Things to Look forward to in 2014

1. Neck Deep Releasing Wishful Thinking 

Despite being a band for little over a year Neck Deep already have two killer EPs under their belts' (Rain in July and a History of Bad Decisions). Not only this, the band recently signed to Hopeless Records, home to bands such as The Wonder Years, All Time Low and We are the In Crowd. Also, on January 14th Neck Deep will be releasing their debut album Wishful Thinking and if the two singles already released from the album are anything to go by, we get the felling this album will definitely be one not to miss. 

2. The Return of Set Your Goals

After Jordan broke his ankle and the departure of drummer Mike Ambrose, SYG have been uncomfortably quiet over 2013. But fear not people, it looks like they will be returning next year. In various tweets posted to fans, the band stated that they will be returning in 2014 and have 12 demos in the works. Next year will also mark the band's ten year anniversary. 

3. The Wonder Years, State Champs and A Loss for Words Tour

2013 has been a great year for all three of these bands. The Wonder Years released The Greatest Generation, A Loss for Words released Before it Caves and State Champs released their debut The Finer Things. Now, luckily enough for the UK all three bands are coming to play for us next May. (Check tour dates here) Although The Wonder Years and A Loss for Words have had the chance to play the UK before, this will be the first time that State Champs will have stepped foot on UK soil. So make sure you don't miss it. 

4.Slam Dunk Festival 2014

Slam Dunk has had a number of great bands appear over the years. Some of which include Four Year Strong, Man Overboard, Fireworks, Handguns, Set Your Goals, Save Your Breath and Me vs. Hero to name a few. Although there has been no announcements so far, we're hoping that Slam Dunk festival continues to perform and announces an impressive line up for 2014.

5. Handguns Recording New Album

Early January, Handguns will be heading into the studio to record their new album which will hopefully be out sometime next year. 

6. Neck Deep Tour

In the lead up to the release of Wishful Thinking and after, Neck Deep will be playing a handful of shows throughout the country. The band will be supported by Eastbourne's Roam who recently released their EP Headdown. Not only this, the band will also be on tour with label mates We are the in Crowd into February with support from fellow Englishmen Save Your Breath. It sounds like a pretty hectic start t the year for Neck Deep make sure you don't miss them (tour dates here) 

Christmas Eve Playlist

Merry Christmas Eve everybody!

1. New Found Glory Ex Mis


2. The Wonder Years - Christmas at 22


3. Blink 182 - I Won't Be Home for Christmas


4. MxPx - Christmas Night of the Living Dead


5. Man Overboard - Decemberism

Best of 2013

The end of 2013 is nearly upon us, so we thought we'd share with you some of our favourite things that happened over the last 12 months. We hope you all have a nice Christmas/New Year and we're looking forward to what ever 2014 brings (Set Your Goals hurry up with that new album please...) 

Best Albums (in no particular order, they were all great let's face it): 

1. State Champs - The Finer Things

2.The Story So Far - What You Don't See

3. The Wonder Years - The Greatest Generation 

4. Save Your Breath - There Used to be a Place For Us

5. The Swellers - Light Under Closed Doors 

6. Mixtapes - Ordinary Silence

7. Seaway - Hoser

8. Veara - Growing Up is Killing Me

9. A Loss For Words - Before it Caves

10. New Found Glory Kill it Live

11. We Still Dream - Something to Smile About

12. Man Overboard - Heart Attack

Best EPs (also in no particular order):

1. Real Friends - Put Yourself Back Together

 2. Neck Deep - A History of Bad Decisions

3. Firestarter - New Beginnings

4. Roam - Head Down

5. Game Changer - Three Years

6. Smalls - Expecting the Worst

7. Pentimento - Inside the Sea

Best Bands that we were lucky enough to see (these were also all awesome and are in no particular order):

1.Allister

2. The Story So Far  

3. Man Overboard

4. Fireworks

5. Four Year Strong

6. Real Friends

7. The Wonder Years 

8. Save Your Breath

9. Seahaven

10. Yellowcard

11. Neck Deep

12. Handguns

Neck Deep Release Growing Pains

Neck Deep have released a new song and video. The new track, Growing Pains, can be found on their debut album 'Wishful Thinking' out on January 13th. 

