Over the course of the past several years, each of A Day To Remember’s releases have hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock, Indie and/or Alternative Charts. They’ve also sold more than a million units, racked up over 800 million Spotify streams and 500 million YouTube views, two Gold-selling albums and singles (and one Silver album in the UK) and sold out entire continental tours (including their own curated Self Help Festival), amassing a global fanbase whose members number in the millions. All of which explains why Rolling Stone called them “An Artist You Need To Know.” In other words, their creative process has worked and worked well. But for new album Bad Vibrations, the Ocala, Florida-based quintet switched gears and headed for uncharted territory.
“We completely changed the way we wrote, recorded and mixed this album,” says vocalist Jeremy McKinnon. “It was one of the most unique recording experiences we’ve ever had. We rented a cabin in the Colorado mountains and just wrote with the five of us together in a room, which was the polar opposite of the last three albums we’ve made. We just let things happen organically and in the moment. I think it forever changed the way we make music.”
Bad Vibrations debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top Album Sales Chart. It was also the #1 album in Australia, #6 in the UK and #7 in Germany.
On Aug 20 the band debuted their new single ‘Degenerates’.
The Story So Far have returned with their new album I Want To Disappear. Comprised of ten songs, it contains everything that’s brought them international acclaim and success since their inception. The current lineup features Parker Cannon (vocals), Kevin Geyer (lead guitar, keys), Ryan Torf (drums, rhythm guitar, and keys) and Will Levy (guitars). “We’re always just trying to make something that we love and that feels like it’s relevant to where we are in life,” says Torf. “We’ve already done so much in the past, but we wanted this to feel like the present thing that we are. We tried to make something that we connected with, and that hopefully our fans will like as well. But first and foremost, it’s just something that we’re proud of and feel good about.”
Four Year Strong have carved out their own niche in the music community by merging the infectiousness of pop-punk with the aggression of hardcore and never shying away from breaking with creativity-limiting conventions. This is evident on the band’s fifth full-length Brain Pain, a collection of songs that retains the qualities of the band that fans have grown to love while pushing forward the band’s effort to continually redefine their sound. “One thing we’ve struggled with in the past is writing in a way that’s personal to us that our wide range of fans can find a way to relate to as well,” vocalist/guitarist Dan O’Connor explains. “On this record we really tried to find the thing that connects us to our younger fans or the people who have been listening to us for a long time who still see us as younger kids despite the fact that we’re now in our thirties.”
The band — which also features vocalist/guitarist Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss and drummer Jake Massucco — began conceptualizing the ideas for Brain Pain two years ago and for the past year-and-a-half have focused on bringing those thoughts to fruition. “We probably had 40 song ideas to get the creative juices flowing and some of those grew into the songs that are on this record,” Day explains, adding that it was important for the group not to rush the album or go into it with any musical or logistical limitations.