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Tag: Punk

  • In Case You Missed It Vol. 3

    In Case You Missed It Vol. 3

    Folks, it has been 6 months since the last volume of In Case You Missed It. I thought I would take this time to talk about some singles that have recently dropped or otherwise caught my eye. If this is your first installment of, In Case You Missed It, this is the general vibe of this series. I hope you like it.  

    “Free Dom” by Bad Operation; March 06, 2026: This song has everything I think a perfect song should contain. It is politically engaged. The overall message of the song is fantastic and most importantly, for me anyways, the chorus has a solid call to action. On top of all that, the music is just so good. The bass line that opens the song is peak. There is something about organ driven ska that just gets me fired up. Honestly, if I went all mad scientist and sat out to distill the new tone ska movement into its pure essence, I am almost positive that something close to this song is what would come out that mad science. Free Dom was the first single off of Bad Operation’s upcoming album releasing on April 24, 2026. If this and the other single are any indication, this is going to be a must have album.

    ‘Peachy‘ By Chromarama; March 19, 2026: Chromarama is a hardcore punk band from Indianapolis, Indiana. Peachy is their newest single. If hardcore is your thing,, this single is definitely worth a listen. As expected, the music is intense and goes hard. The vocals are screamy with just a hint of anger. A perfect pairing for a song that is about the ceaseless onslaught of life, and how we (humans) are wired for better or worse to keep grinding along relentlessly in spite of all the hardship inherent in life. This song is a battle anthem that I can see myself fire up the next time I decide to go to war with life.

    ‘Liar’ by Omnigone; March 28, 2026: I have since I started this blog missed several opportunities to cover Omnigone; much to my chagrin. They are a band out of California with strong Ska and hardcore influences and this song is no different. It’s got the must have ska guitar licks punctuated by a pretty gnarly guitar solo at the end. The song is about how liars use hate and deception to stoke division and bigotry. Based on my parasocial understanding of the type of person Adam Davis is, I am going to venture a guess that the song, while vague, is aimed at a particular type of modern political actor. I like it. I like it quite a lot, and I think that y’all should definitely give it a listen.     

    Panorama by Mike Honcho; May 21, 2024: Mike Honcho is an electronic music artist based out of Boston, Massachusetts. Panorama is shining bit of instrumental electronica. The thing I find most intriguing about this track is the click rhythm line that flows through the piece. The synthesized whir gives an almost alien feel to the composition. Combine this with the rest of the multilayered sounds and they coalesce to bring together an otherworldly contraption of electronic music that offers seemingly endless opportunities to find something new every re-listen. Panorama can be found on Mike Honcho’s up coming album, “Day to Day” releasing May 01, 2026. Pre-orders are currently available on Bandcamp. 

  • 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.