into the air like rain in reverse You come home a day late Silent sirens in the night flash blue like tiny lighthouses For ships on rocky shallows or albatrosses lost at sea I know the day will come when I see your face for the last time When memory turns to rust like Mars all orange and crumbled I will forget each perfect curve of your alien shoulder blade And you will find some other mannequin to wrap your arm around as you cross the road all red lights But now the cold November wind is blowing me in your direction and I can wait for spring

Photo: Kat De Barros SuburbanRose.Com | @SuburbanRoseMag

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REVIEWS

A BRIEF INQUIRY INTO ONLINE RELATIONSHIPS

BY THE 1975 [9/10]

SILVIA PELLEGRINO 18

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he 1975 have been around for quite some time, debuting with a few EPs in 2012 and with their first LP in 2013. They are, for many, the band of the hour, and after a yearand-a-half-long hiatus, they are back with their third album, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships. The first single “Give Yourself A Try” came out on June 1st– a symbolic date for the band– and gave listeners a glimpse of one of the many threads that run through this album.

NET RUIN YOUR TIME.”

“YOU LEARN A COUPLE THINGS WHEN YOU GET TO MY AGE…”

The record is full of surprises: it takes a break from aggression during the very personal acoustic track “Be My Mistake,” where Healy comes clean about cheating and the gruesome shame that is eating him alive. It is a redemption song, characterised only by his feeble voice and a delicate acoustic guitar with a hint of piano.

Lyrics like “You do make me hard, but she makes me weak,” are bold, true, and honest. This same honesty is maintained in the seventh track, “Sincerity Is Scary.” Healy talks about present-day love stories, singing, “Instead of calling me out, you should be pulling me in.” He suggests that we are an offended generation that confuses decency with culture and culture with education.

From the first line it is clear that this is an existential album about life. But this song doesn’t give away an accurate picture of the album’s general sound; in fact, it is heavily juxtaposed to the first song in the record’s official tracklist – the classic “The 1975” – which holds a Bon Iver-esque personality for this album cycle, full of auto tune and piano chords. “Modernity has failed us” is the main theme of the Music For Cars era, and the band purposely paired this theme with an electronic and artificial album to symbolise the necessities of the maturing generation.

“Love It If We Made It,” a screamed and desperate track, claims the spotlight. From the first sentence, Healy’s voice is full of anger. This political song is complete with quotes by Donald Trump, present sociological issues, and flashes of the disappointment in today’s society. It leaves the listener with a glimpse of hope: “I’d love it if we made it.”

A catchy, synthetic pop song, the band tackles the topic of modern unfaithfulness in “TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME.” The upbeat rhythm of the song is violently put down by the fourth track, “How To Draw / Petrichor.” The track starts as a delicate lullaby with almost whispered instruments and samples. The distorted voice of Matty Healy sings, “I’ve not learned how to draw… what if you die with all of the cameras?” and soon melts into an instrumental enriched by electronic sounds and carefree singing.

Politics and philosophy are referenced throughout A Brief Inquiry. “I Like America & America Likes Me” is a bold, trap-esque song. “I’m scared of dying,” Healy starts with singing. It is a courageous statement of fragility which reflects contemporary American society. “Would you please listen?”

Healy asks in a call for help that comes as a consequence of “being young in the city.” People want change, humanity is lost, and things are no longer fine. In the middle of the song is an electronic interlude that pleads for young people to be more attentive.

“WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR FUTURE SELF WHO WON’T CHANGE / DON’T LET THE INTER-

There is a general perception that millennials are getting more and more isolated and lonely, and The 1975 have drawn from this idea to dictate a

full narrative from Siri – the iPhone’s superstar – in “The Man Who Married A Robot.” This tracks draws themes parallel to those of the popular British television show Black Mirror by narrating the tragic fate we all are walking towards: “and then he died, in his lonely house, on the lonely street, in that lonely part of the world. You can go on his Facebook.” The second part of the song, “Love Theme,” is a theatrical and glorious instrumental composition that transitions into what is one of the most effective tracks on album. “Inside Your Mind” shifts the album’s overall mood: it is a beautiful, graceful love ballad. Healy shares his deepest fears of commitment while a throbbing yet sweet electric guitar plays alongside. It is suspenseful and augments his audience’s hunger to keep listening.

“I’VE HAD DREAMS WHERE THERE’S BLOOD ON YOU, ALL THOSE DREAMS WHERE YOU’RE MY WIFE…” Fear and regret are central topics in Healy’s lyricism, and they are clear in “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You).” The bubbly track has a deceiving title: it is not about someone but rather about something. Healy has struggled with drug addiction for a few years now, but he has been clean after some time in rehab in Barbados. The catchy pop song hides a tormented and hauntingly dark truth. Later, in “Surrounded By Heads And Bodies,” Healy remembers Angela, a woman who he met in rehab. It is a passing track, slumbered and slow, putting the listeners at peace.

“WE DON’T SPEAK / SHE STAYED AN EXTRA WEEK / I SEE HER IN MY SLEEP”

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The old school, jazzy “Mine” seems like the perfect soundtrack for a 1920s romance, with its sweet vocals and a warm saxophone. Even if there is a clear declaration of love, Healy still “just can’t say ‘I do,’” and it is destroying him. Did the internet do this? Is he feeling this insecurity due to his online identity?

“I FIGHT CRIME ONLINE SOMETIMES, AND WRITE RHYMES I HIDE BEHIND.” Equally romantic is “I Couldn’t Be More In Love,” a bewildering ballad that places a choir in the background.

Healy’s voice is strained during the chorus, pleading for someone to listen to his declaration of love, and it hurts him because he doesn’t know how to handle it: “What about these feelings I’ve got?”

When listening to the closing track “I

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Always Wanna Die (Sometimes),” the presence of “I Couldn’t Be More In Love” makes more sense: it is a transition track. The 1975 could not have chosen a better farewell to this complicated album. Based off the movie The Graduate, the last song carries a different and new energy. It talks about life, death, birth, existence, even religion, all in one song. It clearly takes inspiration from American 90s rock, with its trudging guitar and the high built thanks to the chorus.

“We’ll have religion as long as people are scared of dying,” the frontman explains in his Genius Verified interview. Religion has always been a fundamental matter for Healy, seen in his previous works such as the song “If I Believe You” of their sophomore record, but here the topic is discussed in a different light. It is a song that invites everyone to seek help, because at some point, almost everyone has wanted to die.

“YOUR MEMORIES ARE SCENERIES OF THINGS

YOU SAID BUT NEVER REALLY MEANT.” It is okay not to be okay, and The 1975 have embraced their fragility. As human beings we are prone to falling apart, but this record brings a hint of light at the end of the tunnel. Okay, maybe the comparisons some publications have made of the album to OK Computer by Radiohead are a bit forced, but the idea behind the likenings are not that wrong. Even though it is not as linear an album as I Like It When You Sleep, it is a milestone in The 1975’s career. Healy wrote some of his most introspective and complex lyrics for the album. I think that he realized where he is in life and changed to make the best out of it. Sometimes you have to go through hell to reach a positive turning point, and it’s clear that The 1975 have finally done just that.

community.

