Gemma Cockrell and Kiah Tooke
Whether your year of University has drawn to a close or you still have exams looming, here are some tracks to get you through till June 21st, as Gemma and Kiah review the latest releases from Creeper, The Maine, Griff, As It Is and Sum 41 ft. nothing nowhere.
Creeper – Midnight (Kiah):
Southampton punk band Creeper have returned with Midnight, the first single from their upcoming EP, ‘American Noir’, due to be released later this summer. The EP serves as continuation to the storyline Creeper created in ‘Death, Sex & The Infinite Void’ and follows the character of Roe.
Midnight is the first single Creeper have released since their line-up change, with new drummer Jake Fogarty joining the band in time for their new EP. Vocals on the song are shared between Will Gould and Hannah Greenwood, powering through the energetic chorus together and harmonising on the verses.
The song begins with a peaceful piano melody which quickly transitions to the punk rock inspired sound that Creeper is known for. Midnight is a gothic love song that uses dark imagery and horror punk over energetic guitar riffs.
Frontman Will commented that “This new EP is comprised of material we’d written over the course of the last album. Lavish and tragic, it tells the story of the days following the death of our protagonist Roe.” No stranger to elaborate concept albums, Creeper have developed storylines over their past two albums ‘Sex, Death & The Infinite Void’ and ‘Eternity, In Your Arms’.
The Maine – Lips (Kiah):
The third single to come from ‘XOXO: From Love & Anxiety In Real Time’, The Maine have unveiled new song Lips. Following in the same trend as the album’s first single Sticky, Lips has an upbeat and catchy sound, fitting the summer release date of the upcoming album.
Alongside the release of Lips is a new music video from The Maine, a light-hearted video that sees the members of the band performing in a nostalgic looking television set and spray-painting art themed around the new album.
The song’s lyrics explain the importance of communication
Lead singer John O’Callaghan cited Tears For Fears’ Break It Down Again for the song’s sound, with the songs having similar guitar patterns. The song’s lyrics explain the importance of communication and the weight people’s words have.
Fans also noticed that within the song is a reference to The Maine’s second EP ‘The Way We Talk’, released all the way back in 2007. The EP has a similar upbeat and infectious sound to Lips, and could explain the connection O’Callaghan made between the two.
Griff – One Foot In Front Of The Other (Gemma):
Griff is teasing her upcoming mixtape by releasing the title-track One Foot In Front Of The Other. The mixtape is set for release on 11th June via Warner Records. It is her first release since she won this year’s BRIT’s Rising Star Award.
It draws on “that feeling that you could fall at any second,” Griff explains of the release’s tightrope theme. The song has an optimistic outlook on life, with lyrics such as “I didn’t think I’d get back up again / I didn’t think I’d be ok / Cus, you know it’s easy when you’re young / To bounce back and whatever / You just bounce back like it never happened”.
It sees Griff starting to believe in herself, and believe in her ability to heal and continue to put one foot in front of the other throughout life. The track continues to prove that Griff has lots of promise and potential in the music industry following her BRIT Award, especially considering that she produced the entirety of her upcoming mixtape herself.
As It Is – IDGAF (Gemma):
The first taste of the band’s new chapter, IDGAF follows on from As It Is’ previous album, 2018’s ‘The Great Depression’. “IDGAF was the first thing we created that made us feel anything,” the band explain. “It harnesses so many feelings that we’ve all been experiencing. This is As It Is — unsettled, unhinged, and unboxed.”
“IDGAF incapsulated the heartbreak, defeat, and disappointment we were feeling with ourselves and the world around us”
As It Is explained that lockdown is what triggered the themes of their new single. “IDGAF incapsulated the heartbreak, defeat, and disappointment we were feeling with ourselves and the world around us. When the pandemic happened and the world shut down, that’s when we really spiralled.”
IDGAF allows the band to express their feelings which have built up for the past year during the lockdown and pandemic, with the song capturing a lot of pent-up anger and aggression. It is clearly a very cathartic song for the band to write and perform, where they were able to express repressed emotions which listeners are likely to relate to.
Sum 41 ft. nothing,nowhere. – Catching Fire (Gemma):
Sum 41 have shared a new version of Catching Fire, which was originally the closing track from their 2019 album ‘Order in Decline’. Frontman Deryck Whibley wrote the track for his wife, Ari Whibley, after her attempted suicide in 2013. The new version features guest vocals from emo-rap and pop-punk artist nothing,nowhere.
“Writing this song was cathartic for me in dealing with my emotions for the first time about almost losing my wife to suicide,” Whibley said. “When I first played it for her, it was the beginning of us having an open conversation about what she went through. In sharing her story, we are hoping to let others know they are not alone and that if you need help, there is no shame in saying so.”
This is a collaboration which feels entirely natural, with nothing,nowhere.’s pop-punk vocals lending themselves perfectly to the emotional guitar ballad. He describes it as an honour to be part of the song, since he has been a lifelong fan of the iconic pop-punk band who first rose to fame in the early 2000s.
Gemma Cockrell and Kiah Tooke
Featured image courtesy of Nina via Flickr. Image license found here. No changes made to this image.
In-article images courtesy of @creepercult @wiffygriffy and @sum41 via instagram.com. No changes made to this images.
To listen to all of these tracks, check out the New Releases Roundup playlist on Spotify.
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