Tiger Lily - Ghost of What I Had

Tiger Lily have released a new song from their upcoming EP 'Won't Let This Kill Me' which will be out on January 15th.
You can get preorders here: www.tigerlilyokc.com

Old Friends, Loose Ends Review

Looking at this EP you might get the impression that Six Time Champion's EP is something completely different altogether. A scene from a country road does not denote the sound of this EP whatsoever. Six Time Champion's new release Old Friends, Loose Ends is a mixture of heavy guitar and catchy vocals;  kind of like Four Year Strong and the Story So Far in a blender...yes it is that awesome. Listening to it, you will question if it's possible to make a debut EP this good. 

The opening song Cheek to Cheek is undoubtedly the stand out song from the EP which holds a killer melody and chorus with the song's lyrics being honest and authentic. 

Next up is Can I Blame Someone Else Now? which has everything you could ask for in a song: outstanding riffs, fast paced drumming and relatable lyrics.  

The EP slows down with the title track Old Friends, Loose Ends which demonstrates the  vocal ability within the band. Making sure the song doesn't become to poppy, the end of the song is filled with heartfelt gang vocals. Once again the lyrics are sincere and ingenuous. 

Overall the EP is brilliant and it's this which in a way is surprising for a debut EP; it's definitely worth a listen.   

Fireworks Post Sketchy Video

Look at this mystical shit fireworks have posted. What can it mean?

http://wearefireworks.com/

Steve Klein Parts Ways with New Found Glory

New Found Glory have parted ways with their guitarist Steve Klein. This is what the band had to say: 

"To All Our Fans,

It is with heavy hearts that we must let you know that Steve Klein is no longer a part of New Found Glory. We’ve had our differences with Steve over the years that have led us to this decision. We love Steve however personal differences have guided this decision and we no longer feel we can work with him. Rest assured that New Found Glory will still go on! After the Parahoy Cruise we are planning to write a new record and start this new chapter for our band. We have not decided on who will fill Steve’s position however we will let you know our plans as soon as we figure that out. We love you, our fans, so much and appreciate your dedication and loyalty to our band. We hope you stick by us during this difficult time.

We love you,

Chad, Jordan, Cyrus, and Ian"

Oh dear it sound

A Loss For Words Release New Video

A Loss For Words have released a video for their The Kids Can't Lose from their recent album Before it Caves:

The Wonder Years Announce Tour with State Champs and A Loss for Words

The Wonder Years are coming to the UK next May with support from no other than State Champs and A Loss for Words. 

 Dates:

May 6 - Solus 2 - Cardiff, Wales

May 7 - Institute - Birmingham, UK

May 8 - Scala - London, UK

May 9 - Corporation - Sheffield, UK

May 10 - QMU - Glasgow, Scotland

May 11 - Fibber Magees - Dublin, Ireland

May 13 - Academy - Liverpool, UK

May 14 - Rescue Rooms - Nottingham, UK

May 15 - The Haunt - Brighton, UK

Soupy had this to say: “We wanted to bring the same family aesthetic and complete bill that we try to create with every US tour to overseas audiences. So, in keeping with that tradition, we decided on long-time friends and genre mainstays in A Loss For Words coupled with one of most exciting new bands in the genre – State Champs. We’re planning on shows that get crowds involved and excited from the first note of the night to the last and believe that this tour is going to bring just that.”

Firestarter This is How Video

Firestarter have released a new video for their song 'This is How' which you can find on their split with Old Again below.

We are the In Crowd UK Tour with Neck Deep and Save Your Breath

We are the In Crowd our landing in the UK next January. This also means more tour dates for Neck Deep who will be commencing on the tour after their own UK shows. Support will also be offered from Save Your Breath.... 

Reading and Leeds Announcment

The reading and Leeds first announcements have happened and you'll never guess who's playing. Okay as you can probably tell from the picture it's Blink 182 and we're excited as fuck. 

Mark Hoppus had this to say:
"I’m stoked to play Reading & Leeds 2014. It’s our fourth time playing the festivals, and we’re very honoured. The new year will see us in the studio preparing new music, getting ready to rock the fine people of the UK. Prepare for the fury."

Also announced: 
Jake Bugg
Disclosure
Of Mice and Men
Wilkinson
I Am Legion
Metronomy

This will be one of their only UK dates so make sure to get tickets. See you there.

Veara Release New Video for None of the Above

Veara have released a new video from 'Growing Up is Killing Me': 

Seaway Interview

Today we present you an interview with Ryan Locke of Seaway. Locke fills us in on their American Tour with Bellwether and Knuckle Puck, awkward motel situations and their new album Hoser. Also, make sure you check out Going Down on America below!

