Landon Tewers - Frontal Lobe Submission - EP Review

Landon Tewers - Frontal Lobe Submission - EP - Independent

Track List:

1. Gospel Therapy

2. Kill Me

3. Fuck Pacing

4. Gave My All

5. Just Talkin

6. When I’m Gone

When I spoke about Landon Tewers last, I reviewed his previous solo release 'Withdrawals.' I started the review by saying, "This is Landon Tewers, not The Plot In You." The same holds true here, so I felt it bears repeating. Landon's solo material usually is very different than anything he's done with The Plot In You previously. But this new release, 'Frontal Lobe Submission' (referred to as FLS as we continue), is also different from 'Withdrawals' and continues the dynamic shifts of Landon's varied music career in a pretty significant way.

FLS begins with the first single, 'Gospel Therapy,' which sounds like it could be a b-side of 'Withdrawals.' It's an interesting dynamic as the song starts as one genre and quickly morphs into a bouncy, funky-groove. You know it would get people moving at a live show. It has that element of surprise during the track's evolution that puts you on your back foot. It asks the question, what can possibly come next?

That "next" is the second single, 'Kill Me.' It's a very catchy song when the chorus crashes in, especially for a song begging for death. It's a full and upbeat song you might not be expecting based on the lyrical content, but one you'll find yourself singing along to quickly. The song features the popular Rory Rodriguez of Dayseeker as a great compliment to this melodic and passionate track.

'Fuck Pacing' changes everything up once again as it seems like it belongs in a movie feeling similar to 'Stand By Me.' Then the beat kicks in, and if your shoulders aren't moving, you must be in a confined space. This track features Gabbie Hanna as a duet, and it's exactly what the track needed. The extra layering compliments everything even before the horns kick in. 

Another sing-a-long track is next in 'Gave My All.' Acoustics drive the pace, and some screaming vocals give the song the extra grit it needs. This will be up there with 'Kill Me' soon enough.

'Just Talkin' probably has my favorite line in this EP: 

"...I will never stay consistent. 

No, I will never

No, I will never think the same."

I feel like that line capitulates Landon, especially when it comes to his music projects and prowess. The beat in this track doesn't even come in until around the second minute. The song continues with an R&B/Hip hop flair that culminates with a very, very strange "child" speaking at the end. It wouldn't be Landon without some weirdness, haha. 

The final track, 'When I'm Gone,' could easily be used in a movie where the main focus is hipster drama. It sounds like the perfect suicide note put to music, but the track isn't depressing; the instrumentation lingers on the positive, almost hopeful tone. It's not the cookie-cutter sad acoustic song at the end of the emo/pop-punk album, and it leaves you wanting more. 

If you take out 'Gospel Therapy,' FLS sounds more focused this time around. It'll depend on your tastes what type of Landon's material you gravitate to most. Still, he always has a way of making everything sound unique. Each release is exciting because not only do you have to stay on your toes, but there's also an abundance of quality that goes with everything Landon does. Start your year off right with 'Frontal Lobe Submission' and listen to Landon Tewers stay consistently inconsistent in the best way possible.

‘Frontal Lobe Submission’ comes out Friday, January 29th.

Pre-order/order ‘Frontal Lobe Submission’ and more, by following the links below:

Landon Tewers - Website (Pre-Order)

Landon Tewers - Twitter

Landon Tewers - Instagram

Landon Tewers - Facebook

HAWK - Tolerance's Paradox - EP Review

HAWK - Tolerance's Paradox - EP - Independent

Track List:

1. CLVRMFKR

2. Mileage (1st Single)

3. King With No Survivors

4. Alibi (3rd Single)

5. Counter Ops (2nd Single)

6. Universes

HAWK's debut EP 'Tolerance's Paradox' is undoubtedly no paper tiger.

December can often be a strange time to release music, and with a global pandemic to boot, this December could be the most bizarre yet. In our music scene, one thing that has always baffled me about November and December is that many people already have their "best of the year" lists completed. Nothing is ever in concrete, I'm sure, but every year there's bound to be a surprise release that, for lack of a better cliche, comes out of nowhere. This December is no different as HAWK releases their debut EP 'Tolerance's Paradox' TODAY!

For anyone unfamiliar with HAWK or want some backstory, HAWK is the "evolution" of This Or The Apocalypse (TOTA). "Evolution" is in quotes because HAWK seems to be the manifestation of a band that learned many lessons over its' four full-length album career. After many labels, personnel changes, and sound changes, HAWK has emerged with no label, two original members (Ricky Armellino and Jack Esbenshade), and their debut EP of catchy, post-hardcore/alternative tracks, one of the most exciting and unique of 2020. 

(PS - Drawing a blank? You may have seen Ricky playing guitar and singing back-up for Ice Nine Kills in recent years) 

Even the EP's title, 'Tolerance's Paradox,' is thought-provoking. Knowing the lead vocalist Ricky Armellino, it could mean any number of things:

1. Is it a play off of philosopher Karl Popper's paradox of tolerance, which, to paraphrase, is the concept that to be a tolerant society, you must be intolerant to intolerance?

2. Is Tolerance a person's name, and they have a paradox?

3. Is it just a cool title?

4. Insert more ridiculousness here.

I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that I think it's the first one, and not necessarily because it seems intellectual, but because the saying is often applied to a political climate, and more than one track in this release can be interpreted as political. At least one track (Track 5 - Counter Ops) is blatant in its political message of insurgency. But that's not all the release is, nor should you be "turned off" by music that may have a political statement. Come on; this has Ricky screaming and singing. How can you go wrong?

