Somehow, we're halfway through the year again. Where did the time go, we ask ourselves, as life returns to something vaguely resembling pre-pandemic times, music festivals begin to emerge once more slumber, and secret music projects begin to see the light of day as artists rediscover themselves. Luckily for you, the Scene Point Blank team is on hand to highlight the best music of 2022 so far that you might have missed – strap in to hear our writers' favorite records of the year to this point, and find out what under the radar releases need to be added to your regular rotation. Let's go!
Aaron's Top 5 Of 2022 So Far
1
On his sophomore full length, Orville Peck traded in his Pony for a full-grown bucking Bronco. Peck's new album has the artist growing and maturing his sound while maintaining what made him unique in the first place. Tracks like "Let Me Drown" showcase his talent as a vocalist, while the lead single, "C'mon, Baby Cry," flaunts his growth as a songwriter. It's an album that grabs you from the start and will keep you humming to yourself long after the record stops spinning. You can find more about the album in my review.
2
Cave In - Heavy Pendulum
Relapse Records
Holy shit, Cave In are back and better than ever! With the loss of long-time bassist, Caleb Scofield, I'm not sure anyone knew exactly what the world had in store for Cave In after 2019's, Final Transmission. The band recruited Converge's, Nate Newton, and it's clear how perfect a fit he is for the band and a suitable fill-in for Scofield. The band delivers their best album in years and arguably the best in their career. It's heavier and it's sludgier, but it doesn't shy away from throwing in those tasty melodic riffs. It's comforting to know that Scofield is still present on the album, having provided one of the riffs from "New Reality" as well as the lyrics for "Amaranthine."
3
Ghost continues to delve deeper into their camp on Impera and this time, it's in the form of 80's Glam Metal/Arena Rock and it works amazingly well. There's still the occasional heavier track, like "Call Me Little Sunshine," but if you're looking for something with more of a tinge of zany, then you get that too with "Twenties." In between, you'll find enough hooks, riffs, and anthems to satisfy your soul. You can find more about the album in the review from my colleague, Sarah Jane. Though we disagree on "Kaisarion," I think it's one of the best tracks on the album.
4
Gregor Barnett - Don't Go Throwing Roses in My Grave
Epitaph Records
Gregor Barnett of The Menzingers decides to take some time for himself with his solo album, "Don't Go Throwing Roses in My Grave." If you're a Menzingers fan, then this album is a must. Sometimes it sounds like b-sides that didn't make the cut for Hello Exile, but there are lots of gems in Barnett's repertoire to differentiate them. He's a little bit more country while Menzingers is a little bit more Rock 'n' Roll..
5
Sweat's Gotta Give it Up is just the spark you need to light the fire under your ass to get you pumped for some Hardcore-Punk. For a genre that has begun to grow a little stale for me, there is something about Sweat that pulls me back in where others have failed. There's a bit of melodica amongst all the anger and screaming, and it's not done in an overbearing way like say, White Lung (not a sleight). Sometimes a little subtlety is key. Read up more in Loren's review.
- Aaron H
Cheryl's Top 5 of 2022 So Far
Is anyone else exhausted? So tired, all of the time, that even doing things that you like has become a chore. Listening to music has always been a favourite but this year has been tough. It's been tough to find the time to enjoy albums and it's been tough to find the time to enjoy life. But, there has been some slivers of hope in live music making a comeback and people being able to get together in bigger numbers. Let's hope for better days ahead.
Here are five albums that I've really enjoyed so far this year.
1
40 Watt Sun - Perfect Light
Svart Records
40 Watt Sun's brand of emotional doom touches on subjects of the heart that are so deep and tangible that you feel as though you are a part of the songs themselves. Led by Patrick Walker, 40 Watt Sun render heartache through delicate compositions that are weighed down heavily by the pressures of live and love and filtered though a doomy lens for all to experience. Perfect Light is an album of retrospection and for this you need perfect quiet, a dark room and only yourself in order to bathe in the light of Walker's voice.
2
Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium - Undreamable Abysses
Debemur Morti Productions
Blut Aus Nord are never a band to do things by halves and with Disharmonium - Undreamable Abysses the French trio have created a Lovecraftian monument to Old Gods and terror. With mastermind Vindsval at the helm, Blut Aus Nord have long been at the forefront of experimental and curious black metal and with this latest offering they are taking their cosmic black metal further than ever before.