Going Down on America shows you on tour with Bellwether and Knuckle Puck, are there any big differences between touring America and Canada? The tour covered in "Going Down on America" was actually Seaway's first ever tour. We've done weekend runs here in Canada but that was the first time Seaway played more then 3 shows in a row. The difference between shows in Canada and shows in America in my opinion is crowd reaction. Ontario definitely has it’s strong points but every time we played a set in America we were in shock because of how wild the crowd went. The first few shows we were seriously questioning if it was all real because we never really experienced a crowd go as crazy as they did in places like New York, Baltimore, and Orlando and Pembroke Pines.

What were your favourite and least favourite memories from the tour? Favourite memory from the tour was indulging in the fine foods America has to offer with my best friends (new and old). As a Canadian we hear about how crazy good American fast food is but having it every meal for 2 weeks straight really gave us the full experience of it all. Least favourite memory was definitely saying goodbye to Knuckle Puck and Bellwether in Baltimore. Its tough making friends so quickly and then having to say goodbye so quickly.

Have you got any embarrassing/funny/strange tour stories you’re willing to share? It’s kind of a long one but I’ll try and sum it up as best as I can. We were in the middle of a 20-hour drive from south Florida to Ohio when we decided we should grab a cheap motel for the night to get a comfortable sleep and shower before we tackle the next half of the drive. We only got 1 room for 6 of us because we wanted to save money. The old battle axe of a motel keeper ended up finding out we were sleeping 6 in a room and started mouthing us off thinking we were trying to "pull some sneaky shit" which I guess we kind of were. She kept saying "I know what you people do in there"; we thought by “us people” she meant rowdy Canadians because we told her we were from out of town but we later realized she thought we were gay (not that there's anything wrong with that) and trying to host some sort of orgy in her motel. She refused to give us our money back and called the cops cause we wouldn’t leave without it. They said we could take her to court or pay for another room. We weren’t giving her any more of our time or money so we split and did the next 10 hours over night and made it from Florida to Ohio in 21 hours. 

If you could tour with anyone dead or alive who would it be? Dead: The Doors and Joy Division because Jim Morrison and Ian Curtis are my two favourite front men and both knew how to party. And no I didn't first hear of Joy Division from Tumblr. Alive: Daggermouth and Sum 41 because they put Canadian punk rock on the map. 

You recently released Hoser, where did the name Hoser originate from? We wanted to showcase Canada being in such an American dominated scene and were just chucking around ideas. I think we landed on Hoser because we figured a lot of people wouldn't even know what a Hoser was, which added an element of mystery to it. We also thought it’d be cool if we could get kids from other countries to start using it as slang. 

How did you approach the writing process for Hoser? Hoser was predominantly written by our two guitarists Patrick and Andrew, so that's a whole other interview for you but they basically would get the main skeleton of a song (structure or lyrics) and piece it together and bring it to band practice. We would then jam it out all together and smoothen out any kinks. 

How did you decide on the album artwork for Hoser? We wanted it to look gritty as shit and really convey what Hoser meant to us. We went into our good friend Miguel of Yeah! Films Companies garage, got our friend Murray a few beers and just dove in. When we get around to pressing it to vinyl we're probably going to re-do the artwork but I've already said too much.

Do you prefer being in the studio or playing live? I prefer playing live 100%. For me it’s all about the energy of the crowd and the varied reaction from city to city. Though I love being in the studio trying new things and hearing the transition from a song we've been jamming, to a song on a record, it can get very stressful at times. To me there's nothing stressful about a live performance, I try and get as lost in it as I can every night which is almost relaxing in a way.

What are your top 5 favourite pop punk albums? 
1. All Killer, No Filler - Sum 41 
2. Take Off Your Pants and Jacket - Blink 182 
3. Turf Wars - Daggermouth 
4. On The Impossible Past - The Menzingers 
5. Direction - The Starting Line

Who are your favourite upcoming pop punk bands? That would all depend on your definition of upcoming, but Safe To Say (they'll hate me or love me for calling them Pop-Punk not sure which), DANGERCAT and Like Pacific are all amazing Canadian bands you should know about. Obviously Knuckle Puck and Bellwether are great friends of ours but you should already know them. 

Would you ever come to the UK? Of Course! We would get on a plane tomorrow if it was possible but we're just waiting for the right opportunity and the right bands to do it with. Expect it within a year or so.

Thank you to Ryan and Mutant League Records for granting us this interview!

Going Down on America:

Handguns to Record New Album

Handguns are recording a new album this January. The band posted the tweet below. What do we think? We think it's bloody brilliant. 