Emerson Swoger @sonnyfaithphotos

SuburbanRose.Com | @SuburbanRoseMag

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KOPPS photographed and interviewed by taylor brielle

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Please introduce yourself to our audience. How did you get started with music?

Most of us come from musical families and have played music since before KOPPS formed. It’s a calling, really.

What was the whole concept/ inspiration behind your latest music video “Baby, I’m Dead Inside?”

This video came from a funny convo we were having one day in the studio about how it would be if an adult went through a goth phase instead of it always being a predictably angsty teen. We joked about “goth dads” for like two years before we used the concept and when “Baby I’m Dead Inside” came along we knew that the time had come.

How did it feel collaborating with Daniel Armbruster from Joywave on your single “Hott?”

It didn’t feel too different than usual, as we grew up with him in our hometown of Rochester, NY, so he’s just a regular ass dude to us, haha. But yeah, we have always had good chemistry in the studio.

What other artists or bands would you consider your biggest influences?

We try not to copy anybody’s style too directly and it’s kind of hard to place us into a genre. Anything that is good we may draw inspiration from... and by “good” we mean Korn to Prince and anything in between.

Can we expect any shows or tours from KOPPS in the near future?

We have a special show/party coming up in Rochester, NY on November 24th at Anthology, as we have not had a local show in some time. 2019 will likely bring some touring and one-off shows so look out for announcements in the future.

SuburbanRose.Com | @SuburbanRoseMag

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The Thing About

Anniversary Tours

by Molly McCaul

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t seems a well-established fact that today’s music industry is in the midst of a 180 of what it once was. Album sales are tanking, and their only saving grace is the revival of vinyl. It’s becoming more and more difficult for small acts to break into the national and international stage. The idea of popular music having meaning is hotly debated.

Despite the dismal outlooks on the future of music, there is a peculiar shift in focus in the undercurrents of the industry- a fast-growing concert trend could very well be the glim-

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mer of hope and pure optimism that the community needs to reinvigorate itself.

Just this past summer, Ra Ra Riot did a tour in honor of the 10th anniversary of The Rhumb Line, their 2008 full-length debut- that means, before playing hits like 2015’s “Water” and even debuting new tracks, the band could highlight some of the hidden gems of their early discography, like “Each Year,” “Saint Peter’s Day Festival,” and a cover of Kate Bush’s “Suspended in Gaffa.” The entire show was well-crafted and astound-

ingly emotionally charged. It felt like a secluded safe haven- just a band and some fans playing music that means a lot to them.

Ra Ra Riot, while extremely talented in their own right, are not unique for doing this; it seems as of late that there’s a spike in these “whole album tours,” all with their own emotional background and purpose.

There’s a sense of genuine connection, because there’s an innate dedication to rehearsing and performing pieces that aren’t the latest in their repertoire.

These tours, above all, seem rooted in

nostalgia for a band’s natural progression; many times, as was the case with The Rhumb Line, it’s in honor of their first major release, but could encompass any number of reasons, from critical acclaim to musical influence to fan perspective.

Another well-received instance of an anniversary tour was the return of early-2000’s rock band Jack’s Mannequin to revisit Everything in Transit. The tour, aptly entitled “10 Years in Transit,” coincided with the 10-year anniversary of the release of the album and spanned a few US cities during the beginning of 2016. Andrew McMahon, former frontman of Jack’s Mannequin, has had an illustrious 20-year career, and is now more well-known for his self-titled project Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, but revisiting the project was an homage to what some may call the glory days of his career.

Though “Dark Blue” and “La La Lie,” both singles off of Transit, have continued to this day to be concert mainstays for McMahon (possibly out of respect for their success in the early 2000s), “10 Years in Transit” gave even those tracks the context and depth only a full album could possi-

bly provide, creating an unparalleled concert experience. For fans, it was a seemingly once-in-a-lifetime experience; older fans could reconnect with their past memories, and newer listeners could get to see and hear what they previously had never expected.

The trend of anniversary tours, however, isn’t restricted just to bands selling out 300-capacity venues or whose impact is but a blip in music history. Bruce Springsteen famously completed an expansive tour to coincide with the rerelease of his 1980 album The River. The tour lasted from 2016 to fall of 2017 and seemed to reach all corners of North America; during it, he and the E Street Band played all 20 songs off of the album, deep cuts and classic hits alike. U2 similarly did a tour in honor of the anniversary of their album The Joshua Tree, selling out arenas simply to commemorate 30 years of the album. Even acts like Toto, Foreigner, and Def Leppard have gone out on tours over the past five years to commemorate simply existing as a band for 3 or 4 decades.

If you go to an anniversary tour, you’re going to reflect on the music as a collective, not a series of

individual works. And in a world of streaming where trends are instantaneous and fleeting and album sales tank in favor of singles and playlists, the rise of anniversary tours subverts the norm. Its uptick in popularity in and of itself was a surprise; with such a volatile industry, to go back to the past and pause to recognize a band’s roots is a gamble. But it has paid off tremendously, both financially and socially, for nearly every band that’s attempted it. It’s something fans continue to celebrate and encourage, something that creates a deeper appreciation for the music community, and above all something to bring people together.

At the end of the day, that’s all that music’s about- giving people a sense of belonging, a sense of understanding. And that is exactly what the world needs more of today. If hearing an album cover to cover is what makes someone feel a little less alone, if it brings someone joy and brings music back to its most personal form, then I can’t wait to see the trend continue.

Here’s to the future of concerts, and the future of music, and here’s to more whole-album sets from the bands we love the most.

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I

t’s always interesting when artists are intent on staying away from politics in their music, since politics are ingrained in our lives and our identities. Being the end of 2018 in the United States, it’s clear what state our politics are in and how it all affects our lives. It may be true that because of this, divisions among people are even greater than ever before. But it’s also true that it is easy to find other people who are similar to ourselves, and from there we can build positive communities to uplift us. This idea of community building—our finding “home” in these spaces—is integral in Nashville-bred artist morgxn’s music: our interconnectivity allows us to build homes where we might not have before. We find ourselves in people we’ve never met, and it really only works to better our own lives.

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THE LGBT+ ARTIST REDEFINING HOME shot by bethany camp interviewed by sandra garcia

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One of the most important things about morgxn is his willingness to vocalize his thoughts, ideas, and identity. He speaks unabashedly about every aspect of life, and he does so concisely and knowledgeably.

He takes time to give credit where credit is due, taking into account everything that has happened to him and giving it its own space to lead him to where he has come from there. “I had friends who had families in the industry, but my family [was] just a hardworking family who supported me being creative,” he tells Suburban Rose. From a young age, morgxn was interested in music, singing around the house so often that his parents decided to take initiative so that he could express his musicality outside of the home.

They supported his every endeavor in every way they were able—such as through gospel choir—and it built a strong foundation for the type of person and artist morgxn is today. Now, from collaborations with bands like Walk the Moon to having his songs feature as the soundtrack to events like the MLB Postseason, it’s clear that morgxn has found his footing in the music world, and he’s thankful for the journey.

There is something incredibly satisfying about getting somewhere through the work you yourself put into what you care about. Born and raised in Nashville, morgxn later found himself in New York, then Chicago, then later still Los Angeles. “I didn’t know anyone in the industry, so to get to come [back] home and play my music and actually get it heard on the radio is more than full circle—it’s a dream. […] It took me leaving home to find my roots,” he says. “Coming home now [is] that much sweeter because I know who I am, and I don’t have to apologize for it. I can be proud of where I’m from and who I am.” Morgxn is unapologetic about who he is and what he values; this shines through clearly in his music, but he doesn’t go into it with a specific intention.