3
Negative Plane - The Pact...
Invictus Productions
Waiting for Negative Plane's new album was certainly a lesson in patience as it came over a decade after their last full-length release. The Pact... more than makes up for that as it conjures images of curious rituals and cloaked figures covertly casting their spells upon unsuspecting victims. Negative Plane's approach to black metal is curiously disharmonic as Nameless Void's voice moves against the guitars in ways that, on paper, shouldn't work. However, it is so cleverly done that the band create bizarre melodies in unexpected places and the lyrics follow a thrilling path through life and death that are as deep as the best novels of our time.
4
Thou and Mizmor - Myopia
Gilead Media
Are you even at Roadburn Festival and wondering what the huge gap on the Main Stage schedule is and then you learn that Thou have collaborated with Mizmor and are playing a portion of their secretly recorded album as a surprise for the attendees? If you answered yes, then you would have been blown away by this coming together of sludge and black metal on the stage and gotten goosebumps as the two bands performed. If you answered no, then you still would have been blown away upon hearing Myopia because it is honestly one of the most intense pieces of music to be released this year.
5
Trhä - Tálcunnana dëhajma tun dejl...
Independent
Tálcunnana dëhajma tun dejl bënatsë abcul’han dlhenisë ëlh inagat, jahadlhë adrhasha dauzglën nu dlhevusao ibajngra nava líeshtamhan ëf novejhan conetsë danëctsë kin, ëf tu dlhicadëtrhënna bë ablhundrhaba judjenan alhëtangrasë shidandlhamësë inkom is hardly the easiest of album titles to digest but Trhä is not a project that set out to be accessible, but rather to channel otherworldly feelings and experiences. Previously unknown and recently unmasked as the person behind several other well-respected bands, Trhä's sole member Thét Älëf uses atmospheric black metal to work through life and all it can throw at them with a masterful touch.
- Cheryl
Christopher D's Top 5 Midyear Review
1
Bad Brains
Bad Brains - Punk Note Edition (Bad Brains Records)
Recording currently owned by The Bad Brains and wrapped up in an alternate cover mimicking the famous Blue Note Label. Originally released in 1982 on the Roir Cassette label. Blistering boiled alive hardcore seasoned
with righteous positive vibrations. The Bad Brains are the pantheons of this genre. These limited edition releases sell out quicker than a lightning bolt into the Whitehouse with profit margins reaching 7 times the original price. Get them with Attitude!
2
Rudimentary Peni
Great War (Sealed Records)
An unexpected gift fell from the heavens burning through the stratosphere of hell like a forgotten sputnik to come crashing at our feet and beckoning us to reconsider. Hardly described as cunctation as one can probably more
accurately transport this release as The Tin Man getting some well-deserved lubrication and to carry on as if nothing happened in the space and time continuum. Onwards and upwards marching naysayer brethren death church folly.
3
Wipers
Youth of America - Anniversary Edition: 1981-2021 RSD (Jackpot Records)
Another essential slab of coloured vinyl dripping with the inner grooves of Greg Sage’s magical guitar-move over Jimmy and take that magical flute and shove it where the sun don’t shine, there is a not so new sheriff in town and he has been spinning yarns for decades influencing one dead rock star after another. Apparently highly reclusive and dedicated Sage is a well-respected demi-god and shuns accolades showered on him while continuing to ply his passion. Essential as vaccines.
4
various artists
Brown Acid - The Twelfth Trip (RidingEasy Records)
Bong rattling bass, Flicker, flicker, flicker tune in and drop out. Be Leary of LSD. Probing Grand Mal seizure material for the ages, penetrating mass hysterics followed by undulating waves of subtle calmness surfing on fluffy clouds with the Silver Surfer to be followed by Thor’s hammer crushing your cranium to tiny bone fragments spraying your mindless dribble for eternity. Drop Brown acid blotters and dive into empty forgotten community swimming pools when every new kid on the block list wanted to follow the right of sabbath noir passages. Brown Acid Series Classic Rock from the Late '60s and Early '70s.