New The Wonder Years Video

New Video for There, There from the Greatest Generation:

10 Songs Not to Miss at Warped Tour

With Warped Tour this weekend, we thought we'd follow in Kerrang's footsteps and bring you a list of songs we're excited to hear at this weekend's event. If you were lucky enough to catch TWY, Real Friends, Neck Deep and Handguns on their UK tour this week, we're very jealous but for all those who are waiting for this weekend to catch everyone, here's our list to help you get ready:

1. Real Friends: Floorboards

2. Handguns - Early Retirement


3. The Wonder Years - Washington Square Park


4. Neck Deep - Over and Over


5.YellowCard - Ocean Avenue 


6. The Wonder Years - Came Out Swinging


7.Handguns - I Hope He Kills You 


8.Real Friends - Late Nights In My Car 


9.Neck Deep - What Did You Except?


10. Yellocard - Way Away


Let us know who else you're excited for by following us on twitter (@PopPunkUKBlog) or liking us on Facebook.

Real Friends Post New Video for I Had a Heart

If you want to get in the Christmas spirit, today we post you this. Real Friends have posted a new video for their song 'I Had A Heart' from the 'Punk Goes Christmas' Album which you can watch below.
You can also stream the album on Fearless Records' Youtube, which features songs from Man Overboard, Yellow Card New Found Glory to name a few.

Neck Deep Release New Video and Tour Dates

It's finally here! The UK tour and a new song with video. The tour is going ahead this January and includes two Wishful Thinking release shows (see above for details). If you're interested in the US dates click Here. The support will be from Eastbourne's Roam! Alongside the tour there will be limited edition bundles with exclusive T-shirts which you can buy before general sale on Friday Here. Also the release for Wishful Thinking (Neck Deep's first release on Hopeless Records) has been revealed. The album will be out January 13th and you can check out Crushing Grief (No Remedy)  below:

Crushing Grief (No Remedy)

Roam: Head Down - Track by Track Guide

Eastbourne's Roam, who formed in 2012, have already got one EP 'No Common Ground' under their Belts. Shortly, they will be releasing Head Down, a mini album of 5 tracks which you can read our review of here. Below you can find out the ideas behind Head Down and the boys' track by track guide.

“When we began writing for ‘Head Down’ back in January, we had quite a clear vision on what we wanted it to sound like; A more angsty, shouty, epic version of what we'd done before, trying to aggregate all of the aspects that make this genre great. 

We spent pretty much the whole year, even up to the minutes before we were recording, writing, rewriting and demoing the material, in both a live and recording sense. I think it's really important to have new material for a long time before you set it in stone and record it. We played Head Rush on a weekender we did in February and it went down well, but it was nothing like it is now."

Track 1: You Never Said

This was the second song we'd written for the EP after Head Rush. It came from the intro riff, which Sam had been playing for a while and we'd all jammed our parts onto it, later adding/rewriting and perfecting the rest of the song. The song kind of sums up the stage we're all at in life right now in terms of growing up - we're not quite adults yet but the pressures to be and act like one are there. It's something that can be a bit overbearing sometimes so it's a very therapeutic song for us in that sense; "I've had time to rest my head, it's temporary".  There's a lot of people willing to tell you things you can't be at this stage and it's easy to let that get you down, but you just can't.

Track 2: Stickerslap

Named after the mission from Tony Hawks PS, this song is such a release for us as a band, it's fast, shouty and over within a minute and a half. It's very much a positive song - it's kind of the other side of growing up and just not caring and being reckless in your decisions, instead of wasting time dwelling on mistakes.

Track 3: Nothing in Return

This song came into being literally 2 weeks before recording, and quickly became everyone's favourite. It's very much in theme with the rest of the songs in that it's about not wanting to look back in the future and think you've made the wrong choices in life. It's also about how easy it can be to put everything on the line for your passion fully knowing there's a chance you'll get nothing back "I gave up everything for this and got back nothing in return".

Track 4: Foresight

This started with a riff I'd been playing around with for a while, and took many forms before it ended up as it is now. I think it's the most musically interesting, with a lot of cool sections and a gang shout on the middle 8. The chorus on this one is the catchiest for me too.

Track 5: Head Rush

This was the first track written for the new EP and for us was the first step into a more coherent sound, it sounded a lot more how we wanted to sound. The song's about how people can sometimes lose their sense of self-worth when they become infatuated, putting their feelings and how they're treated aside in order to treasure someone else. The final line of the song "This was for you" is a kind of giving up motion in a positive way - moving on and saying it was for you, but it's not anymore.

