Well, well, well what the hell can I say about these dorks. How about, these guys write music the way more artists should write music? Yeah, I like that. Let’s go with that shall we?

Basically the members of The Changing Light have been in so many friggin bands its almost comical. However each band member brings a different background and collective experience to the table and that much is clear from one listen their debut EP The Past is the Proglogue. Blending styles seamlessly rather than sewing them together creates a sound that is completely the band’s own. Indie, Post-Hardcore, Progressive, and even Funk mix incredibly into what can only be described as music porn. The choruses are catchy and when they get all crunchy and distorted through verses and breaks it’s mesmerizing to hear.

Originally based out of Philly the band has relocated to Central PA to regroup and re-formulate their plan for global domination. If there is a debut worth mentioning in 2012 it’s the bizarre masterminds of The Changing Light. 

Love,
Jacob P. Overholt 

I’ve noticed a huge underground resurgence of the traditional Emo genre, and the dudes of Marietta are among the emotional charged punks making waves in Philadelphia. Now you may notice something very unique about this WMW post and that is because this is the very first post to feature WMW Alumni. The Putdown’s own Ben Johnson and Andrew Weigel have transplanted themselves into the Philly music scene. Don’t get confused though Marietta is a very different musical experience than the Putdown.

For one don’t expect to hear this band play a song four times in a single set, (fucking bastards). In fact this band is an entirely serious artistic expression of frustrated young adults living day to day with their hopes and mistakes. Maybe that was a little too emo for this band but you get the jist. I honestly can’t say that I feel comfortable writing about them, not because they aren’t good, they are absolutely fantastic. It’s just they are little removed from my typical listening experiences. They have a very loud sound in that the guitars, vocals, and drums reach this level where they remain very clear yet distorted. It’s not your typical overdriven guitars, its more an emotional overdrive and that’s where the excitement is in their music. 

They have a new split out right now with another Philly band called Modern Baseball. I have not listened to the MB side but I have heard quite a lot of the Marietta side. It is a fantastic display of earnest musicianship at it’s finest. It’s sing along worthy and heavily influenced by American Football and Cap’n Jazz without a doubt, so if you are into those guys then this is the record for you. Everything melds really well in their music and are definitely a group that needs to be seen live.

Speaking of which…

They are gonna be heading out with Modern Baseball and Steady Hands this july. Get into it.

Love,
Jacob P. Overholt

Got something to say then say it, apply to be a guest blogger by submitting an essay on something you believe should be addressed in the Music industry and we’ll post it.

All ridicule, compliments, questions, and suggestions can be left in our ask box

Pick up our Compilation, LUMA and Friends Vol.3 today!  

So this year at Launch I caught a band that I thought should get a shout out on WMW. This band is Currents a five piece metalcore outfit from Fairfield County, Connecticut.

I caught their set on Saturday they were the first set I checked out, my friend Bubba sold their drummer a Keepers of the Pizza shirt and that was the extent of the interaction I had with them. They played a solid set, they were extremely tight.

Can you say seven strings? Heavier than a ton of Mercury on the surface of Mercury. 

Five string bass to round out their sound and a vocalist doing excellent highs and lows. Their bassist finger picks when he plays, even despite the the mach one pace their music goes at. The melodies this band uses over their breakdowns keep everything lively while the machine gun drums and chugs keeps the pits moving. 

I would be really excited to see a release from these guys in the near future, let’s hope they keep the metal chugging. 

You can hear some singles from them at their Facebook page

Love,
Jacob P. Overholt 

Got something to say then say it, apply to be a guest blogger by submitting an essay on something you believe should be addressed in the Music industry and we’ll post it.

All ridicule, compliments, questions, and suggestions can be left in our ask box

Pick up our Compilation, LUMA and Friends Vol.3 today! 

WMW Launch Edition!!! With triple the music and triple the sex.

Make Like a Tree

If you don’t like good music then you can leave…(see what I did there, I know I’m not funny). Make like a tree is fairly new to the scene, only having one track available on their Facebook page but it is a doozy of a track. Having jammed with two of the members I can personally vouch for their musicianship. Taking cues from from more technical Metal acts as well groove and melodic metal bands Make Like a Tree has an intoxicating and refreshing sound. The drums are precise and brutalizing making the rhythms come alive in the speakers. The guitars are melodic enough to set bring the beauty in each track but bite like rapid wolf. In the vocal department we have two men working out their chords, one giving soaring melodies and one spewing out howls the way one may spew up a bottle of vodka. Make Like a Tree have a lot to offer from being together such a short time, make sure to catch them at Launch this year

Thursday April 26th, 7:15pm @ Hotel Brunswick

Vegas Under Lights

Now I don’t know the Vegas dudes real well but a lot people speak highly of them so I gave their music a listen the other night was generally entertained. They remind me a lot of Bouncing Souls and a little bit of early Blink-182. This band has a lot of energy in their music, passion, and just some plain an simple honesty. Its nice to find that in a band when I feel like so many fake those qualities these days. I just wanna start a circle pit when I hear their tracks, like I wanna discard my feelings and just stage dive all night. It’s a very classic pop-punk sound and could go a long way at the hands of these incredible dudes.

They will be playing

Saturday April 28th, 8:15pm @ Hotel Brunswick

Scout’s Honor

These fuckers…. I’m just kidding look at their cute little faces.

Yes I saved the sexiest for last, that’s right official LUMA boy toys Free the…. What? What do you mean they changed their name? Why didn’t any of you jerk offs tell me?

Well Scout’s honor(gay) just put out an EP(gayer)….. Okay seriously now Scout’s Honor put out an EP and it’s just amazing, these guys have come such a long way from the wide eyed little kids getting parking tickets at Drexel. Like I said previously before I got off topic, Scout’s Honor had previously been a four piece called Free the Empire. I met them through their bassist Antonio who had previously been in another LUMA family member band We Go Sailing, by the way that demo is online somewhere find it and enjoy or I’ll send it to you. 

Dammit back to business with the inclusion of their new guitarist Evan, and Josh focusing on vocals only, the band having poured their hearts, souls, and semen into new tracks it was time for a name change. What came just after the name change was a stunning, melodically enchanting 5 song album that I can begin to describe cause I’m writing a review on it. So yeah if you are familiar with the band an older song Seconds from Disaster sounds fucking amazing, I will post it shortly. 

Scout’s Honor will take the Launch stage alongside LUMA girlfriends Shotgun No Blitz on:

Saturday April 28th 9:45pm @ Hotel Brunswick

With all that being said, please stay tuned cause the Launch Madness begins tomorrow night with plenty of Shenanigans to get stoked on. 

Love,
Jacob P. Overholt 

Wow it’s been a while, really need to get back into this shit.

Say hello to Progressive Metal outfit Today I Caught the Plague from Ottawa, Ontario. I believe this is the blog’s first Canadian band, hell first non-american band. This band just has everything you could come to expect from the genre melting pot that is the modern music scene but done cleanly and efficiently.

I got their debut EP Ms. Mary Mallon back in high school and I swear there was at least a month where it was all I listened to. Their lead vocalist has to be some kind of Canadian Science project made up of the genes of famous opera singers and bears. I know that sounds ridiculous but when you hear this band you’ll understand. The Guitars are beautifully heavy, melding melody with intensity through some finger shattering shredding. Keyboards adds an ominousness to their sound rather than any sort of trashy dance core synth lines.

I cannot forget the Bass or the Drumming for this band as both do not cease to amaze me with every track I hear. The Bass bobs along feels very jazz oriented, incredibly adding this brilliant undertone that carries these songs from start to finish. Listen to the God City Gunfight, a splintering track that delivers this insane groove right smack in the middle completely putting TICTP on whole other level of metal godliness. The drums are so tight and technical I swear a machine could not play these patterns, why this band has not blown the fuck up yet is beyond me. The drummer plays heavy extremely well without it getting boring and can play chilled down tempos with the same intensity. 

This band does everything I would expect from modern Metal perfectly, I cannot find anything to complain about expect that more bands cannot put out such incredible quality of music under the metal genre tag. Make sure you grab their new full length Lore, it is an absolutely breathe taking album.

Love
Jacob P. Overholt 

I know it’s been a while but I come baring gifts for you dearest readers. Say hello to Nashville Tennessee’s Heartfelt. Much in the vein of Champion, Heartfelt’s melodic hardcore is much more than a message of rebellion, they’re message is a positive one too. 

Formed a little under a year ago the band has already recorded a full length and have a summer tour lined up. The band has shown they have the drive to make it to the big leagues, racking up fans in every pissed off kid who no longer wants to tolerate the stupidity of the world around us. Furious Vocals over even more enraged musician ship has Heartfelt’s music set down a truly righteous (in every meaning of the word) path. If you are truly pissed off and need a aggressive outlet with a positive kick check out Heartfelt and their full length Perceptions. Sludgy guitars, punk beats, and breakdowns that actually have some intensity to them. 

Love,
Jacob P. Overholt 

This is gonna be a quick post, got some studying to do.

On to the good stuff, Polygraphist (pronounced puh·lig·gruh·fist) is the brain child of Buffalo NY native Sam McMillan. Much in the vein of Animals as Leaders and Cloudkicker this man features feats of musical acrobatics and precision throughout all his songs. Where as the others may be machine gun assaults on your ear drums, the recent effort from Sam, Nighterror is similar to that of carpet bombing. It’s relentless, (despite a few fantastic jazz sections to give you a breather) featuring more notes in one song than most artists play in their lives, it’s the kind of riffage you should be expecting from anyone who labels themselves as Metal. For those who have discovered the instrumental version of this album your missing a whole different experience from the addition of vocals. The vocals are guttural and driving adding a nice new dimension for those who are used to hearing metal of this caliber from only the instrumentalists.

This album is available for free online from the project’s bandcamp account, you can find the link in our free music section at the top of the page. Pick up some other fancy things while you’re in that section, perhaps LUMA and Friends Vol.3?

I’ll leave you today with just a taste of this musical wizards work via the Whiteout music video

Love,
Jacob P. Overholt 

Figured I should get my scene cred in before they blow up in AP next month.

The five incredibly attractive men you see before you are the members of Central PA’s No-fucks-given-core band Imora. “Wait, no fucks given? Core? What ever do you mean Jake?” Says you, the reader. Well if you’d hold on to your britches I’ll explain, geez.

While Imora is technically a year old previously known as Amora, you’ll find an earlier version of If the Shoe Fits on Vol. 2 of LUMA and Friends. This crack team of noise making individuals have been at this game for the better part of the last decade. Did you know there was a time when We Came As Romans didn’t sell out venues? Yeah I was there and there was legitimately more people raging to these guys (going by A City Undone at that time) at that show than WCAR. Two words for you guys, Keyboard handstands, and honestly that’s really all I remember from that night other than the sticky white substance I found in my underwear upon a trip to the bathroom post-set. I digress, this band knows the power of electrically charged sets if you don’t believe me look up some youtube videos of their halloween set from this year. You can’t find it? Do I have to do everything?

Do you believe me that these guys are awesome? Good let’s get to the dirt. 

Do you like epic EPs like me? Well get into this then and you’ll appreciate my love.

Probably one of the most impassioned, dynamite Eps I’ve heard in while. (Do people still say dynamite? Fuck it I’m bringing it back.) This EP plays like it was written in 2004 among the height of the scream-sing era of the music scene. These 3 dynamic tracks could easily fit in anywhere on Underoath’s They’re Only Chasing to Safety which everyone knows to be a classic 2000’s album. Jeff Leuschan and Dave Daniels the throat, and the angelics respectively easily channel that urgency of Spencer and Aaron which I fucking love. Jeff is a two sided coin though, with screams ranging from Shane Told’s emotionally tinged cries to Tim Lambesis’s earth rattling growls. Dave’s vocals are pure and crisp, innocent in their own way. If Dave put out an acoustic album I’d buy it and put every track on a playlist to impress a girl I liked. In addition to heavenly singing Dave also lays down solid percussion throughout the bands music. Beats are always appropriate and on time, not one kick is out of place. 

