There are certain bands that are like markers in my life. It’s not just an album or a show, but rather it’s a band or an artist as a whole that takes me back to a very specific moment in time. I have albums and songs that I closely relate to events through out my life, obviously. We all do, right? But man, there are certain bands that will always zap me back to a moment I can see clear as day in my head. I can feel the time and place.
The Descendents take me back to my 16th birthday. Well, about 5 days before my 16th birthday. All I wanted for my birthday was to see The Descendents, so on April 11th, 1997, my mom drove me and some friends to the Hollywood Palladium so I could see the recently reformed punk rock masters. She waited in the car for the entirety of the show (thanks mom!). Now, every time I listen to The Descendents a part of me is back sweating my ass in a mosh pit, taking an elbow to my jaw and loving every second of it.
Fiona Apple takes me back my childhood bedroom, sitting in front of my CD player, listening to “Never is a Promise” on repeat, being floored by the haunting beauty of the track. Botch takes me back to the Glass House in Pomona with some of the best friends I will ever have. Hot Snakes takes me back to a van, on tour with guys who are basically my brothers. Jimmy Eat World takes me to my future wife’s car, as we drove late at night talking about nothing, just wanting to spend time together.
METZ, who just released an incredible new album, remind me of moving to Arizona. It was 2015, and we had just moved to The Grand Canyon State. I knew nobody. It was a brand new chapter in my life and while I was excited for a new beginning, I also felt more than a little lost. Not lonely - I had my family - just unattached to the place around me. Adrift in an unfamiliar landscape.
Then, I went and saw METZ in a small club in Phoenix. It was that show - that moment - that made Arizona feel like home. It grounded me, connected me. I realize that sounds hokey, but man, music is magical and it can change you in the best possible ways.
METZ Up On Gravity Hill
Spotify | Apple Music | Buy
METZ is basically the perfect band. The capture the raw intensity of punk rock mixed with 90s alternative and a dash of noise rock. If these guys were putting out records in 1994, they would’ve been one of the biggest bands in the world. I recommend them to literally everybody and I truly believe they have a flawless discography. Up On Gravity Hill is another raw, beautiful structured masterpiece. I love this band so damn much and I think you will, too.
Dog Date Zinger
Spotify | Apple Music | Buy
Dirty garage rock that sounds like it was recorded in a shoebox. I can’t get enough of that kind of stuff. This album is so damn catchy, mainly because of the sing-song nature of the guitar riffs. They dance around the shouted vocals and frantic drums, it’s mesmerizing. Seriously great.
Heavenly Blue We Have The Answer
Spotify | Apple Music | Buy
There are seven people in Heavenly Blue and two of them are vocalists. As you can probably imagine, this stuff is chaotic. Extremely chaotic. It’s heavy, mathy, screamo that features sounds more layered and complex that most of the other stuff in this genre. If you like this sort of stuff, the more traditional brand of screamo, the you’ll love this. The production on this record is amazing, too. All around A+.
Here’s a pic from that METZ show back in 2015. It’s pretty weird how a band from Canada made a guy from California feel at home in Arizona. But I don’t make the rules. Sometimes things don’t have to make sense. Magic is funny like that.