“I’m trying to have a feeling about something and then put it to melody and let the words find themselves.”

“In this day and age, joy is a political thing. Having joy in a state of despair is a revolution itself. Having hope.”

Politics and identity are not mutually exclusive. Everything surrounds us and belongs to us, which makes politics difficult to separate from ourselves. When morgxn writes, he doesn’t write with the conscious notion that he’s about to make a statement. He cites something David Bowie once said in an interview as inspiration: “‘I don’t even know what I’m writing about when I write about it,’ he said. I love that because if I knew what I was talking about, I wouldn’t write about it—that would be preaching, and all I’m really doing is trying to explore.” And the exploring morgxn does is absolute; his observations are both visceral and intellectual. He sings unpretentiously and presents his words in a way that uplifts and relates to everyday matters. “I’ve [gotten] a lot of messages from people who find home not just in my music but in music in general—that’s the only reason to do it. If you’re in it for the money, you’re not in it for the right reasons.”

What initially got me into morgxn’s music was the message, and it’s the way he reiterates this message that drew my full support. I remember, for instance, the day the “home” music video came out. Seeing in it a protagonist who was so out of his element in his own home then leave this home and find another in a club among drag queens and other LGBT+ people was so important to me for so many reasons. The video was presented so naturally, too: There was no unnecessary attention drawn, no fanfare or pat on the back for its achievement. The video was put out as any other might be because the idea is natural and necessary.

And so the concept of “home” is a major theme in morgxn’s overall message. He says, “Home is something you choose. It’s something that’s not handed to you. It’s something that you create, and there’s a lot of people out there who don’t have a home—especially in the queer community—who find home outside of their nuclear family. Home is something that you create for yourself, and it defies gender, norm, anything that you’re taught about [what] home [is]; it’s something that you create.”

As for the positive reactions his music garners, morgxn is grateful for all of it. He welcomes personal stories with open arms, allowing anyone to share with him their own personal journeys and the ways by which his music has made an impact. “If my music can help connect the dots in your personal life, it’s really an

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morgxn + for suburban rose magazine

incredible honor. You know, some days that’s all I think i’m doing is trying to connect the dots. […] It’s not rocket science—it’s rock and roll. I don’t think that music can solve everything, but I think music can heal anything.“ He goes on to cite a lyric from “carry the weight,” one of the tracks off vital that was first released as a single about a month ahead of the record. It was written after he attended the Women’s March; the lyric “let them hear the break in your voice” morgxn says came from a woman who riled the crowd up, screaming at the top of her lungs for hours and hours. “Her voice was so hoarse, but she never stopped.

She had all the passion in the world.” He continues: “[To] carry the weight in this day and age is a Herculean task. For any person who has ever been alienated or who has felt other than to wake up every day and put on clothes and go out into the world knowing that they’re literally trying to attack you—we carry the weight. Otherwise you’re just going to go down, shut up, and be silent, and that’s not what the world needs.”

For about a month this past autumn, morgxn toured the States with DREAMERS and Weathers. At his merch table he had a journal that he carried around the country, and in it were countless messages from so many different people. These messages ranged from the importance of music to personal goals (one message read, “I’m gonna be the first Mexican-American president”) to anecdotes about people’s lives. Morgxn describes the journal as an “artifact,” as it’s the only physical record he has of what the past year—pre-vital to vital and into the present—has been for him. “It connects me to you all in a way that I think is hard to do when everything is online.” It’s important to note this sentiment particularly because he is hugely active on social media—much more-so than many other artists. He always reposts fanart on his Instagram story and quote tweets fans who have anything to say. He responds to private messages and shares with his audience heartfelt stories about the positive ways by which we interact with his music. For morgxn, everyone and everything matters, and he puts the time in to thank anyone who has anything to say. Still, nothing beats face-to-face interactions. “It’s hard to find that connection [online], but we’re a lot more connected than we think. Society would like us to think that we’re all angry and divided, but if you’ve ever been to one of my or any of your favorite artists’ shows, no one in that room feels like they’re divided—black, white, gay, straight, fat, skinny, whatever, we’re all one in that room. There’s nothing more beautiful than that.”

“Society would like us to think that we’re all angry and divided, but if you’ve ever been to one of my or any of your favorite artists’ shows, no one in that room feels like they’re divided.”

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Possibly the most fascinating thing about morgxn is his insistence on allowing that fate do its own work. He knows what he wants, but he doesn’t push it, and he instead takes everything as it comes before him. Years and years ago, he had a vision board in an apartment. On it was written “Walk the Moon”; this was long before he met Nick Petricca and therefore long before the two of them reinvented “home” together, so when the collaboration did ultimately happen, it was a dream. When something like this passes without meddling, it all feels more fulfilling, somehow. On vital, he has two collaborations: the first is on the title track with BASECAMP, a Nashville-based production collective. The second, “alone/forever,” is with The Naked and Famous, and the story behind that is so very the-stars-have-aligned that it needs to be told in its entirety, always. He says, firstly, that he knew he wanted to work with the band. The track they collaborated on had already been written, but it was important to morgxn that the collaboration came naturally. When he finally met Alisa at a session, the two became fast friends, and at a bar later that day was when everything slotted into place:

“[Alisa] was lamenting to me. She said, ‘Morgan, I feel like I’m just gonna be alone forever,’ and I was like, ‘Uh, what?’ ‘Yeah,’ she said, ‘I just feel like I’m gonna be alone forever.’ I didn’t say anything then because I was kind of shocked that she said those two words in tandem. The night kept going, we had a few more drinks, and she said again later, ‘You know me, just alone forever!’ and I was like, ‘Okay, Alisa, I know we just met, but you’ve literally said this phrase three times tonight. I have a song called ‘alone/forever’ and I literally want you to sing on it with me.’”

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Fast forward through production, and morgxn’s “alone/forever” featuring The Naked and Famous came into existence. But there’s a last part of the story that shows how hard fate works. “Months later, Alisa and I are now friends, we have this song that’s [done but] not out yet, and we’re hanging out.

I go to her apartment—I had never been there before—and I pull up and the guy I had written the song about lived in the same building. It was crazy, but I was also like, ‘Okay, universe, I’m in the right place.’”

Morgxn is an incredible storyteller, and vital is an incredible debut record that serves as a testament to this storytelling as well as morgxn’s craft and general diligence. Vital is concise and meaningful, flowing beautifully without feeling like the tracks are repeating themselves. And though the record was released just this year, morgxn is taking no breaks. He’s coming on Robert DeLong’s tour in February, he’s playing Hangout Fest in Gulf Shores in May (when he tells us this, he excitedly adds, “Music on the beach!”), and there is music on the horizon (“I’ve never been more excited”). Lastly, he tells us, “There’s [also] gonna be a very special project in January which I’m not gonna say too much about, but we will see that.” It’s a cryptic teaser, but it’s one that will no doubt be worth it. Morgxn is in the right place, and it’s only just the start.

