River Jumpers | Interview

Brighton band, River Jumpers, are back with a new line-up and a new self titled EP. After the release of the new video for their track Peaks and Troughs, we quizzed vocalist Nick about the new EP, his favourite thing about Brighton and their upcoming shows.

COULD YOU KINDLY STATE WHAT YOU DO IN RIVER JUMPERS...
My name is Nick and I sing in River Jumpers.

YOU RECENTLY RELEASED YOUR SELF TITLED EP, TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT...
It's five songs, we recorded at the ranch in Southampton and it's the last recordings as a four piece. It's kind of a little heavier and more experimental than the last release and a nice sounding stop gap before album number two. It has a sea monster on it.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SONG FROM THE EP AND WHY?
For me it's Greys Sports Almanac as it represents what River Jumpers do best. It blends a mix of stuff into a kind of musical journey.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE ARTWORK?
We gave the reigns to our guitarist at the time and he took it to a friend of his and when it came back we had a sea monster.

YOU ALSO RELEASED A VIDEO FOR PEAKS AND TROUGHS, HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH HE VIDEO IDEA?
Our long time collaborator Craig of High Tides came up with the idea and made it happen. He's a solid guy and I ended up eating beans from a tin. Ha.

YOU'RE PLAYING SOME SHOWS IN AUGUST, IS THERE ANY PLACES YOU'RE PARTICULARLY EXCITED TO GO?
Looking forward to the long haul up to Aberdeen as we have not been there for a couple of years.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT BEING FROM BRIGHTON?
Living by the sea and Grubs veggie burgers.

WHAT ARE RIVER JUMPERS' PLANS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR?
Tour in August and October and a few big shows with random hand and to try and have all the fun and record a new album.

Check out River Jumpers' self titled EP below:



River Jumpers' Facebook | Twitter

Seaway Release New Song

Seaway have released a new song titled Freak. The song comes from their new album Colour Blind which comes out October 23rd.

Check out the video below:

The Winter Passing Release New Video

Irish band, The Winter Passing, have released a new video for their song Daisy. The song comes from their upcoming LP, A Different Space Of Mind, which will be released September 18th.

Check it out below:



The Winter Passing's Facebook | Twitter 

Up & Coming Pop Punk Bands | This City Limits

This City Limits have just released their brand new single Too Scared To Swim with an accompanying video. We asked the band a few questions about the new song, recording at Steel City Studios and their upcoming EP. 

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

We all live in different places - Leeds, Hull, Derby, but Leeds is our point of convergence. It's where we practice, and the gigs we do there are the best!

HOW DID THIS CITY LIMITS FORM?

Will and George are brothers, and have always played music together, but in 2013 they decided to do it properly and start a band. After a few lineup changes, we settled with Rob and Josh in late 2014, and haven't looked back.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME THIS CITY LIMITS? 

It's based on a lyric by a band called Polar Bear Club. Apparently they took their name from another band's lyrics, so we thought it was kind of neat. They're an amazing band, with great lyrics and loads of energy, but they've fallen into obscurity the last few months which is a real shame.

YOU'VE JUST RELEASED A NEW SINGLE, TOO SCARED TO SWIM, TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT...

We wrote the song together at the first practice with our current line-up. Will came in with some chords and a set of lyrics, and we thrashed it out line by line. There was a real buzz as we were writing it, and it all came together really quickly. If only they were all like that!

WHAT WAS IT LIKE RECORDING AT STEEL CITY STUDIOS?

It was great fun, but really intense. It's a really cool studio in the old industrial part of Sheffield. They've got some great instruments and amps, and they've had some great bands go through recently, such as ROAM, Trash and Elegies. Our producer James Hill worked us all really hard, and we were exhausted by the end, but we're really pleased with the results.

YOU'VE ALSO RELEASED A NEW VIDEO TOO, HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE VIDEO IDEA?

It was Will who came up with it really, he's the ideas man! It relates to the song's lyrics, the difficulties and displacement we all feel as we grow up, and the otherwise unimportant things that keep us grounded. Once the idea was sorted, we got to build a massive fort for the actress, Olivia Ross, to use in the narrative scenes. Simple things!

IF YOU COULD PLAY A SHOW WITH ANY BAND WHO WOULD IT BE?

Rise Against, The Wonder Years, Neck Deep.