Each track is uniquely it's own. Today's scene bands may make a "heavy" album that gets them popularity and then completely switch to a "softer" genre on their next release, but this isn't what HAWK has done here. They've mixed genres but made each track so different from the next while still being HAWK. That's not an easy feat to accomplish, especially for a band going through a brand revamp. HAWK's strength comes from mood changes, turn of phrases, and dynamic shifts, while still being cohesive. Each song is catchy in different ways, which keeps the listener interested in a very dense and congested scene. Even the three singles released previously (Mileage, Counter Ops, and Alibi) are tracks you won't want to skip while listening to the entire experience.

From an almost spoken-word opening with a bleeped-out expletive to a Dayseeker-esque closer, 'Tolerance's Paradox' keeps you captivated from front to back and is the perfect introduction to new fans and fans that loved TOTA alike. One thing I can say for sure, 2020 might have been a shit year (for many reasons), but as far as music goes, with the addition of 'Tolerance's Paradox,' 2020 is ending the right way, and the future is nothing but bright.

Make sure to support HAWK in all they do by following the links below:

HAWK - Website

HAWK - Facebook

HAWK - Spotify

HAWK - Instagram

HAWK - Twitter

Muri and Friends - Covers EP - Independent

Muri and Friends - Covers EP - Independent

1. Fuck I’m Lonely originally by Lauv featuring Johnny and Rory Spencer of Dayseeker

2. Good Things Fall Apart originally by ILLENIUM featuring No Dice

3. Graveyard originally by Halsey featuring Tilian Pearson of Dance Gavin Dance

4. Thanks For The Memories originally by Fall Out Boy featuring Johnny and Jonathan Young

5. Youngblood originally by 5 Seconds of Summer featuring Lauren Babic of Red Handed Denial and CrazyEightyEight

6. Party In the USA originally by Miley Cyrus featuring Surf Team

7. Everything I Wanted originally by Billie Eilish featuring Whale Bones

Bilmuri is the answer to anyone in the scene seeking something unique. Since 2016, Johnny Franck (songwriter, frontman, crabcore legend, and an all-around good guy) has had NINE releases. NINE. That’s pretty much two albums a year, which is unheard of in a scene where the turnaround for an album or EP, at the lowest, and still very rare, is at least a year. Most would be at two or three years. Impressive on its own, but as the saying goes “quality over quantity”, right? That’s where the uniqueness shines because this quick turnaround has yet to diminish the quality of the music (or the music videos, do yourself a favor and check those out). Plus, Bilmuri is not afraid to take chances in the genre department. The more recent releases are very different from the old school discography yet, still with that distinct Muri sound. Now, that brings me to what would be Bilmuri’s tenth release.

...But first a little backstory. Cover songs have a very interesting dynamic in the scene. They can be used in many different ways as an artist or a listener. Some may use them for popularity (see I Prevail), some to pay homage to artists or songs they respect. Sometimes, being called a “cover band” is a derogatory comment (see Our Last Night), but sometimes it seems like artists get their friends together, as well as artists in the scene they respect and want to work with, to have some fun and connect to a possibly larger audience and give the fans something new to check out. The latter best describes the tenth Bilmuri release and the creation of the new SUPERGROUP Muri and Friends!

Johnny has seemingly pulled together with friends he’s worked with many times in the past like Lauren Babic (Red Handed Denial, CrazyEightyEight) and Tillian Pearson (Dance Gavin Dance). Bands he’s toured with like Whale Bones. No Dice, who he collaborated with in the past to make ‘DiceMuri’. And then there are people and bands I’d like to hear the backstory of how the collaboration started: Surf Team, Jonathan Young, and Rory Spencer (Dayseeker). Maybe I’ll find out in a future podcast…(I’d also like to know how the specific songs were chosen as well).

Obviously, this is a very diverse bunch of bands and vocalists, all with different backgrounds. One of the fun parts of hearing a cover song is checking out the artist’s original music as well (definitely make sure you do that). The differences in styles give you a lot to discover. Another unique aspect of this ‘Covers’ EP is that Johnny isn’t always the vocalist and he’s never the lone vocalist. This adds more dynamics to the composition of each track and allows the other artists to shine on their own. Speaking for myself, unless a cover song is already covering something from the scene, ‘Thnks fr the Mmrs’ for example, I won’t know it unless it was absolutely everywhere, see ‘Party In The U.S.A’. So, listening through, almost every track was new to me. Going through the EP, your listening experience may be completely different if you know the original tracks better. That’s always an interesting part of cover songs, at least for me. It will determine how much the cover hits you, did you like the original more, is the cover better, or are they both good in different ways?

Even though I don’t often listen to pop music (really, never), I went and listened to the originals of all the songs covered by Muri and Friends. It was very interesting to hear how the artists on the EP decided to compose their vision to keep some aspects of the originals, but also make each their own. Some parts stand out because of a heightened note or tone, a twist on the lead up to a chorus, or even a tempo change.

I don’t want to go track by track on the differences between the original and the cover, because it’s up to you to feel how the songs affect you, but for example, a big standout on the EP is the Billie Eilish cover by Whale Bones. You can feel the passion and seemingly torment manifested in the vocals and lead up to the crescendo. Everyone will feel something different, I’m sure, but that’s what’s so amazing about music.

Once again, Bilmuri continues to stand alone and stand out in another diverse and engaging musical endeavor. The best part is that he always seems like he’s just having fun and I believe you can feel that in the music. No matter the style or composition it’s very difficult to fake that. I will continue to look forward to any time Bilmuri releases anything, because I know it’s going to be a good surprise to my day and music catalog.

bilmuri - Website

bilmuri - Twitter

bilmuri - Instagram

bilmuri - Facebook