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Tag: Rock

  • What’s Another Night? by Apes of the State

    What’s Another Night? by Apes of the State

    Album: What’s Another Night?

    Artist: Apes of the State

    Released: April 22, 2025; Self Release

    This is the third full length release by Apes of the State, fourth if you want to count the solo album no one really talks about. As a band I really enjoy their commitment to DIY music and the folk punk genre/community and also their general disdain for the government. If you are a fan of any of those things, you will be happy to know that all those things are found in spades on this release.

    Ever since Apes of the State went to a full electric touring band, the folk punk that lives in my heart has been a little bummed. However, all the other punks that live in my heart tell that little shit to stop whinging the moment the electric guitar piece hits midway through, “I’m Okay”. Its truly incredibly good and really illustrates the change was a good decision. The song is about dealing with the angst of growing up and realizing thing aren’t working out like you had planned and dealing with the desire to make things better. This is a recurring theme of the album as well. I struggle to say that this is the best song on the album because there are other solid bangers, but it is up at the top of the list.

    “Punk Rock Shows In Heaven” is my favorite song on the album, it is the classic, Apes of the State fans have come to know and love. Its got acoustic guitar, punchy drum beats and self reflective lyrics. Whats not to love? At face value, it’s a song about what it’s like in heaven but deep down I think it’s really about making life here and now more like what we imagine heaven to be. This hopeful sentiment is what keeps me coming back to Apes’ music.

    “Hot Summer Night’s Part 1 and Part 2” are cool songs Part 1 is a look at the nostalgia for youth with an ire of self judgment. Part 2 offers the same nostalgic look at the past but offers a more mature and developed take and the desire for simpler times and a reprieve from the responsibilities of adulthood. The two songs combined really feel like a coming of age story, because of the “character growth” between part 1 and 2 and the neat little, “where are they now?” retrospective that makes up the later half of part 2. It really delivers the vibes a later 80s earlier 90s movie in the vain of The Sandlot or Stand by Me. I guess that is what I think about when I get all nostalgic.

    What’s Another Night is a great addition to the Apes of the State Discography. It offers a few more glorious steps into a electrified musical direction while providing big payoffs for long time fans. I especially like the call backs to their album “Pipe Dream” found in the “Intro” track and “Round 2” which is a reprise of “Fight Song”. Bringing it back as if to say to everyone that the fight continues, and we ain’t getting through it without each other. That is, I think that over all message of Apes of the State music, and the thing that makes it meaningful to me. They aren’t afraid to point out that they’ve got problems, that we’ve got problems, and that society at large is a mess. More importantly though if we work together we can solve them.

  • Talk Is Killing Me by Half Past Two

    Talk Is Killing Me by Half Past Two

    Album: Talk Is Killing Me

    Artist: Half Past Two

    Release: April 19, 2024; Bad Time Records

                    When it comes to ska southern California was a powerhouse in the third wave, producing many iconic bands of the era. Hailing from Orange County and joining Bad Times Records for their recent release “Talk is Killing me”, Half Past Two proves that they are locked in and prepared to carry on the tradition into the New Tone Era. 

                    This album has a little something for every type of music lover. “In My Head” is a poppy rock jam. “I Don’t Dream Anymore” has a really amazing classic ska vibe that I dig. By far the most stand out song on the album for me is “Barrier For Entry”. It is everything that I would expect from a New Tone Band. It’s upbeat and catchy. The lyrics are politically meaningful in a very approachable way. The majority of the song sets up the premise that the world is constructed in a way that isn’t working for most people. It informs listeners that strength can be found within their communities. Then, with about a minute left in the song, the horns come in hard, and you just know they are building up to something important. That is when Tara Hahn drops the line “When something can’t be fixed, the question is: What do we build instead?” Let me tell you friends, that is the kind of call to action that a political song like this really needs. It leaves listeners feeling empowered and optimistic enough to make change. If it isn’t clear by now, this is my favorite song on the album. “Our Playlist” is another stand out song that really hits me in the feels. It’s an acoustic duet between Tara Hahn and Scott Klopfenstein. It has got a lot of sorrow and loss packed into Tara’s vocal performance. Scott’s feature here is also really good and if I am being honest, really makes me rethink my general dislike of Reel Big Fish. There is also an instrument that plays throughout the background of the song. A person that is musically smarter than me, with a better ear, has told me that it is probably slide guitar with a heavy delay and reverb, but it is hard to say for sure. Regardless of what it is, it is very cool, and the song would be lesser without it. I feel like the chances are high that most post pandemic albums will have at least one pandemic song. Is “Isolated Days” that song for this album? I can’t say for sure, but I’d put money on it if I was the betting type. It is a cool take on a pandemic song because its short and upbeat; basically, everything the pandemic wasn’t while it was happening. The song is also chaotic, a little frantic, and definitely shorter than you think it should have been. Which also happens to be everything that the pandemic feels like now in retrospect.

    The verdict is in. “Talk is Killing Me” definitely kills it in every way that matters.  The album offers songs that run the gamut of life’s ups and downs. It’s well composed and performed and everything I hope for in a Ska album. A fantastic addition to the New Tone song book.  

    This review was originally posted on April 26, 2024 on the former LFDH substack.