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REVIEWS

daughters - you won’t get what you want ian bledsoe

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Photo Reid Hathcock

D

aughters have always been a fascinating collective within their realm of music. Although, it was really hard to determine what realm that they fitted in for the longest time. Their 2003 debut [not so] full length Canada Songs blisters through its 10 tracks in just an 11 minute runtime, with vocalist Alexis Marshall’s slightly amateurish screams clashing against the lacerating guitars feeling more like a Converge record on crack than anything sincerely cohesive.

They never felt like a grindcore band, though. Even early on, their penchant for writing shocking, harsh-noise influenced tracks was also evident.

This evidence became cemented when the Providence, RI collective released 2006’s Hell Songs. While still feeling frighteningly frantic throughout its upgraded 23 minute runtime, the shrill yelps from Alexis shifted towards a musky, mumbly drawl that felt more like Elvis being recorded on quaaludes than it did a freakish Dillinger Escape Plan rip. Along with the calculated instrumentation, Hell Songs only genuinely made sense as a soundtrack to insanity, and that, it fit into perfectly.

That was, until the band decided to shed their grindcore overtones for a more accessible, yet still quintessentially maniacal noiserock sound. Their 2010 self titled, Daughters, released after the band’s supposed breakup, served as a lush, enthralling, and ugly swansong. It seemed that the road for Daughters,

after that, was nothing but utter darkness. Then after over eight years filled with a nearly haunting quietness from the band, a new single in the form of “Satan In The Wait” had dropped through Ipecac Records. Fans were immediately enamored with the return, already clinging to the song’s refrain of “this world is opening up!” like radio listeners would with a new Drake hook. Yet, it seemed there was an unspoken tension among Daughters fans (including myself) which was, well, could this album really live up to the massive hype that’s unintentionally been amassed of it?

Well, there’s a moment near the end of You Won’t Get What You Want’s restless dysphoria and panic that culminates in what truly defines Daughters as not just a project (nor a band) but a monument of what is the ugly, undefined, and unrelenting “cutting edge.” The repeated shouts of “LET ME IN” that refrain throughout the closing-opus “Guest House” affirm the piercing horror that lies in Daughters’ sound like a siren, calling out the end of the world. If it isn’t apparent, Daughters, and the content on You Won’t Get What You Want, are the carbon-cut definition of what is not for the faint of heart. I typically

despise that phrase, but as someone who’s personally dove into the many abrasive rabbit holes that music has to offer (whether it be harsh noise, grind, powerviolence, other edgy shit), I still found this album almost impossible to get through upon first listen. Whether it be the blistering funhouse-esque keys that grip you by the ears on “The Flammable Man,” or the smooth clean vocals and muddled out electronics on “Less Sex” that haunt the listener, the album is able to keep a consistent anxiety that is respectably unmatched by any other piece of art. While it isn’t pleasant or beautiful in our conventional perceptions, that is realistically the least of your worries, as You Won’t Get What You Want plays with much more than your perceptions.

The third single released from the album, titled “Long Road, No Turns,” is perhaps the most indicative of this. The lyric video they produced for it sees the tortured restraint from frontman Alexis Marshall on full blast, as the drowning guitars and the broken-beat drums back the sonic-circus in front. Lyrics like “Everybody climbs up high then falls real far / And I don’t know what to say when people come undone / The road is long, the road is dark / And these are just the words to

somebody else’s song” or the song’s poignant refrain of “It may please your heart to see some shackled, wrists and throat / Naked as the day they were born,” that really describes how many people are so easily drawn to watching those under them spiral even lower. It had me thinking of the perception of a “trainwreck” and what that means in terms of a human being, and how an individual gets to that point where they’re no longer considered individual. Along with songs like the spiraling epic “Ocean Song” or the slightly more accessible rock single (for Daughters) in “The Reason They Hate Me,” a ghastly image starts to get painted, as the album’s repeated listens start to wear on you, and the apocalyptic overtones of the record metamorphosize into something else. Sardonic lyrics and Alexis’ now-iconic drawl paint a set of bleakly colored strokes onto Daughters’ canvas, while the no-wave influenced production drowns it all in a black mold-ridden filth, like a grown man standing alone in the shower with a 40oz, waiting for the end. And while its grotesquely wondersome painting remains ambiguous in its message, You Won’t Get What You Want begs you to come in and leave with your own individual interpretation.

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by karoline wechselberger

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The Band Taking Every Measure To Preserve True Connections With Listeners

Musicians and office workers have a lot more in common than you would think.

Leoniden, a German indie band are living proof of that. The five of them have gained quite a lot of popularity over the course of the last year, but despite their huge success in recent months, they have managed to stay grounded and continue to take on tasks that many bands tend to leave to their management or booking agency. Suburban Rose had the chance to ask them all about their lives offstage and all the work associated with it.

-----------------------------Could you introduce yourselves and tell us what each of you do for the band besides making music?

Photos: Robin Hinsch

Hi everyone, I’m Jakob. I sing and play keyboard for Leoniden and I’m also the one answering the questions for this interview. Lennart, our guitar player, is who we consider the voice to all the structures we are working with.

He’s the guy spending 6-8 hours of the day on his phone, representing the band like a lawyer. Felix, his brother and drummer, is our musical football coach, responsible for our practice routines. Then we have Djamin, who plays the keyboard and percussion. He manages the whole online shop, which is a lot to do: Answering e-mails, packing orders, writing small letters for every addressee, keeping an eye on the inventory, and so on. JP (bass) keeps our backline intact; he’s like the gear guy. And I’m the media allrounder,

working with Photoshop, Premiere and Cubase.

have essentially been transformed into storage units for your merch.

When you released your album Again in October you personally handled and sent out every single album preorder complete with personal, handwritten notes. Why was it so important to you to do this yourselves?

Hahaha, yeah, you should visit Djamin’s place. The next answer could be considered a downside:

We decide many things from the perspective that we had when we were fans ourselves. The things we loved or that we wished for. Like, If I would have received a signed copy of an At the Drive-In vinyl with a small handwritten letter, written and packed by them, it would have made me absolutely happy. Also, music is still a personal thing and should be delivered this way. Nowadays, because of the internet, we consume many fragments that are personalized or pseudo-personal, hence we lack a certain intimacy. I don’t want to be one of 10,000 people that view a personal Instagram story- I want to be looked in the eye by my favorite artists.

It’s just not possible. But in our philosophy that would be some kind of paradox if it were. What we do is a result of our passion and our lunacy. Leoniden was a family and is now a company too. But because we are friends and love each other, it just works for us.

And if I would for example trip over a box of merchandise in the morning, I wouldn’t get mad, because I consider it a huge privilege that the things inside the box are a part of the dream we all had when we were teenagers. Selling your own merchandise, surviving as a band- and also as a bunch of friends.

How did you acquire all the necessary skills that you need in order to set up and run your own website and merch store and all the organizational skills that come with it?

We started with zero and grew better by trial and error. That’s it. We made a lot of mistakes and took care of not making them again.

What are some downsides to your work ethic? I heard that your own homes

How do you keep your personal and your work life separate?

Do you see yourselves proceeding like this indefinitely or could you see yourselves possibly giving up parts of your workload at some point in the future?

We already share some tasks with other people. The most important thing for us is just that we like them.

Working with friends!

If the shop gets too big for Djamin, we would hire some friends to help us.