WHAT ARE THIS CITY LIMITS' PLANS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR?
Our next single 'Runaway' is out on 2 October. Then we've got a few one-off shows, before we head out on tour at the end of October with our good friends, the Sheffield-based O Captain. Following that, our new EP Here's To Hoping will be out on 13 November. For details of gigs, tours and releases, you can go to our Facebook page or any of our other social media sites.

Check out Too Scared To Swim below:

This City Limits' Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Website 

Best Years | Track By Track Guide

“The title is meant as an encouragement for people to drop out of boring routines and start afresh doing something they love, to chase their dreams. The members of this band have all ‘dropped out’ of reality in order to fully commit to this band,” states Joel Plews, vocalist with Manchester Pop Punks, Best Years, discussing the band’s latest E.P ‘Drop Out’. “The songs are definitely catchier and, dare I say it, a little cheesier than on our previous release” Plews laughs. Loaded with nostalgic melody and sparkling guitars, each of its three songs a self-contained summery mini-anthem. Here Plews goes into more detail regarding the content of the EP, describing it track by track…

 Built to Last - Built to Last is the experimental tune, it's a train wreck, but it's catchy as hell and has a guitar solo that The Darkness would be proud of. Structurally and musically it's like nothing we've ever attempted before: it's very poppy and has some totally cringe worthy moments that when we listen back to them we're all kind of a bit on edge and saying to each other 'i still can't believe we've done this'. But we're hoping it's going to pay off and people are going to enjoy having something a bit different from us! Also, yes, it is a break up song so who knows, this might just be our number 1 hit.

Overrated - Overrated is now and will be for the foreseeable future 'the Best Years' song; it's our lead single and we've got to live by it and die by it. The main riff was written by James on the toilet at university… so there's that which is an interesting piece of trivia for you! We kind of feel like it's the most commercial sounding song we've ever written, but we feel like it's also got a bit of attitude in there, both in terms of the instruments and the melodies/lyrics. The meaning behind the song is more or less self-explanatory, as are pretty much all of our songs, we get straight to the point (probably because we don't know very many big words). But if you must know, it's just a song about people who have a sense of entitlement or have a rich family that they exploit, and in turn that doesn't prepare them for reality and what's actually out there... 'Overrated, golden painted, college drop-out' is probably the best case in point from that song.

Back Then - Back Then is the arena anthem (or so we like to think), the 'woah's' over the final chorus is our self-proclaimed one way ticket to a headline slot at Wembley and the chorus will stick in your head for days. It was the first song we wrote for the new EP and it really is polished and perfected, both live and on record, as we know it so well. It's kind of a middle ground between the other two tracks on the EP and the track we're going to be shooting a live video for on our tour with WSTR next month! Lyrically the song is again, pretty self-explanatory, but it's specifically aimed at any of our fans who are stuck at home. Those still at college/working/in a band/whatever, whilst all their friends they've known throughout high school/college are away at university. Very pop punk, an anthem for missing your friends...

Drop Out is released 28/08/15 via Dream Atlantic Records. Check out the video for Overrated below:

Best Year's Facebook | Twitter 

Up & Coming Pop Punk Bands | Lost Youth

For today's up and coming post, we have Lost Youth who hail from Scotland. The band have just released their new EP Thoughts On Last Year. We asked them a few questions to find out a bit more about them...

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

Edinburgh, Scotland

HOW DID LOST YOUTH FORM?

Quite simply. We are four friends who were brought together by a love of playing and writing music. We were friends before this band began because we all played music together previously.

WHERE DID THE NAME LOST YOUTH COME FROM?

Our name came from the idea we, and all our friends, have had to grow up too fast, and now that we have hit 20 (minus Kieron) have had to leave behind adolescence and look to making a career and all that grown up stuff

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR NEW EP THOUGHTS ON LAST YEAR...

The record is something powerful in that all the songs really moved us. Each track, as it was written, was a stepping stone in finding who we are as a band. There's a lot about fear, and heartache, resolution and a little bit of nostalgia for good measure. The mix of all these things we feel has created something moving for us and we hope it fills others with the same fire.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SONG FROM THOUGHTS ON LAST YEAR AND WHY?

We all have different favourites based on our music taste and what ones really get us pumped to play

Never Again is Liam's favourite, in his words it's, "A sweet strawberry jam that get's me psyched." Can't be put much better than that.