As for guitar we have Rob Heck and Ryan Brosius (yeah that’s his name he’s also the broest of all bros in existence) contribute something that is missing in most metal core releases, god damn melody. Instead of a nauseous assault of 83 different guitar riffs Imora keeps it clean and refreshing. There’s so much melody in these songs, that if it weren’t for the tone and vocals they could be a pop-rock band, but believe me when I say this, there is plenty of bite and gut punching heaviness to be had from these guys. Take Ryan ‘Mac’ Macaluso’s bass parts for example, they boom, they punch, rattle every stage I’ve ever seen him play on. It’s also really satisfying that the songs are written well enough that it’s not just something to thicken the chugs. 

Which leaves us with Chris Cherif. Look I am going to agree that the synth thing is played out for the most and there are few bands still doing it right. Imora is one of those bands. The keys in this band are an element, not just a gimmick. It’s not just a catchy thing to throw over uninteresting breakdowns, it is its own living breathing functioning element that adds intricacies to the already impressive structure of the songs and not to be written off, someone should inform the scene about this…

Overall the songs are alive, they eat pussy and shit babies (too strong a term?). This music is solid, interesting and on all accounts a supreme showing of artistic capabilities. Now go to iTunes and fucking buy it.

Love
Jacob P. Overholt 

Genre: Post-everythingcore
Label: Hopeless/Ambush Reality
Current Release: A Flash Flood of Colour

“We’re Enter Shikari, from Planet Earth.” - Chris Batten

I know my typical MO for a WMW post is unsigned, overlooked, or underground music but this is without a doubt my favorite band in the scene currently. Also I write this blog so I can do whatever I want and you can deal with it. Still I would not lead you wrong kiddies, trust me.

Before we get into this I want to let you know that a majority of this post will based around their new album A Flash Flood of Colour. It will officially hit the streets January 17th through Hopeless Records here in the states. Now for the disclaimer I have heard the entire album already and will be reviewing it throughout this post. I however do not advocate piracy nor do I oppose it (more on that in a future post). I have purchased the mega bundle through merchnow.com featuring the vinyl, CD, T-Shirt, stickers, poster, and a live lion cub. So don’t condemn me I just wanted to hear the damn album all ready.

“Abusing Music Genre’s worthless boundaries since 2003” - Rou Reynolds

 Anyone who has seen this band live has heard the selected quotes blared over the Venue PA. This is not just witty stage banter, these are mission statements, definitions of what a a band can be. To not strive to be categorized or stereotyped, to stand out and be a voice of not just one person but an entire civilization. Enter Shikari is not a band bound to the ideals of vanity and fame but to the ideas of quality and appreciation for their art. Ambush Reality the band’s independent record label has been issuing their EPs, singles, and albums since 2006 helping to the band to one of the only bands to sell out some of the UK’s largest music venues while technically unsigned.

AFFOC is the band’s third full length album, it is preceded by the equally ambitious and notable albums Take to the Skies (2007) and Common Dreads (2009). Shikari has also released a slew of independent singles, EPs, Live albums, remixes, and B-Sides compilations. Most notable of some of these one of these stand alone singles was Destabilise which was released at the height of the Band’s 2010 Warped Tour run and garnered the band notable attention amongst the US crowds.

Now for this current album. I guarantee you this will be the most unbiased review of an album I have ever written despite my profound love for them. Honestly I wasn’t sure if this band was going to being able to deliver anything greater than Common Dreads because I thought that album was the tits and could not be topped. 

I was blown away, would have been floored if not for the fact I was trying to get to class while listening to the album on my iPhone. This album is one of the most well crafted things I have heard in a while. The albums flows incredibly well, as well as making the Hardcore-Electronic tinged music interesting and how music should be upon it’s first listen, unpredictable.