5
Screamers
Demo Hollywood: 1977 (Super Viaduct)
Good things come to little children who patiently wait. Children must be seen but not heard. Children must not talk back to figures of authority. Well, fuck you that day has arrived for those patient little children dwelling in the sewers awaiting the soundtrack to fuel their angst-ridden suppression. Arise and be one. Raise your tiny pumped fist in the air and scream like the screamers. Don’t be normal, don’t follow a formula, follow your heart. Follow Follow Follow. . There is plenty of Tomata in these vines to gormandize your paltry palette.
- Christopher D
Dennis' Top 5 Of 2022 So Far
This list was, like every list I have made for this site, difficult to make. This has been a rich year musicwise. I have heard a lot of releases that brought me that something extra. I have had the chance to review some of them, but unfortunately there's only so much time to write those reviews. So yeah, there is some great stuff out there that didn't get reviewed here. I am happy to see that my absolute top 5 so far did get coverage, though! It wasn't easy selecting only five records, but what an awesome ride these albums are! I hope they spark as much joy for you as they do for me!
1
It is always a guess if you will return to an album after initially being blown away by it. It's been a couple of months since I wrote the review and can confirm this album still haunts me. The anger and rage still impress me as much as it did when I first heard it. This is currently one of my go to albums if I need to blow of some steam.
2
This album is so much fun to listen to. It is so high energy and so incredibly catchy. The days I work at home I take a walk before setting a foot in my home office. If the sun is out, there is a big chance this album is playing. There is one downside: I have grown less and less fond of closing track "Life Is A Voyage". I just skip it and think the album is better without it. So if I was to rewrite my review of the album I would just add this advice: skip the closing track to maintain the high energy vibe!
3
As mentioned in my review this one track album gives you a lot to digest, but if you are in the right mood it is more than worth the effort. I especially appreciate it when dusk sets in and I am in my living room, just chilling with a good drink in my hand. Just sitting there, listening to Icare going through all the motions while they convince me, with the words of Baudelaire, about the beauty of decay.
4
There are a lot of good melodic hardcore and punk bands out there. To set yourself apart you need a little bit extra. For La Fraction this is the incredibly voice of their singer. As stated in my review, she reminds of the great French chanseuses, but put in a punk setting.
5
This band has grown so much over time. This Shame Should Not Be Mine is the crown on their career so far. I also really appreciate how outspoken the band is on tough subjects. Yet, while talking about these subjects, the band never forgets it is not cold rationale, but emotion that touches the listeners. The combination is gold (pun intended). Or, as my colleague Spyros Stasis said in his review of this album: "It is a work driven by ambition, but without forgetting the emotive roots of the act. Here, the personal stories of Milena Eva echo with pain and sentiment."
- Dennis
Loren's Top 5 Of 2022 So Far
1
Honest, downtrodden punk at an uplifting pace. It’s singalong and fun (sounding) while bearing a ton of weight in the lyrics. Simultaneously serious and singalong.
2
Swami John has been riding the wild night for 30-some years at this point and it’s just as wild and energetic as ever. Rock ‘n’ roll as it’s meant to be played.
3
This one took me a few listens to really grab. It has shades of Ergs-style pop-punk, but there’s a lot more going on. After a few listens, I began to hear where the old pop-punk meets the new noise-jam for a perfect middle point.
4
It’s a record about their wrecked van. But it’s also about way more. Accessible, thoughtful midtempo punk that manages to get all deep without getting annoying at the same time (which is a rare feat).
5
Glitch is a really good title for this. It’s loud, abrasive rock that pulls from the play book of earlier rock. And with surf elements too.
- Loren
Piro's Top 5 Of 2022 So Far
There's been a lot of music out this year already, following the pandemic era trend of too much to catch it all. In spite of this though, to me at least, this year isn't particularly remarkable in terms of quality, so naming these few records wasn't too difficult in the end as AOTY contenders for the end of the year extravaganza.
1
Kardashev - Liminal Rite
Metal Blade Records
I could talk about this album for hours on end. I was pretty certain based on the singles when they were released that this would be one of the best albums of this year. When the whole album came out, I was 150% sure that this is the case. As I clocked in spin after spin of Liminal Rite, I grew more and more enamored with it, with each subsequent listen. There's something wildly alluring about the coherence, depth, authenticity, and power with which the ideas present are propelled towards us.