And if Leoniden is able to nourish us plus our loved ones, how great would that be?

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community.

10 Punk Albums You Should Listen To anonymous

I

t seems like punk music is a genre that lends itself nicely to a variety of different styles and topics, taking different shapes depending on who is at the helm. This fluidity is something I am definitely drawn to; there’s a punk-rooted album for every mood. In this most versatile and cathartic of genres, there’s a lot of albums I’ve heard that I believe need more recognition for the band’s hard work in crafting their albums. Some of these groups (I’m looking at you, Prong) border on cheating, but I would argue each of these albums could use more appreciation.

Leftover Crack - Fuck World Trade (Anarcho-Ska-Crust) Some of you may be familiar with the sister band Choking Victim, making the record questionable on this list, but I will not be satisfied until all hear this grand, blasphemous work of art for yourself. A fresh, unique piece that successfully crosses the lines from genre to genre, melding anarcho punk, crust, ska, black metal, and more without feeling trite or gimmicky.

Sure, the combination of these genres is one that seems disgustingly wrong, yet, in this execution, it feels beautifully right. Give this a listen (check the rest of the Crack Rock Steady 5 while you’re at it).

For fans of - F-Minus, Choking Victim Can be found on: Spotify, Bandcamp

Pat the Bunny - Probably Nothing, Possibly Everything (Folk Punk) The best way to describe Probably Nothing, Possibly Everything is as a witty collection of bitter songs for aging punks that feel disassociated from the ones around them. In other words, folk punk’s Jeff Rosenstock. His works are catchy, simple pieces that give insight to the former member of Johnny Hobo and the Freight Chain and the Dishwasher Union’s frustrations as a man getting older in a world getting stranger.

For fans of - AJJ, The Taxpayers Can be found on: Spotify, Bandcamp

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Prong - Primitive Origins (Crossover Thrash) Before slowly morphing into one of the sole tolerable groove metal acts, Prong’s time as a crossover group gave us listeners a number of beer soaked records worth exploring, but their original EP stands as their shining moment. Much like their late 80’s contemporaries, this record juxtaposes the snotty and belligerent style of punk with a destructive, metallic edge, but with an energy that’s all their own.

For fans of - DRI, Nuclear Assault, Suicidal Tendencies Can be found on: Bandcamp, Youtube

Piss Test - LP2 (Post-Punk) Piss Test is made up of 3 of the most frustrated punks currently, aiming their sights at such topics as access to abortion, police corruption, sexism in the scene, and human trafficking. Their brand of garage-dwelling violence is just as fuzzy as it is intense (it’s pretty fuzzy), making it a perfect sound for the current, tumultuous times.

For fans of - The Stooges, Bikini Kill, The Wipers Can be found on: Bandcamp, Spotify

Blood - O Agios Pethane (Deathgrind) A must, and when I say must I mean MUST, listen for metal fans, O Agios Pethane is a fearsome, destructive romp through the fields of Hell and all that jazz. The phenomenal weight and power is impossible to understate, every part crushes and pulverizes the eardrums with a unspeakably precise fury. It’s good, yo.

For fans of - Impetigo, Early Carcass Can be found on: Spotify, Youtube

7 Year Bitch - Antidisestablishmentarianism (Riot Grrrl/Grunge) Easily one of my favorite riot grrrl releases, this EP is 4 songs of raw, grungy rebellion. The group is able to deliver songs like “Dead Men Don’t Rape” and “No Fuckin’ War” with an impressive conviction and ferocity. It’s no doubt a short one, but there’s something to be said for how strongly it catches your attention in its very short run time.

For fans of - Huggy Bear, Bikini Kill, L7 Can be found on: Spotify under the Sick ‘Em record.

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Circle Jerks - Gig (Hardcore Punk) I am well aware that this is cheating, but there’s something to be said for a record that not only encompasses, but fully recreates, a punk show. Now, whenever you want, you can feel the iconic Circle Jerks with the raw energy of a live show - they way they were meant to be enjoyed. Gig features a large assortment of the band’s most well known and most loved songs, all performed with charisma that’s impossible to ignore.

For fans of - Black Flag, Bad Religion, Circle Jerks’ Full Lengths Can be found on: Spotify, Youtube

No Trend - Too Many Humans…… (Noise Rock/Hardcore Punk/No Wave) No Trend’s own contempt for traditional music conventions and their own fanbase lead to an overall disappointing discography, but Too Many Humans… stands as a masterwork in bitter, misanthropic noise punk. The record (and the band itself) is filled to the brim with contempt - especially towards the hardcore scene - and feedback. Its abrasive stylings aren’t welcoming or accessible, but that’s the point. No Trend hates you and so does their music.

For fans of - The Dead C, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Swans Can be found on: Youtube, Discogs

Poison Idea - Pick Your King E.P. (Hardcore Punk) The best way to describe a band like Poison Idea is filthy. With grimy production, gritty vocals, and aggressive performances, this is one of those albums where you can practically smell the half full beer cans and excessive body odor that must have stunk up the recording session. Pick Your King benefits from this, no doubt, as it’s lively and writhing song structures fester and ferment in this environment, much like a fine wine or an even finer jug of milk.

For fans of - The Circle Jerks, Cro-Mags Can be found on: Spotify, Youtube

A bit of an anomaly in terms of deathgrind, this german grind group seems to be themed around university, with song titles like “Into the Auditorium” and “Numerus Clausus,” but play like anything but a novelty group. Belligerent furious assaults are delivered in spades through speedy riffs and walls of cymbal crashes and snare hits. A frenzied and cacophonous demo, clocking in at just over 11 minutes, this is a hidden gem worth giving a shot.

For fans of - Assuck, Terrorizer, Impaled Can be found on: Youtube, Discogs

Photo: Alexandra Thomas

Professor - Academizer (Grindcore/Death Metal)

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POLYDRIVE by gabrielle miranda

Did you always feel as though there was something not right with the “DRIVE-IN era”?

When we first decided on the name “DRIVE-IN” we hoped to create a name that sounded like our music. I kinda feel like we missed the mark just slightly. When people hear the word “drive-in” they instantly associated us with 50s or 60s retro, and that’s not something we wanted. It was becoming difficult to connect our music and aesthetic with the name.

What possessed you to want to change your name from DRIVE-IN to POLYDRIVE?

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Besides wanting a name to match our sound better, we also had to think about search engine optimization. We hated the idea of changing our name just for PR, but at the same time if you searched “DRIVE-IN” on any social media site, I guarantee you we’d be the last thing to show up. It’s hard telling people about our music knowing that they probably won’t find it.

What was the process?

We’d been contemplating releasing our songs under one album for awhile.

We started planning everything sometime during the beginning of the summer, and sort of laid out a sched-

ule of how it would all unfold. We actually had most of the new album done before we were even decided on a new name. It was probably like mid September when we officially decided to go with POLYDRIVE. I remember typing the name out in like fifty different fonts on my laptop, all of us loved it so much. For the first time in a while we really started to envision our whole image coming together.

When constructing PRELUDE how did you choose the songs that would be a part of it?