Bands have been abusing the keyboard/synth setup for their breakdowns for the better part of the last five years. Enter Shikari have yet to be credited with defining how remarkable this brand of music can actually be. Hopefully with a wide scale US release the problem can be rectified but I maintain there is little hope for the crab/crunkcore genre. In addition to have proficient programming skills with electronic tech Rou Reynolds moonlights as dub step DJ Rout giving him plenty of experience to cook up some beautiful electronic sequences as well as crushing dubstep drops. The Guitar and Bass is nothing to forget about either. Rory Clewlow and Chris Batten channel 90’s hardcore in their respective departments. Rory crunches while Chris thumps throughout the main body of this release. What really impresses me is that the tones are incredibly interchangeable, often blending with the electronics for one dominating sound. Rob Rolfe lays down a wide variety of percussion on this record, shifting from simple punk to rhythms to metal brutality to some light cymbal work for some of the slower softer songs. The drumming is absolutely riot inducing. Lyrically this album is pissed off, disappointed, and very engaging. Rou does not pull his punches where previous releases only stated observations on the absurdity of the world, this album straight up calls out the human race for failing to act together against it. Metaphors abound through thousands of different timbre’s in Rou’s now impressive vocal range. Every song is not what it seems and every word is not always what it means this album is not simply an assault of the audible kind, it’s a siege.

This album is not a straight forward hardcore album, it bobs and weaves perfectly around the cliches and the played out gimmicks. It has songs that devours your soul sonically, to ones that grabs your heart strings and yanks on them. At the same time these songs can shift faster than your Sesame Street induced ADD. A song could come in sweet and gorgeous with light guitar or keyboards and leave with demonic Splash crashes. In the same vein you never know if you’ll get a breakdown, a drop, or a mixture of the two throughout the heavier angrier songs.

While the year is still young, I guarantee you will see this record on the year end lists. This band has arrived with something intensely beautiful.

I’ll be back next week with some more obscure bands for you fucking hipsters.

Love,
Jacob P. Overholt 

Knee Deep and Sinking
Philadelphia, PA
Pop-Punk 
Status - Unsigned 
EP

Woah! I’m Blogging again! Down to business then.

Knee Deep and Sinking is a band thrown into the ever growing battle for relevancy that is the Philadelphia Pop-punk scene. Brace yourself kiddies because I’m about to explain why this band should be on the top of the heap or the atop to the world if you’re offering.

KDAS is as pure to that classic Pop-punk sound that emerged to the forefront of musical culture in 2000. We talking about the early Drive-Thru era of Warped, the NFGs, the Blinks, the Sum 41s. Honest, Realist, and Passionate KDAS have proved time and time again they can write the anthems to your summer, your life, that movie that Aaron Sorkin in inevitably writing about your life. Not relying on any sort of gimmick the band plays the music they truly believe in leading to a truly organic listening experience.

The Band took to the stages, basements, some random ass bench thing I saw them play on one time in 2009 (to the best of my knowledge) devouring small children and Philly kids with their passion drenched pop-punk. There are dudes in bands and then there are a bands of dudes. KDAS is the latter. 

What do I mean by Band of dudes? Well its very simple, some people do it for the idea of being in a band while others do it because they believe in something. For Knee Deep its the idea of quality pop-punk that they can call their own. While listening to their recent effort the If Ignorance is Bliss, Tis Foley to be Wise EP you may say that this band is heavily influenced by New Found Glory, Sum 41, and even Philly locals such as the The Wonder Years but you will also noticed a sound that can’t be defined by comparison to anyone band or genre. 

What Knee Deep and Sinking bring to the pop-punk table is a devastatingly wide range of influences, backgrounds and personal experiences not to mention the tenacity of five 20 somethings getting by on music. 

I promise you KDAS will hold a very special place in your music library once you have spent any amount of time listening to their music.  When it comes to the future of this band, they’ll leave the streets to their contemporaries while they take the skyline.

-Jake

Photos by Wass Photography