Author: Dillon Crader

Review by Dillon Crader Topshelf Records’ own, The Jazz June are releasing their new album, After The Earthquake – the band’s first release in twelve years. The return of The Jazz June is an awesome occurrence, especially in the emo revival music scene. After all, The Jazz June has been an important piece to the music scene sense they began, and they’ve proven with this release that they’ve still got it. The first track on After The Earthquake is probably one of the best songs I have heard this year. The lyrics on “Over Underground” are truly meaningful and really…

Review by Dillon Crader Old Lines’ new album, No Child Left Behind is a very different and unique sounding album. This record sounds like hardcore mixed with noise, similar to the band Full of Hell. That being said, the album as a whole is very sporadic and has a bunch of noise. At times, No Child Left Behind does seem to have a lot of thrash as well. I will say right off the bat that this album is really unique because being a fan of hardcore music, because there really aren’t many bands that I listen to that have a…

Photos & Review: Common Vision Tour Featuring: Hundredth, Counterparts, Handguns, Being As An Ocean, Forever Came Calling, My Iron Lung & Capsize. The Marquis Theatre, Denver, CO. 8/8/14 Photos by: Shannon Shumaker Review by: Dillon Crader Unfortunately I wasn’t unable to catch Capsize play their set because The Marquis opened early and I had to work, but when I arrived to The Common Vision Tour on the super sunny August day, My Iron Lung was mid way through their set. Like I just said, I missed the first half of the set so I wasn’t too sure what happened to their bassist, but…

Review by Dillon Crader I want to start this off by saying that I honestly don’t like folk or country music; except the classics like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. Having this preset in my mind, I was curious as to how I would feel about The Homeless Gospel Choir. And the first time I listened to I Used To Be So Young, I honestly wasn’t the biggest fan. But while working on this review, I continued to listen to the album over and over to get a real feel of it, and after several times listening to I Used To Be…

Review by Dillon Crader From the moment I started listening to Relief, I was instantly hooked on the album. The melodic guitar on the opening track “Commonwealth” instantly pulled me in. I will admit I am a sucker for melodic hardcore, but My Iron Lung takes melodic hardcore and turns it into their own. Compared to other bands in the hardcore music scene, My Iron Lung’s sound is very recognizable with their distinct sing/scream vocals and the upbeat melodic guitar, which is awesome – they don’t sound the similar to other hardcore bands. The Second track on the album “Conflict…

Review by Dillon Crader With their newest album, Masquerade, Denver-based act, From Thin Air is sure to make a name for themselves in the new wave of pop punk bands (such as The Story So Far and Real Friends) that have been gaining popularity throughout the past few years. Though From Thin Air is a pop-punk band, I would emphasize the “pop” more so than “punk”, but this isn’t a bad thing at all. That being said, this is an album that is very catchy and fun to listen to. “The Fallout (This Is the Call Out)” stood out to me…

Review by Dillon Crader Tiny Engines’s own Dikembe and Topshelf Records The Jazz June put out a two song split and it is a must listen to for 2014. I would start off to say that both Dikembe and The Jazz June are going to be very important in the emo revival scene, like label mates Run Forever and Sainthood Reps. Dikembe’s song “Healer of the Pride” is the first side to the split. This song is very calmed and relaxed making “Healer of the Pride” a great listen. The voices blending together in the chorus are very attention grabbing.…

Review by Dillon Crader I guess I will just cut right through the bullshit and say that Being As An Ocean’s new album How We Both Wondrously Perish kills. With the line up changes in the past year, Being As An Ocean welcomed guitar player/backing vocalist Tyler Ross and drummer Connor Denis. With the new members in the band many people, including myself, wondered if the band was going to change, but Being As An Ocean continues their melodic hardcore sound that ultimately is just beautiful to listen to. How We Both Wondrously Perish is a very matured album compared to the bands previous…

Review by Dillon Crader Kevin Geyer, guitarist and backing vocalist of The Story So Far, and Dan Rose, vocalist of Daybreaker, announced back in December of 2013 the release of their new side project, Elder Brother. Three months later, Elder Brother released their first full-length album Heavy Head on March 11th via Pure Noise Records. The first time listening to Heavy Head, Dan’s vocals instantly calmed me; paralyzing all of my stress and problems. Not only are Dan’s vocals beautiful, but the lyrics written for the album are also truly meaningful. You can hear the emotions in Dan’s voice in every track, as if…