Make sure you pick up Head Down on November 18th

Seaway: Going Down On America Trailer

Canada's Seaway are releasing a documentary which shows them embarking on their recent tour of America. The 24 minute documentary, produced by Yeah! Films, who have produced Seaway's music videos, shows the guys journeying from Long Island to Baltimore with appearances from Knuckle Puck and Bellwether. 

Going Down in America will be released November 4th. 

Mayday Parade Tour with Man Overboard 2014

Mayday Parade, Man Overboard, Divided by Friday and Decade* are undertaking on a UK tour starting next January. 

Catch them at these dates: 

Jan 23rd - Old Firestation, Bournemouth

Jan 24th - Sugarmill, Stoke

Jan 25th - Waterfront, Norwich

Jan 26th - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham

Jan 27th - O2 Academy 2, Newcastle

Jan 28th - QMU, Glasgow

Jan 30th - Academy 2, Manchester

Jan 31st - Library, Birmingham

Feb 1st - Academy, Dublin

Feb 2nd - O2 Academy 2, Liverpool

Feb 3rd - Souls, Cardiff

Feb 4th - Cockpit, Leeds

Feb 5th - O2 Academy 2, Oxford

Feb 7th - Koko, London

Also make sure you catch Man Overboard's own headline show in Kingston on Feb 6th with Roam, Home Advantage and Boy Jumps Ship. Tickets here

European Dates here.

*23rd January to February 7th only

The Story So Far Added to A Day To Remember's European Tour

The Story So Far have been added to A Day To Remember's European tour this February. Unfortunately, the Manchester and Birmingham shows have sold out but you can still catch them at Alexandra Palace on the 12th of February. 

Buy Tickets Here

The Story So Far and Seahaven Attacked in Belfast

The Story so Far took to twitter yesterday after being jumped when getting a kebab. After playing in Belfast, Ireland, TSSF and Seahaven were attacked by 5  people. All of the band members are okay though and it looks like they put up a fight...

Roam: Head Down Review

Eastbourne's Roam are a firm example of how transcendent British pop punk is becoming. With 'No Common Ground' already under their belts, Head Down is bound to take an indefectible stance with listeners.

The E.P kicks off with 'You never said' (and the quote 'I'm just waiting for a mate'...) which sets the E.P off at a proficient pace. Even though the E.P addresses youthful issues, the lyrics never become futile. Instead they display maturity and sophistication.Sticker Slap is up next.This fast paced track is complimented thoroughly with the vocals and is an illustration of how captivating the E.P is. Nothing in Return becomes slower and tells the story of youthful inadequacy and indifference; a subject that nearly everyone can relate to. The chorus to this track really stands out and is complimented by the gang vocals towards the end of the track. Foresight has the kind of riff that will make you put this track on repeat. Like Nothing in Return, the lyrics convey the feeling of hopelessness and deficiency. Roam recently released a video for the final track of the E.P 'Head Rush'. This track encompasses youthful energy and sums up the EP perfectly. Overall the EP is a profusion of impressive tracks and is a sure sign that Roam will go far.  

Head Down is released 16th November

Listen to Head Rush Here

Forever Came Calling Release New Song and Split

Forever Came Calling are releasing a new split with Family Thief via Pure Noise Records. The split will be released November 8th. Check out one of FCC's songs, 'Endangered Innocent' from the split above. 

New Found Glory- Connect The Dots

New Found Glory have released a video for their newly released single 'Connect The Dots'. The song comes from their new album 'Kill it Live'. The album consists of old NFG songs - you guessed it - that are live plus some brand new extras. The album will be released on the 8th October, remember to pick up your copy. 

Stream A Loss for Word's New Album

A Loss For Word's new album is available to stream on Alternative Press! The album is officially released on October 8th. 

Stream Before It Caves here

Warped Tour Stage Splits 2013

After reaching 2,000 followers on twitter, Warped Tour have released the stage splits for 2013. Compared to last year, the event is spread over two days with some bands appearing on both days (Yellowcard, Rise Against etc.), while some bands are only appearing once. The event includes four stages: The Main stage which consists of two separate stages side by side that offer alternate acts playing on each, the Jagermeister stage and the Kevin Says Stage.The stage times will be released on the day keeping with Warped Tour tradition. 

If it's anything like last year, you guys are in for a great day/weekend. We'll see you there; you can probably guess where we'll be (we're definitely not catching Real Friends, Handguns, Neck Deep, The Wonder Years or Yellowcard...)