(1)_edited.png)
It's time for another edition of The Soundcheck's "Soundcheck" segment, where each week we dive a bit deeper into five of our favourite new releases that have dropped of late to carry you into the weekend - and beyond!
This week come and feast your ears on: a catchy combo of sugar and spice from All Time Low and I Prevail teaming up, Void Of Vision drop their incredible new album What I'll Leave Behind, chokecherry dazzle with euphoric melancholy, Split Chain fuse shoegaze with nu metal with a Softcult feature, and RinRin channels some dystopian pop punk vibes.
All Time Low, I Prevail - Hate This Song (Single)
This week, sugar and spice collides in the form of Hate This Song, the brand new collab tune from alt pop icons All Time Low and hard rockers I Prevail.
Overall, Hate This Song is a buoyant breakup anthem that is the textbook definition of catchy; so much so, its chorus literally says: "I hope you hear this song over and over again". Granted, that refrain is likely meant on the surface in a more breakup-themed angle, but it's hard not to get this chorus churning on repeat once it ramps up. And for good measure amongst the effervescence, I Prevail swing in with a nice lashing of grit, resulting in a truly cathartic explosion of angst for anyone nursing a broken heart - and also gifting a triple vocal act from Alex Gaskarth, Brian Burkheiser and Eric Vanlerberghe across the track.
"Hate This Song has been waiting patiently in the wings since the release of our last full-length Tell Me I’m Alive. It was an opportunity to explore something kind of cheeky and different with a band we have a ton of respect for at the top of their game. The I Prevail guys brought their signature weight to the song and transformed it into something wonderfully unexpected and I see our bands coming together as the two sides of a coin dropping into the jukebox that's about to spin this song over and over again." - Alex Gaskarth, All Time Low
"A while back we were hit up by this little band called All Time Low. They sent us a track that they wrote and asked if we could spice it up a bit. We said absolutely and went to work. So happy to have this track out — finally — and to be the first ones to put a blast beat on an ATL song." - Eric Vanlerberghe, I Prevail
Hate This Song is out now.
For more All Time Low info, head here.
For more I Prevail info, head here.
Void Of Vision - What I'll Leave Behind (Album) A band who have consistently been writing and releasing new music for over a decade, Void Of Vision have showcased multiple sonic forms over the years, from their debut 2016 studio album Children of Chrome through to their most recent work: the brand new album What I'll Leave Behind officially out in the world today.
Currently on the road supporting Parkway Drive as part of the Byron Bay group's massive 20th anniversary celebrations, Void Of Vision genuinely have nothing to prove at this point in their career to anyone who has been following their journey over the years. Their evolution, experimentation and ability to forge their own path continuously in the metalcore scene is truly something special to behold (plus it's gifted a heap of amazing music in the process). And it's this very fact that perhaps makes VOV's latest album so truly jaw-dropping. Yes, it's bursting with gurgling angst and chaos set moments of significant beauty. And yes, there are some extremely fun behind the scenes inspiration that balances the darkness. But when paired with the reality of what was happening behind the scenes of this release, namely vocalist Jack Bergin's ongoing battle with an arteriovenous malformation, its rupture and its impact on touring, recording and releasing music...well, it's fair to say this album packs an intense and incredible wallop from start to finish.
But perhaps the most inspiring factor surrounding What I'll Leave Behind is the frank and forthright nature of how the band reflect and tackle some very real existential questions: if this was the end, what do you want to leave behind? Void Of Vision have left nothing off the table with album #4, and it is truly the ultimate validation to the notion that it isn't what happens to you: it's how you deal with it. Triumph has been forged in the ashes and against many odds, and we are all the richer for it.
What I'll Leave Behind is out now via UNFD. Watch the brand new music video for Neurotic here.