Distant is Cammy's favourite because it's 100mph non-stop and he likes fast music you can dance around to

TWF is Jonny's favourite as "it's nostalgic and gives me some really good vibes"

Breaking Point is Kieron's favourite as the lyrics hold so much meaning, and also the fact it's a real head-nodder to play and to listen to

IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE THOUGHTS ON LAST YEAR IN THREE WORDS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE? 
Describing Thoughts on Last Year in 3 words? Easy! "Sweet Strawberry Jams"

IF YOU COULD PLAY A SHOW WITH ANY BAND WHO WOULD IT BE?

A Day To Remember.. we want a shot in the hamster ball so bad

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP FIVE FAVOURITE POP PUNK ALBUMS?

All - Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, Blink 182

Liam - The Greatest Generation, The Wonder Years

Cammy - Dookie, Green Day

Kieron - Your Favourite Weapon, Brand New (does this count?)

Jonny - Common Courtesy, A Day To Remember (bit heavier but still v pop punk)

Check out Thoughts On Last Year below: 



Lost Youth's Facebook | Twitter 

Up & Coming Pop Punk Bands | Unamused Dave

Unamused Dave are a band with the most impressive EP artwork we have seen in a while. Described on their bandcamp as your 'basic rock band that spends their time doing their homework two weeks in advance and wiping their feet before entering the house', Unamused Dave are a band you'd be silly to miss out on. They kindly answered some questions for us about their recent release Leroy, their magnificant artwork that accompanies it and how they came up with their unusual name...

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

We are from Germantown Hills, Illinois. It is a suburb right outside of Peoria, Illinois.

WHERE DID GET THE NAME UNAMUSED DAVE FROM?  

One of our frontmen, Bryson Maddock, has a dad name Dave. We found some old family pictures of him just staring at the camera, and that is how the name "Unamused Dave" originated.

IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE UNAMUSED DAVE'S MUSIC IN THREE WORDS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

 Emo Pop Punk.

YOU RECENTLY RELEASED YOUR EP LEROY, TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT... 

Well 90% of our album was written by our other frontman Seth Wagers. Bryson sings on it too, and he wrote his own lyrics, while our drummer, Jack Dintelman, chipped in a little too. Seth gave our bass player, Brayden Lambiase, a simple bass line and Brayden branched off from there. The EP was started back in September of 2014 and ended up being released on May 29th, 2015. The drums were recorded in a church, while the rest of the EP was recorded in Seth's bedroom.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE ARTWORK FOR LEROY? 

It is actually an old picture of Seth's uncle, Scott Wagers. Seth saw it at his grandparent's house and thought it would be perfect for a cover. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SONG FROM LEROY AND WHY? 

It is hard to pick a favorite song. It would be like choosing your favorite kid. We love every song equally. 

TELL US ONE THING ABOUT UNAMUSED DAVE WE MIGHT BE SUPRISED TO KNOW?

Most bands buy a big van and a trailer to tour in. We fit all our equipment, clothes, food, and ourselves all into a mini van and just recently toured the Midwest. It was all in a mini van.

IF YOU COULD PLAY A SHOW WITH ANY BAND WHO WOULD IT BE?

The Story So Far or Title Fight. 

Unamused Dave's Facebook | Twitter

Light You Up Release New Video

Light You Up have released a new video for You Are Waiting For A Train. The song comes from their debut album All We've Ever Known. Check it out below:

River Jumpers | Peaks and Troughs

Brighton pop punks, River Jumpers, recently released a video for their song Peaks and Troughs. The song comes from their self-titled EP, which they released earlier in the year (check it out here). 

Coast To Coast | Empty

Coast To Coast have released a new video for their song Empty. The track comes from their new EP, Lessons Learned. 

Check out the new video below:



Find out more about Coast To Coast in our recent up & coming post here.

toyGuitar | Punks In Vegas

toyGuitar recently filmed an acoustic session for Punks In Vegas. The band, which features members of Dead to Me, The Re-Volts, One Man Army and Swingin' Utters, performed 3 songs from their recent full length, In This Mess, which is out now via Fat Wreck Chords.

Check out the playlist below:

Bad Religion August UK Tour

Bad Religion are heading across the pond to play a handful of shows in the UK this week (get your tickets here). 

Check out Brian Baker's video about the upcoming tour below: