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Tag: Music Review

  • Dead World Building by How I became Invisible

    Dead World Building by How I became Invisible

    Artist: How I Became Invisible 

    Album: Dead World Building 

    Release: March 6, 2026; Anthropic Principle Records 

    How I Became Invisible is back with more Sci-fi infused emo punk rock. “Dead World Building” picks up where the previous release “Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost” left off. It continues with the themes of trans struggle. However, while the last album delivered more of a zeal to fight a changing world, this one instead settles on themes of building something positive in a world that is dead or dying. In a sense, you get the feeling that the fight from the last album was lost and we are left here dealing with the aftermath.

    The initial track “Dead Astronauts, Pt. 1” goes a long way to set the stage for the feeling of a battle lost. The lo-fi crackles and pops make the song seem like a lost transmission. I can’t help but imagine an astronaut floating in the void to space, signing off for the last time having become resigned to an “inevitable” fate.  Then, in “Dead Astronauts, Pt. 2” instead of the lo-fi crackles, you are greeted in the first notes of the song by a piano. The notes are soft, sweet and beautiful. As the song progresses, you begin to feel that perhaps things are not as bleak as the first part had led us to believe. Then,  the second verse hits with a rather poetic metaphor and ends with the line ‘That we are not the problem and we’re not gonna die for you’. This is a line that is reprised from “We Are (NOT) The Problem” a song from the last album. I described it as a trans resistance anthem and a fight song. This is the point where the astronaut I imagined from the first song decides that fate is not inevitable and that a better world can be built and fought for. These two songs act as flag posts for the themes of the album. Pt. 1— continued struggle. Pt. 2—the active choice to build something positive in a world that is falling apart around you. 

    Up until the song, “We Are (not) Okay”, I think a lot of the trans struggle has been couched in metaphors of sci-fi. A fantastic move as sci-fi makes it easier to consume for the masses. While, giving a wink and saying—If you know you know—to its real target audience. This song however drops the sci-fi set dressing and just flat out lays it all on the line. It is a heart wrenching song. I hope cis people like me, listen to this song and begin to understand that the present struggles of trans people will be the the future struggles of everyone. If we allow oppressors to steal the human rights from one group, they will not stop until no one has human rights. This will be everyone’s future if we roll over and allow it to continue to happen to our trans neighbors.

    This is not a surprise to anyone who knows me but “Mosh Pit In The Wawa” is my favorite song of the album. It is a relentlessly catchy punk rock celebration of putting a past relationship behind you and moving on. I love so much about this song from the intro delivered as if it were a page broadcast over the intercom system of the titular Wawa, to the verses that end in the lyrics “The world I love is waiting for me, and I am stronger than I thought I’d be.” I just find it an incredibly empowering statement especially how it is sung. Emily’s ability to pen these inspirational one liners is a highlight of her writing for me.       

    “Judicious Bloodletting” is a top notch instrumental song. “Harley and Ivy” isn’t technically an instrumental piece but is still an impressive composition that is laid over a spoken word piece that I feel is very meaningful. You kind of have to dial in to hear it all but it is definitely worth the extra attention you’ll have to pay. For anyone unfamiliar with How I Became Invisible’s back catalog, these 2 tracks are a great introduction to Emily’s instrumental work and really sells her prowess for composition.  

    “Dead World Building” is another fantastic addition to the How I Became Invisible discography. I appreciate the expansion on what “Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost” gave us. It is a refinement of themes as much as it was a continuation of the story. It may be bold of me to suggest, but I think this album is best listened to in its entirety directly after listening to the whole of “Everything Not Safe Will Be Lost”. In fact, during an interview I did with Emily way back in 2023, she said that all of How I Became Invisible’s albums tell an interconnected story and I think that with these last 2 albums that has become perfectly clear. 

  • Or Hans Gruber and the Die Hards by Hans Gruber and the Die Hards

    Or Hans Gruber and the Die Hards by Hans Gruber and the Die Hards

    Album: Or Hans Gruber and the Die Hards

    Artist: Hans Gruber and the Die Hards

    Released: February 17, 2026; Self Release

    Hans Gruber and the Die Hards have been a high energy, often zany staple of the Ska-core genre for close to a decade. Or Hans Gruber and the Die Hards is no exception to this already established norm. This entire album is a fun energy driven chaotic parade. If upon hearing the first song you think to yourself, ‘Oh I know where this is going’, I promise that you do not. The only way I can describe this album is by asking you to picture the Kool-aid man busting into a room except he is wearing a pair of boxer briefs as music blasts at you. He then runs by you bursting through the adjacent wall into the next room, revealing a new room and music completely and different from the from the last. That is honestly how it feels as you progress track by track through the album. The only thing that seems to remain constant throughout the album is that each song is utterly amazing and the group’s disdain for how things are and their desire for them to be better for everyone not just the rich—Well maybe not better for the rich.

    I think the song that best showcases their desire to make things better is, “One Day”. It imagines a future where everyone has housing and the other things they need to live. In a very loose sense, it is a Ska-core “Imagine” except where John Lennon very much comes off as a pie in the sky, wouldn’t this be nice dreamer. Hans Gruber and the Die Hards deliver a song that is less pie in the sky and more resolute. It’s not just a call to action; it’s a threat. The verses in Spanish speak of revolution further cementing the song as one that means business. One day, indeed hopefully sometime in our lifetime. This is my favorite song on the album.

    “Pay Your Tolls” is another great song that showcases yet another thing to be mad at about society as it is. Toll roads suck. Having to pay a fee for a thing that should be a public service is utter bull shit especially when you live in a country that doesn’t offer any other viable modes of transit, outside of its largest cities. Hans Gruber really hates paying tolls and you should too. Another thing that I really like about this particular song is that it is a team up with Doom Scroll one of my top folk punk bands. It might seem like an odd match up to some people but to me, I think it’s perfect.

    Then, there is “Throwdown” which is just a absolutely perfect pop-punk bop with horns. I love the vocals so much in this song, especially the chorus. The drums? Great! The guitar? Great! The horns? AMAZING! The little operatic bit?? You know unexpectedly that too even works! Purely an infectious bop.

    The last song I want to highlight is “Chambacú” Its a Latin ballad with a coral accompaniment and horns, but also there is screaming?? Its unique, its awesome and I love it. I low key want to go to the place they are singing about because the love and reverence they express for it in this song makes it seem hella lit.

    To wrap things up here, other notable songs include one about trash. One about how venues should give ear protection to concert goers for free: a thing I wholeheartedly agree with. And a song that compares politicians and the rich to everyone’s least favorite parasite, the bedbug. One more thing I wholeheartedly agree with. This album is a wild ride that is as fun as it is chaotic. With “Or Hans Gruber and the Die Hards”, Hans Gruber and the Die Hards have served fans up something they couldn’t have possibly imagined.