For more Void Of Vision info, head here.
chokecherry - Messy Star (Single)
When a band describes their own music as "the modern sound of the California sun vaporizing the San Francisco fog", you can absolutely expect what lies in wait. For San Francisco shoegaze-meets-grunge-pop group chokecherry, their brand new single Messy Star cannot be summed up better than by their very own description, with its goey haze coagulating around some shimmering charm; it's melancholic but it's uplifting simultaneously, and it definitely is paving the way for some exciting things to come from the group as they now also inch closer to a new EP of the same name, Messy Star, due out on October 25.
"From the moment we started writing this song, it felt like a journey. It began as a heavier shoegaze track, but when we took it into the studio with producer Zach Tuch, he pushed us to experiment with a trip-hop style beat in the verses. This creative choice took the song to a whole new level and gave it such a unique feeling. The format of 'Messy Star' and its departure from our usual method of only using live instruments broadened the feeling of the track and pushed it to a more experimental place. This track is our first incorporation of samples, playing on our shared love for artists like Massive Attack and Radiohead." - chokecherry
If you like some alternative twists and turns laced with shoegaze and sultry pop vibes, chokecherry are definitely ones to check out. And as an extra fun fact, vocalist/guitarist Izzie Clark and bassist/vocalist E. Scarlett Levinson actually came to form the band after initially meeting on Hinge. While they didn't work out on a romantic front, musically it's a match made in heaven, joined by drummer Abri Crocitto.
Messy Star (single) is out now. Messy Star (EP) is due out October 25 via Fearless Records. For more chokecherry info, head here.
Split Chain - (Re)-Extract feat. Softcult (Single) Still in some gaze-adjacent sonic territory this week, and another new tune that has tickled our fancy this week is the nu metal/gaze hybrid outing (Re)-Extract from UK collective (and fresh Epitaph signees) Split Chain, with Canadian duo Softcult also jumping on for a feature.
Classing themselves as "nu-gaze", (Re)-Extract is a delectably dark mixture of dense textures, oozing melodics, acidic guitars, pounding drums and hooks ready to send you into an absolute stupor; and Softcult's ethereal, grungy delights are the perfect accompaniment to the track, which also lyrically delves into Split Chain's experiences with addiction.
“It's so easy to get stuck in negative spirals, admitting defeat and accepting it as part of you and your personality; when in fact it is possible to find a way out. Being able to look back now and be proud of knowing that facing up to ourselves, making life changing decisions to better our circumstances through our friendships and our art, and for this to be able to get us all to a place we’d only dream of is mind boggling.” - Split Chain
Forming in 2023 and amassing 10 million streams via their self-released tracks prior, there certainly feels like some massive things to come from Split Chain in the near future, especially off the back of their Epitaph signing. For now, embrace some inner demons and wrap your ears around some full-blown catharsis from the group with (Re)-Extract.
(Re)-Extract feat. Softcult is out now. Watch the video here.
For more Split Chain info, head here.
RinRin - i'm sad lol (Single) Adding to her ongoing dystopian creative world that began with her previous single PRN, Perth alt rock artist RinRin has this week returned with a brand new single; the dynamic and infectious i'm sad lol.
Channeling RinRin's own struggles with anxiety and depression, i'm sad lol is part ear candy, part cathartic banger and all heart, also injecting some undeniably unique flair into some pop punk tropes. RinRin's crystalline vocals are a particular standout on her latest release, with elements of fantasy and fun balancing out the vulnerable lyricism.
"The Rin in the 'im sad lol' universe doesn’t speak up about her struggles, thinking it’s no big deal and isn’t worth validating compared to everyone’s troubles. But the background characters in her world remind her that it's okay to feel low, so she shouldn’t beat herself up over it." - RinRin
Having previously supported the likes of Windwaker, RedHook, Caskets, The Plot In You and ERRA, RinRin has also recently enamoured overseas, flexing her pop'n'rockstar best onstage touring in China for Walk Off The Earth's arena tour in April. Also acclaimed for her axe-shredding abilities, RinRin has continued to dazzle with her recent sonic output that is geared to exist as a multiverse, where different variants of RinRin reside in alternate worlds, leading different lives that reflect real feelings.
i'm sad lol is out now.
For more RinRin info, head here.
BY TIANA SPETER
Comments