It's poetic on an epic, larger than life scale, with everything to offer to virtually any metal fan. I also think that by now they earned the right to declare themselves as the first deathgaze band out there, because, let's be serious, no one does it (to my knowledge) and even if someone did, they sure aren't close to this in any way. Sure, Liminal Rite may be lacking in terms of production, but that's an easy fix when songwriting is at such masterful levels.
While this is a bold claim, I believe that Liminal Rite will go down this decade as one of the landmark records in the genre, similar in impact, praise, and significance as was Ne Obliviscaris's Portal of I last decade. They share some common features musically so I think the comparison is more than appropriate.
2
Lack the Low - God-Carrier
Art as Catharsis
After a long silence, Kat Hunter a.k.a. Lack the Low, brought back some of that much needed musical magic which we first experienced on One Eye Closed. This time around though, she outdid herself, with God-Carrier.
God-Carrier runs the gamut from powerful and surreal, through expansive and profound, all the way to diaphanous and soothing. It does all of these and more with an elegance and wit that's rarely encountered.
While the subtle and soft tonalities of the album may belie its complexities, they are the perfect complement for the intricate and poignant arrangements which we witness.
God-Carrier is definitely an album unlike any other in its stylistic vicinity.
3
Bleed from Within - Shrine
Nuclear Blast
While I thought that Bleed from Within signing to Nuclear Blast and releasing a subpar follow up to Era in the form of Fracture would spell the end for one of the finest bands in the groove metal/metalcore/melodic-death segment - I was wrong.
This year they released Shrine, and while its production was pretty bad for their stature and label affiliation, it was everything we needed as a sequel to Era.
It's got all the heavy, head-banging riffage, the sweet rolling grooves, the hypnotic lead melodies, and of course, and orchestral backdrop to really kick that epic feeling home.
Don't expect this record to change your life, but trust me when I tell you it's all the fun this kind of a record should be.
4
Saor - Origins
Season of Mist
While Saor doesn't bring anything new to the table, it does bring the most refined version of its own product to date.
Origins really hits home with some mad nostalgia and wistfulness of things that I've never experienced with sweet folk tinged melodies and all the riffs you could ask for as an accompaniment for added weight.
Origins also is home to what is easily one of my absolute favorite songs of this year - Aurora. I'll be damned if I didn't already listen to it 40 times on repeat. The latter half of it is pure magic and it even wringed a few tears out of my eyes.
If you like your metal with a strong Scottish atmosphere, look no further.
5
Papir - 7
Independent
Papir definitely have a vibe going for them. 7 isn't about fancy phrasing, wild songwriting, super complex structures, or anything of the sort. 7 is all about vibes.
Boy does Papir sure deliver on the vibes. I haven't heard something this soothing and relaxing in years. I can't say I'm particularly impressed with 7 on a strictly musical level so as to have it warrant an album of the year placement, but emotionally it speaks to me like very few things.
The emotional charge this record boasts is second to none. There's an intense serene and angelic texture that permeates every layer, alongside a sense of otherworldliness in a way in which these things aren't usually paired together.
I'm also left feeling a sense of nostalgia and longing for places I've never been to, and things that don't exist. It's beyond words. It's beauty personified as sounds.
- Robert Miklos (Piro)
There you have it!
Sarah Jane's Top 5 of 2022 So Far
2022 has already proved itself to be rather chaotic, much like the previous two or three years I guess, only this time the dreaded Covid restrictions are becoming less of a problem and instead now seem to be at war and the cost of living is rising at an alarming rate. Whilst many of us are now questioning if we can actually afford to go out to live shows anymore we take solace in the fact that bands are still kicking out top quality material for us to enjoy! The following list are five of my favourite albums I have heard so far this year, quite frankly if it wasn't for these five choices and maybe a couple of others this first half of the year would probably have been a whole lot more stressful.
1
Impera has had a lot of attention since it's release in March. It led to Ghost touring Europes arenas labelling it the Imperatour, countless radio airplay of singles "Call Me Little Sunshine" and "Hunter's Moon" and it hit high up in album charts across the world. For me, Impera is a continuation of the fabulous Prequelle album from 2018 and it showcases Ghost to be one of the most musically diverse bands on the alternative market to date. Okay so they are not the heaviest band out there but their choice of mixing 70s/80s europop with King Diamond/Judas Priest esque vibes does more for me then bands like Motionless In White will ever do. Papa Emeritus IV and his band of Nameless Ghouls not only put on a stunning live performance but Impera as an album contains some lively and evocative ballad style numbers interspersed with some power driven heavier numbers.