It came down to the songs that we personally loved the most. It was definite-

ly difficult saying no to some songs, because we love them all. Ultimately, we made the album and the order as if it was going to be the setlist of a live show. The songs you see on this record are the ones we’ve been playing live all year, so it just made sense that way. Once we laid out the setlist and orchestrated how the album would flow, we fell in love with it and felt that it was perfect.

Does every song on the album have a reason for why it’s there?

Yes, definitely. We wanted people to be able to listen from beginning to end without any sort of discrepancy. So really all the songs are intentionally next to each other based on the flow and feeling of each one.

How does it feel to have a different “identity” now?

We’re still the same band, just a bit more polished, and a lot more accessible. We learned a lot over this past year, and we feel like this new album and name is a great chance for

us to really establish our image and the overall aesthetic that we’ve been dreaming up since the beginning.

What has been your process for making music?

This summer we were all three able to sit down and really work on the songs together. In the past, with some of us being away at school, we had to just send files back and forth and communicate over Facetime. This summer was a healthy change for us; [it meant] being able to work together in the same room again.

I know some of you are in school. How do you make that separation work?

While we got the majority of the album finished in the summer, we still had some work to do when school started back up. In October we made a trip to New York where Lars goes to college to finished the album. It was a really fun experience for us. We set up our speakers in a small vacant piano hall and spent a whole day finishing the record.

How long have you been working on PRELUDE? The idea for a re-release first came up during the making of our third EP. We had already grown a lot as producers since the first two releases and wanted to do our songs justice by making them sound better and easier to listen to.

How does it feel to have PRELUDE out for everyone to hear?

It’s very exciting. We’re so proud of this record. It’s the kind of music we’ve always wanted to make, and so far the feedback has been so encouraging for us.

Were there some songs that almost made it on the album that you had to cut?

We also made a completely new rendition of “You Are to Me” that we’re probably going to release as a demo at some point because we love it so much. We just didn’t think that the album needed another slow song.

Do you guys have anything else in the works that you’re planning to put out?

If we’re being honest, we have enough new music to put out two more albums. But as for the near future, we have some singles that are on the schedule to be released along with music videos. And it’s probably some of the best stuff we’ve ever made.

SuburbanRose.Com | @SuburbanRoseMag

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How Pop Punk Killed Scene Music brett wodon

R

ecently I had this huge kick of listening to the album Someday Came Suddenly by Attack Attack! I even bought the CD off of someone and had their old singer, Johnny Franck, sign it at a show for his new band, Bilmuri (it was even the 10th anniversary of the album to the day). All of this throwback 2008 nostalgia had me wondering where this whole scene went and what the hell happened to

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that Warped Tour style simple metalcore “scenecore” stuff. There was such a huge surge of that style back in the early 2000s, and scene culture back then was insanely popular. Today, you see none of that. Metalcore has changed, the style has changed within the genre and the Warped Tour scene.

The bands on Warped Tour are different or they’re the same bands/people with a new aesthetic. Obviously, this

is a classic example of a fad or trend dying out over time, but what lingered in my mind for weeks was WHAT THE HELL KILLED SCENE CULTURE?

I have looked up YouTube videos of what it meant to be scene, what it was really all about, and what people thought of it to be back in the day. There is no straight answer that I could find that solidified anything, but for our intents and purposes in this

piece, I am going to consider “scene” music to be 2000s bands who played Warped Tour during that time and played either some form of metalcore or post-hardcore or electronicore/ crunkcore, etc. Bands like Pierce the Veil, Sleeping with Sirens, 30H!3, Bring Me the Horizon, Of Mice & Men, Attack Attack!, Asking Alexandria, even Suicide Silence, and Chelsea Grin. While almost all of these bands are still around today, the culture around them has absolutely changed.

So what is the answer to what killed scenecore Warped Tour culture?

Pop punk. 2010s pop punk killed scene. (Again for the purposes of the piece, I use the term pop punk lightly.

It will probably include a blanket of other “emo” leaning bands and stuff like that, but bear with me.)

But yes, pop punk and the culture around that killed scene music. Some of the biggest evidence that I can provide is the bands who were playing on Warped Tour. Kevin Lyman always tried to get bands that would draw crowds. Bands who were in popular demand got a hot spot on that summer’s tour. At a certain point in time, the bands shifted from those scene culture bands to a more pop punk scene like The Story So Far, The Wonder Years, and bands in that vein.

Between 2006 and 2011 bands like Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Escape the

Photo: Taylor Brielle

Right: Photo from the final run of Vans Warped Tour in Pomona, CA.

Fate, Blessthefall, Silverstein, Gym Class Heroes, 3OH3!, Bring Me the Horizon, Pierce the Veil, Attack Attack!, Brokencyde, Breathe Carolina, Saosin, Jeffree Star, Suicide Silence, Alesana, Underoath, From First to Last, etc. were playing Warped Tour.

From what I see, 2011 was the turning point, and by 2014 was when everything started to seriously change.

In 2011, The Wonder Years played Warped Tour for the first time. This was also the year that they released their album Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing, which was huge for them. The Story So Far also played that year in support of their album Under Soil and Dirt. 2 years later, The Wonder Years played again in support of what many consider to be their best album, and maybe the best pop punk album of that wave of bands. By 2014, The Story So Far was near the top of the bill and Neck Deep made it onto the bill. We all know how huge they became. Not to mention, all of these years bands like Simple Plan and Mayday Parade were dominating the lineup. Those bands, though, are still associated more with the scene crowd, and while they still get huge draw if they played in more recent years, it was the newer up and coming bands like Neck Deep, The Wonder Years, The Story So Far, State Champs, Knuckle Puck, etc. who were getting the rising attention.

In very recent years, bands like Movements were dominating crowds at Warped Tour. The shift in

culture has been unreal lately, and it seemed to happen overnight. No more do girls walk around praising Pierce the Veil and Sleeping With Sirens as their saviors, but its stuff like State Champs, Knuckle Puck, and especially Neck Deep who are drawing huge amounts of fans. In place of scene culture has stepped in the whole new wave of pop punk bands and indie/ emo bands. The fashion has shifted, and boy, is it great.

It would be really easy to argue, again, that this is all just a product of time, and something like scene culture was never going to last that long in the first place. Something was going to have to take its place eventually. Pop punk was always huge anyway. If you look at Google Trends, the term “scene” saw a surge of searches around the time that I mentioned, but pop punk was always higher than it no matter what. I will argue, though, that pop punk reached an insane peak around 2014-2015. This is right in the prime moment where it was reaching a huge popularity, while scene was steadily declining into nothingness.

This is truly all fun and games. Maybe pop punk didn’t truly “kill” scene music, but it surely and steadily replaced it. This was just a fun theory I thought up in my head while reminiscing on past times, but I still find it fascinating that we can almost pinpoint the exact moment when things shifted. Maybe soon we will be able to write about what kills pop punk.

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by s andra garcia HOAX are a band out of New York whose self-described “empathy pop” illustrates that they are not interested in following the same generic indie pop outline that might be expected of them. Their lyricism is raw, the rhythms influenced by a wide range of genres that leaves the music a collage of vintage sounds. They are admiringly positive, and they are firm believers in giving yourself to others unabashedly and seeing where that action takes you. We chatted with Mike Raj (vocals) and Frantz Cesar (bass) about their influences, New York, and texting fans pictures of their dogs.

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Who’s in charge of the puppy pics?

What struck me is that you guys have some really great lines in your bios: the “click for a virus” redirect to the “Moon Moon Baby” music video, the “text us for puppy pics” one.

Mike: I’ve inadvertently taken to this responsibility. It really stemmed from my hatred of bios. Some artists have REALLY great bios (and kudos to them) but I guess ‘cause Frantz and I can dissociate from the music and the brand, every bio we’ve ever heard about us sounded cheesy and inauthentic, as if we were being put on a pedestal or something. So one day, I just had enough. I deleted our bio and put my phone number up and just started texting people pictures of my dog Luna and Frantz’s dog Xolo, who are absolute icons.

With the virus thing, it was kind of the same idea. I could write a deep para-

Issue Three

graph about why you should listen to our music, but really, at the end of the day, we want the music to do most of the talking for us. I like to leave a lot of things I want to talk about in the music itself—it’s just the way Frantz and I are as people. Kind of introversive.

I haven’t yet texted the number. Is it an automated thing, or what can we expect to get when we do?

Mike: It’s my actual phone number, which is probably a terrible idea. But no, yeah, I’ll usually snap pics of my dog on the spot when people ask. And usually the people who text us end up having a conversation with me, which is really cool ‘cause it’s like talking directly to people. I’ve even gotten into 8-Ball matches with certain people. I think most people think it’s a hoax, but they end up actually reaching me—a real person—and it’s just always cool to have real conversations.

I feel like it’s a really cool way to connect with listeners as so many of my favorite bands use a phone number.

Where did you get the idea from and why?

Frantz: I think it’s just a byproduct of our generation. Unless it’s for work or something, no one is really communicating through email. We communicate primarily through our phones, and I think if someone wants to get in touch with us, they shouldn’t have to jump through hoops just to do it.

Still on the phone point, I was super excited to see the 516 number [Nassau county, LI] because it’s where I’m from, too. Everyone I know who grew up here has such a massively different taste in music. Can you talk a little bit about the way your physical location has impacted your sound? I think your music is difficult to define (genre doesn’t exist) and it’s probably reflected in your personal interests. What music did you each grow up with?

Mike: My parents developed a love for disco music, so we grew up listening to artists like the Bee Gees. My mom is a huge MJ fan and said she named me after Michael Jackson himself. I grew up listening to a lot of Motown, disco, and just pop from my parents’ time or even a little before (like the Beach Boys). But one of the first people in

my life to show me rock music was my uncle. My parents were pretty conservative and didn’t really want me to listen to music with distorted electric guitars, so my uncle would make these rock mixtapes on actual cassettes with bands like The Doors, Zeppelin, Hendrix, etc. So I grew up listening to a lot of everything and developed an ear that kind of favors lyrically and melodically strong music but [that] also has groove and a little bit of edge.

Frantz: I would say Motown and the music it has spawned would have to be one of the biggest musical influences for me. I grew up on Motown, and it’s so funny because when I was a kid, I would always think about how all I wanted to do was listen to music other kids my age were listening to, but my mom would always be playing Smokey Robinson records or Stevie Wonder records. And now, looking back, it really had a profound effect on me and what I look for in music I like.

Mike: Yeah, I think because sometimes the 516 is kind of dead. We grew up listening to a lot of our parents’ music and music of our own time, and it kind of grew into this desire to make music that has a modern vintage vibe.

New York very much has its own music scene. How did it affect you on a personal and musical level?

Frantz: New York is just so great in the sense that it really allows you to be experimental. Some other places have unaccepting scenes where if you don’t have a certain sound or style, you are going to have a hard time growing an audience. But New York is great because it’s so big and diverse, and you can still be experimental and innovative and not worry about being judged.

Mike: [NY] is the one place where the hustle really never dies, and every time you think you’re working hard, you’ll see that there is someone working ten times harder—and that is so inspiring.

It’s like being surrounded by an endless form of inspiration. But I guess the opposite side of that is it’s really easy to burn out working on music in New York.

Let’s talk about the Valentine’s Day cards on your Instagram. In you making these sorts of feminist statements, you’re actively contributing to positive social discourse. How important is it to you that you use your platform to make these statements? Do you think that it is an artist’s duty to be political?

Mike: We are always going to act in a way that we perceive as morally right, but when it comes to an artist’s duties… I honestly think that is a conversation every artist should have with themselves, and then stick to whatever

text for puppy pics:

516-376-5481

decision they come to and live it out.

I think to say that it’s every artist’s duty to be political is a bit of a stretch, especially if an artist is naturally not a very political person. But what I will say is that every artist that I have ever found deep inspiration from naturally has spoken their mind freely and used their platform to keep the conversation alive: Cash, Dylan, Gaye (I could name a hundred more) all used their mediums to bring further discourse on issues that they were passionate about.

I think that’s the key: music and art is a two-way conversation between the artist and the listener, and those conversations are most colorful when the subject matter is built from something real.

Frantz: We believe that especially in times where the political landscape and social environment is so hostile and unapologetic, we have got to keep the conversation alive. We need to have people from opposite sides of thoughts conversing, and talking, because the minute we lose conversation, we lose empathy and humanity. So if we can keep conversations going, from an emotional or even philosophical standpoint, with our music, well then I think we’ve accomplished something I can be proud of.

Lyrically, I wouldn’t say that your music is just you singing about some basic emotion. (For context, I once went to a gig and this artist introduced one of his songs by saying, “I have two moods: a sad mood and a happy mood. I wrote this when I was in a sad mood,” and the whole song was him basically just repeating one line about his sadboi problems.) From where do you draw inspiration?

Mike: It’s actually funny—I was just talking about this with Frantz. It’s hard to say, but I know one thing we try to capture is actually how it feels to think something through. I’m a huge William Faulkner fan, and he employs a stream of consciousness in his writing a lot. And I always thought it was the most beautiful device ever.

To me, there is something so honest about that and how it is embedded in

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the human condition. Emotions are very rarely one-at-a-time experiences.

Most of the time, emotions are really a blend of many different feelings all felt at once. And we try to get that to come across lyrically in our music. From time to time, I actually send some lyrics out to some close friends and get their feedback on them. And recently, for one song in particular, one of my friends told me it was all over the place, and I kind of jokingly replied, “Welcome to the world.”

I just think our minds are these overworked translators for these indescribable feelings and emotions, so inevitably, our minds think all over the place.

I started doing this exercise where I would try to not think for a timed minute and would write all the things I thought about in that period of time and it would usually be about ten different things. But yeah, emotions are a

blend of multiple feelings at once, and that’s something we try to capture with our music.

Lastly, what can we expect next from you guys?

Mike: Right now, we’re working on finishing our debut album that will be released in 2019 called b? The album is a concept album where we explore this dichotomy between “doing” vs. “being.” I could go into the whole idea of it now, but I’d rather you all get the first impression from the music alone.

You know, let the music do the talking.

But yeah, mostly we will be MIA working on b? and touring. This is our first album that will be one of the truest and most accurate representations of us as artists, musicians, and people.

Frantz: Also, look out for the visuals we release alongside the project!

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ATLANTIS AQUARIUS photos & interview by alexandra thomas

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What’s your first music memory?

