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When a band is releasing its third new record since 2006, you’d expect some inconsistency. The Lawrence Arms seem to be timeless though. With Skeleton Coast they pick right up where they left off Metropole (2014). Take the opening stanza of “Dead Man’s Coat” as an example. Beginning with Chris McCaughan’s soft and wanting melodies, it’s unmistakably The Lawrence Arms. … Read more
The excitement of We Are the Champions of the Word (Retrospectus) is supposed to be the five new songs at the end of the 29-song collection. It probably is, but given how bands often release a Best Of before they breakup, this record feels more worrisome than celebratory. That’s just a personal feeling that views this as some kind of … Read more
When The Lawrence Arms released Oh Calcutta! back in 2006, it was billed by the band as a collection of songs utilizing the back-and-forth, high octane punk they enjoy listening to—a conscious decision to switch-up their sound for a record. Then, life happened and the group took eight years for a new album. 2014 brings Metropole, and even with the … Read more
It's been another strong year for music in 2014 just gone – we've seen comebacks, unexpected debuts, strong follow-ups and soon-to-be classics from old and new bands alike. In this, our annual sitewide list, we've averaged and assembled our individual contributor's best-of-2014 lists into one superlist, amalgamating all of our … Read more
Brendan Kelly (Lawrence Arms) SPB: Does your child listen to your music at all? What does s/he think (sorry, I can't remember if you have a son or daughter--or both)? Kelly: My kids like to listen to my music in the car. They also like to listen to it on … Read more
Chris McCaughan (Lawrence Arms, Sundowner) SPB: I take it by the multiple baseball references in your songs that you're a fan. What are your thoughts on the recent doping scandal? McCaughan: Hold up! There's cheating and steroids in baseball?!! C'mon. Are we really so surprised by all this? It's certainly … Read more
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