2
Death Has Spoken - Call Of The Abyss
Ossuary Records
A band that were completely new to me this year, Polish death/doom metal four piece Death has Spoken have really impressed. Call Of The Abyss is seven tracks of pure dark and melodic quality doom metal that makes you forget about real life and transports you off to ancient and mythical fantasy lands. This highly talented band have created a wonderful atmosphere with this addictive album which was unleashed on Ossuary Records in November last year. I did not hear this album until the early months of this year and I am still listening to it frequently so I am still including it on my list. Check Death Has Spoken out right now if you haven't already.
3
Eight US underground metal acts cover twelve of Slayers best tracks spanning their four decade career. Featuring Skrog, Distal Descent, Skull Fuckers Incorporated and Overt Enemy to name a few covering tracks like "South Of Heaven", "Dead Skin Mask" and "Bloodline" plus "At Dawn They Sleep" and "Raining Blood". It is a great tribute to Slayer proving that metal bands owe a huge debt of gratitude to this one amazing band. Every track is spot on and every band involved put their own twist on the tracks making them their own. Released on Skrog frontmans own Satyrn Studios label in April. This is one cover album you need to check out.
4
Halo has been a constant revisit for me since it's release in February. Amorphis have this ability to forge melodic and folk metal that continues to astound me and will forever soothe my soul. Halo has been the escape I have needed this year as, like Death Has Spoken, this album takes you to another world. From opening track "Northward" to "My Name Is Night" it is a wonderful trip through fantastic winterscapes and frozen wilderness. Halo proves that Finlands finest Amorphis have still got what it takes fourteen albums in.
5
Australian four piece horrorpunk ghouls Coffin Carousel released Order Of The Bat on frontman Howard Von Noise's independent label Noise Inc in May. If you like quirky tales about all manner of creepy beasts and monsters with some seriously heavy rhythmic beats and infectious vocals then Coffin Carousel are the band for you! Not only do you need to check out Order Of The Bat but you also need to check out their back catalogue too, do so here at coffincarousel.com.
- Sarah Jane
Spyros' Top 5 Of 2022 So Far
1
Aeviterne - The Ailing Facade
Profound Lore
The New York death metal scene is spawning a golden generation. Acts like Artificial Brain and Pyrrhon are leading the charge, but there is an abundance of great acts lurking under the surface. Four years after their debut EP, Sireless, Aeviterne arrive with their debut full-length, The Ailing Facade and they achieve something extraordinary. They inject post-punk and industrial elements seamlessly into their technical death metal core, contorting the genre through a post-metallic lens that calls upon the Neurosis and Godflesh lineage. Drop whatever you are doing and go listen to “Dream In Lies.”
2
Progress and evolution. Zen Zsigo has taken Cremation Lily through numerous adventures over the past years. Noise soundscapes, post-dance applications, disfigured IDM, and ambient implosions. Still, Dreams Drenched In Static feels different, as it binds together the organic and the mechanical, the material and the transcendental. It is this defining moment for the project where all paths have collided, and the resulting amalgamation finds the perfect balance. Introspective and yet open, spiritual but also earthly, harsh but beautiful. A very fine moment for Cremation Lily.
3
Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium: Undreamable Abysses
Debemur Morti
The sardonic twist. In 2019, the ever-morphing Blut Aus Nord released Hallucinogen, which can be described as one of their more mellow and melodic works. In 2022, they follow it with one of their meaner and harsher offerings to date in Disharmonium. The psychedelic domain of Hallucinogen is thus inverted into a terrifying nightmare of Lovecraftian grandeur. Every guitar note drips venom, every drum hit a nail piercing the mind. Almost 30 years in and Blut Aus Nord show no intention of compromising.
4
Author & Punisher - Krüller
Relapse
The drone machines of Tristan Shore have been wreaking havoc for almost twenty years now. In the past, Shore’s industrial machinations arrived with brutal intensity. Harsh elements of noise and doom metal combined to disgusting effect. Now Shore turns this nightmarish scenery to reveal a post-apocalyptic dreamscape with Krüller. The harsh cocoon of Women And Children and Beastlands falls away and a post-metallic sensibility is revealed. Krüller still packs a punch, but it feels like a moment of change and maturity for Author & Punisher.