Jordan: I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma and we went to church every Sunday. I remember when I was about five years old, there was a group of guys in the church [who] had this band called The John Harris Soldier Band—they’re not huge, like you won’t find their music or anything—but I remember seeing them, and it just hypnotized me. I knew that’s what I wanted to do. Just seeing the brotherhood, the comradery of guys making music together—and it was in church so it was super spiritual.

Taylor: Being in the front seat of my uncle’s car. He was a great whistler; he could do the vibrato and sound like a little bird. He would whistle along in harmony to the radio and I remember hearing it, and knowing that it went along with the song but it wasn’t what was playing on the radio. I was so intrigued by what that was. Since that day harmony has kind of been my thing. That was my first time ever hearing it and understanding what it was. To this day I cannot whistle worth shit (laughs). I wish I could, but it’s just not in the cards for me I guess.

What was it like the very first time you performed in front of a crowd?

Jordan: That would have been in church as well. My twin brother, my best friend Michael, and I were the three wise men for a Christmas pageant, so we sang “We Three Kings.”

That was the first time I performed for an audience. It was awesome. I mean, I was a kid, so I didn’t really know what was happening, but it was fun. I think it’s on a home video somewhere.

Taylor: The first time I ever performed in front of a crowd with a live band was at The Garland Opry. I was so nervous. I had never sung live. I only sang along to karaoke tracks that I bought from Mr. Sam’s Music or whatever. [...] But I had never played with a band. They were all older men who knew what they were doing, but I was like ten years old. [...] I was just freaking out. I remember telling my grand-

father, “Granddaddy, I have these terrible butterflies in my stomach.”

And he said, “Well, just remember, you never get butterflies on a bad day, so this must be a good day.” I remember now to view those butterflies in a different way than I had before. That shaped a little bit of my perspective as a performer and how I look at live performance. I look at it as something to be celebrated instead of feared.

What is your favorite song to play live?

Jordan: It changes. Right now, it’s probably “Waiting on the Next Life,” which will be on the next record coming out in February.

“So many people’s flame burns out because they don’t know how to balance it all.”

Taylor: It depends on what type of vocal day I’m having. It also depends on if you’re asking for a cover or an original. But I love singing “Give Me Shelter” and singing the Mary Clayton solo in it—that’s if I’m feeling really on point. If I’ve had too many drinks, then I might prefer to sing “River Runs Deep” by JJ Cale where it has, like, murder mystery vibes. But it’s a great tune that I love to sing. I love to sing anything by Aretha Franklin. “Rock Me Baby” is a great tune. I’m not good at favorites, let’s just put it that way.

Those are a handful of favorites.

Who’s had the biggest influence on your career?

Jordan: Probably [songwriter and musician] Leon Russell. [He was] another fellow Oklahoman. Just his combination of gospel and rock ’n roll.

He played with The Rolling Stones, The Beatles. Elton John was praising him. He’s the man. [He had] the long hair and the beard, also. He definitely influenced me.

Taylor: Beau [Patrick] Bedford heard me singing in a car one night while I was in college. I went to college for interior design. I hadn’t [sung] in over five years—it was like a sabbatical for me. I was missing it terribly; that’s all I was really good at. Long story short, he heard my voice and had me audition to be in Larry Gee (now The Texas Gentlemen). So when I was having finals week, I was also on tour with Larry Gee and getting to play in New York and getting to travel. So as soon as I graduated I was in a band. I was playing with some of the best musicians in Dallas that I’m still playing with to this day. Beau put me in that and he began putting me on records as background vocals. [...] He was the person who put me in the game and kept putting me in and believed in me. I work for him, but he’s one of my greatest friends. I would do anything for him and he’s done a lot for me.

What would you say is the most difficult part of being a musician?

Jordan: I feel sorry for [my wife]. It’s hard to live with an artist. Coming in late, being out on the road. Having to balance a family with the nightlife is extremely hard and emotional, but thank God I have a loving wife who’s full of grace and support. We find a way to balance it.

Taylor: I think it’s difficult to be wellrounded. Great musicians either have really great help or they are multifaceted. It’s a business that you’re running.

You want to be authentic and you want to be relatable, but you also want to keep privacy and be self-preserved and keep balance in your life. [...] So many people’s flame burns out because they don’t know how to balance it all. Being a musician, being an artist, being a friend, being a daughter, being whatSuburbanRose.Com | @SuburbanRoseMag

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ever else—just staying a person and also being a musician.

If you could collaborate with one artist, past or present, who would it be?

Jordan: Leon Russell. He passed away a couple of years ago. I got to see him play, but never got to collaborate with him. That would’ve been a dream come true.

Taylor: See, I’m not good with pick-

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ing one thing! I would probably pick Beyoncé or Aretha Franklin. Or Whitney Houston! Oh my God! Or… okay those three [women]. Those three are like my ultimate [women]. If I could be anything like them one day—yeah those would be my three picks.

What’s been the craziest thing that’s happened to you at a concert?

Jordan: There have been so many concerts and so many crazy situations.

Fights, which I hate, and I don’t stand for. [...] After our Kid Rock show, we got into a huge fight and almost got kicked off of tour. It was with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Kid Rock. We went on tour with them. We lost our keys. Kid Rock gave us all this whiskey and we had all of it. We had to get a key made, and our bass player and our lead singer got in a fight—this is not Atlantis Aquarius by the way. This is an old band I was in. But yeah, thank God we didn’t get kicked off the tour.

Taylor: Being brought backstage or side stage. That’s happened a few times. That’s the craziest thing. It’s happened with some pretty cool people. Or being invited onstage. That sounds like kind of an arrogant answer but—[the] craziest thing is being invited backstage.

What’s been the most rewarding moment of your career thus far?

Jordan: Hearing myself on the radio for the first time.

Taylor: I think the response from the people you sing for is really rewarding, but that’s not a moment. Singing on the stage at the Ryman Auditorium and meeting [country singer] Wynonna Judd. [...] Wynonna gave me some glitter eyeshadow and said, “This is

for the next generation of greatness.” I have that glitter eyeshadow in a glass box at my bedside for good juju. I was so humbled by that moment. But it’s also rewarding to meet people that have come to multiple shows and get to say hi to them. It’s great to have those connections with people.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?

Jordan: Do it ‘cause you love it. That’s it. You might never make it. You might make it. But you gotta love it either way. Just keep doing it.

Taylor: Find some other way to make money. Get a second job. Work hard.

Work harder than the person [who] works a nine-to-five. That’s what I would suggest. Have another form of making money. You don’t want to

have to take every bar gig that you’re offered just to pay rent. Give yourself some exclusivity; then you’ll never feel like you’re compromising the integrity of your art for a paycheck. You don’t want to have to play every three-hour bar gig just to make a couple hundred bucks. Give yourself another route to make money. Be ambitious, be a hard worker, and find another way to support yourself. Also, try to be authentic.

Try to stay genuine. You have to try to stay connected. If you’re not willing to focus on that, then you’ve lost your touch.

love? nah. find the perfect anthem for your valentine’s day.

1

2 missing that person you spent last valentines day with?

got a crush that’s tearing you apart?

valentine’s sux

best friend (rex

(the frights)

orange county)

4 trying to get over a recent ex?

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in love with the people and places that build you up?

breakup anthem

home (morgxn ft.

(WOLVVES)

walk the moon)

Photo: Bethany Camp

3

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