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  • Harmonic Convergence by Mega Infinity

    Harmonic Convergence by Mega Infinity

    Album: Harmonic Convergence

    Artist: Mega Infinity

    Released: March 3, 2025; Say-10/Direct Support Music Group

    If ska infused progressive rock is your kind of jam, then you probably know all about Long Island 4 piece Mega Infinity. They have been a staple of the current DIY Ska scene for many years. Their signature style features sick guitar riffs, meaningful and engaging lyrics and a community centered outlook that always brings a good time. Their newest full length album “Harmonic Convergence” released last Tuesday.

    My favorite song on the album is “When You Get Home”. It is a highly relatable and an extremely sweet love song. Maybe I am just a sucker for that kind of thing but it honestly makes my heart melt a little when I listen to it. There is also some stellar saxophone in the song which I of course absolutely adore. The vocal performance is very sincere and honest. The thing that gets me right in the heart is the story of the song. It starts with a couple who is dating. The boyfriend has to leave and the girlfriend wants him to call when he gets home. The song then goes on to explain how she loves him and how safe he makes her feel and how she wants him to be safe as well. Again, it is very sweet and sincere. The next verse the couple is married and reminiscing about back when they dated and then they wonder about their future together. In the last verse, the couple has a kid and you are treated to more snapshots of their lives as the kid grows up and becomes an adult. Then, the song goes back to the, now mom, asking her child to call her when they get home. It is then that you realized that what you have just witnessed is love make a complete cycle from romantic love for a partner, to parental love for a child. Honestly, it’s beautiful, god tier storytelling. Also, shout out to my wife who this song very easily could have been written about. She is exactly the way POV character of the song is portrayed and still to this day asks all our adult children to tell her when they get home. Perhaps that’s why I fine it so relatable.

    “The World” is another really well written song about finding love and acceptance among friends and community. It is a really upbeat pop-punk song. It also has a really awesome guitar solo during the back half of the song. I think it is the perfect track 1 for the album as it really sets the tone for what follows.

    Gerilyn Hayes-McCloskey of Böndbreakr provides additional vocals on the song “In Bocca Al Lupo”. Her vocals are fantastic and add a level of visceral empowerment that takes the song to another level. The prog rock guitar that intros the song is also great at stoking the energy needed to address the subject of the song. It recounts the story of Medusa and uses it as a metaphor for overcoming trauma and then from there setting out to protect others. It’s a song about survival and empowerment; an utterly marvelous message.

    Lastly, I just wanted to briefly mention the song “The Crowd Goes Mild”. It is a scything rebuttal of how big tech has a straggle hold on the music industry and generative AI. It talks about how this hurts the music scene. Most importantly, the comment on how to combat this by finding solidarity with other artists and by making real music with real people.

    This “Harmonic Convergence” marks their second full length release since “Rainbow Heartache” released in 2021. The almost 5 years was worth the wait. Everything presented in this album is an improvement on their first album and even their 2023 solo EP and takes the style they are known for and kicks it up to 20.

  • Leash Aggression by Pigeon Pit

    Leash Aggression by Pigeon Pit

    Artist: Pigeon Pit

    Album: Leash Aggression

    Release: November 07, 2025; Ernest Jennings Record co.

    I have always liked Pigeon Pit. They express an interesting mix of folk and punk that is seen as new and unique to the uninitiated. I am always glad when they drop a new album, but I have to be honest, 2025 has been quite the year for them. In January, they released the album, ‘Crazy Arms’ it was fantastic and one that I regret not being able to go back and write a review for. Y’all definitely should go check it out though. Highly recommend. Then, as if seemingly out of nowhere (at least for me anyways), they released this album barely even 11 months later. This is quite the impressive release cadence for a group that has in the past released albums 2-4 years apart. Clearly Pigeon Pit is on the grind and has a lot to say. I, for one, am ready to listen.

    I want to start out by say the the fiddle on this album is sublime. It draws emotions out of the air as if by alchemy. The song that best exhibits this is “Return of the White Knuckle Angel”. There is just something about the fiddle in this song that pierces straight through my soul. I get chills the moment the first fiddle note is bowed into existence. Pure visceral longing— honestly is the only way I can describe it. This type of emotional resonance is the prefect punctuation to a song that is about someone who is no longer in Lomes’s life, but who she clearly cares deeply for. This is my favorite song on the album.

    Another thing that I love about this album and Pigeon Pit in general is the one liners that are strung throughout the music. “Cherry” has two of the best of the album. The first is “who can you really trust who isn’t 86’d from Ralph’s?” 86’d a term here meaning being banned from Ralph’s, a chain of grocery stores predominantly on the west coast, a subsidiary of the much larger Kroger corporation. 10 words to say you can’t trust people who wont steal food from larger corporations. Or perhaps an implied call to action saying to listeners— Live the beliefs you claim to have or shut up. You can decide for yourself if that means you actually need to steal from corporations. The next line follows shortly after the last and it is “cowards never die, so I guess I’ll just keep seeing you around”. This is perhaps one of the coldest burns I have ever heard set to music and is delivered with nonchalant matter of fact attitude that makes it hit even harder. You can’t even argue with it. People who lack the bravery to stand for something tend to live longer than the people who do. I just love it so much, the line, in a vacuum is stellar in the context of the song, it is another way to highlight the implied call to action from moments earlier. Live with courage, the people you are about are watching.

    “Anthill Mode” captures the slice of life feel presented throughout the album the most. It is simply cinematic and awe-inspiring in a way that is relentlessly relatable.

    “Leash Aggression” as a whole is an amazing example of slice of life poetry. If it doesn’t make you feel like you are there living alongside Lomes and the cast of characters in her life, it is only because it makes you desperately pine to actually be there passing time with them on the streets of Olympia. The struggles, the monotony, and joy all become strikingly real as the album plays. It is quite magnificent how Pigeon Pit is able to curate these snap shots of life in such a consequential manor.

    If you like the album I reviewed here and want to support the artist as well as this blog please consider picking up the album via this affiliate link—> Purchase Leash Aggression By Pigeon Pit digitally via Amazon Music.