5
Pyrithe - Monuments to Impermanence
Gilead Media
This post-metal intersection with sludge and noise rock sure proves to be persistent. The latest introduction to its ranks is Pyrithe’s debut, a telling sign that this sound still has a lot to offer. Brutal to no end, filled with experimental notions and ambient passages, Monuments to Impermanence is a work that hits hard. Despairing screams and feedback roar, the movements become erratic. From drone spaces to hardcore ferocity, through boundless noise rock motifs and free rocking pathways. An excellent introduction that promises even more.
- Spyros Stasis
Steph's Top 5 Of 2022 So Far
1
Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Pulitzer Prize winner, Kendrick Lamar offers more hard-hitting poetry on his latest double album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. Much of this album -- his last with Top Dawg Entertainment, where he has been since he was 15 -- seems to serve as a confessional. Behind the album cover, which gives us a look at Lamar’s fiancée and two children, the lyrics are introspective and honest, touching on themes like childhood trauma, therapy, domestic violence, fatherhood, gender, sexual experiences, and racism. Kendrick is a leader in combining rap, jazz, soul, R&B, and trap, and his song structures are as unpredictable as ever, never allowing us to get into a groove for too long. As he fleets from style to style, his heavy subject matter meandering scruffily, Kendrick delivers a dangerous, difficult, and masterful 73 minutes.
2
Plosivs is a new band made up of artists we already know and love: John Reis (Hot Snakes/Rocket from The Crypt/Drive Like Jehu), Rob Crow (Pinback), Atom Willard (Against Me!) and Jordan Clark (Mrs. Magician). The Hot Snakes influence is strong in this one – and while it’s less abrasive and awkward, it’s still got hard-hitting down strokes and fast chord changes. The vocal melodies are soft and poppy but the punky feel is relentless backed by the wild, pounding drums of Atom Willard. It conjures a Dillinger Four punk rock feel with darker sensibilities, as it drags us through melancholic riffs and never once hits the breaks.
3
Pusha T - It's Almost Dry
Def Jam Recordings / GOOD Music
Since discovering Pusha's last full-length, DAYTONA, I've been more or less obsessed with him. I love his clear-yet-scowling voice, his cheeky rhymes, and his signature "yuck" sprinkled throughout his own albums and the many collaborations he appears on, including many with Kanye, who guest stars on and produces half of It’s Almost Dry. Plus, Pusha is from Virginia, from where I also descend, and I like to think the "T" in his stage name refers to the surname we share. His latest album does not disappoint. It only builds on his established talents as a vocalist and songwriter. It sees Pusha trying out some higher ranges in his voice while syncopating his bars in peculiar ways, creating unease at times. The uneasiness is intensified by the Joker laugh scattered throughout the album amongst his nonchalantly threatening lyrics. It isn’t all uneasy though – Kid Cudi lends his croons on “Rock N Roll” and Pharrell Williams (the rockstar producer on the other half of this album) chimes in with smooth backing vocals on the catchy “Scrape it Off”. Kanye’s reliance on soul music samples on “Just So You Remember” and “Rock N Roll” are reminiscent of his early 2000s beats and conjure a comfortable nostalgia.
4
Flasher - Love is Yours
Domino Recording Co Ltd
Flasher’s second full-length, Love is Yours, was released four years after their first, and their sound has shed the punk feel and gone in a more indie-electropop, funky direction. The drum machines and synths combine with sweet his and her vocal melodies bouncing with reverb over catchy hooks, begging the listener to sway across the dancefloor. While the lyrics are somewhat melancholic, touching on break-ups, disappointment, and betrayal, the music is always uplifting and fun.
5
Oceanator - Nothing's Ever Fine
Polyvinyl Record Co.
Nothing's Ever Fine is the second full-length from Oceanator, the indie-rock project of Brooklyn-based musician Elise Okusami, and this album really covers a lot of ground. Despite the sweetness of Okusami's voice across the album, sometimes the odd time signatures, distorted chords, and heavy rhythm section conjure a grungier feel bordering on metal. These grungey, cacophonous crash-laden tracks are sprinkled between mid-tempo ballads and poppier party anthems -- which loop in fun riffs from a saxophone and an organ -- about beach days and teenage Saturday nights.
- Stephanie Thornton
