When a TGEFM staffer just doesn’t have the time to write up a full review for an EP or LP, they can do a quick one for the Drive-by Reviews feature. Think of it like a Cliff’s Notes for reviews– You’ll get the gist of it without all of the verbiage.
Have an album or release you want reviewed? Send it to us HERE.
Be Well – Hello Sun
Revelation Records – 20 May 2022
Current EP of the year, littered with “wait play that again” moments spoiling listeners with ingredients perfectly measured out, a pinch of gang vocals, a dash of feedback and a dollop of aggression.
Why you want it: A perfect balance of self-doubt and uncertainty are peppered throughout the record as Be Well tackle the emotional toll of depression, fatherhood and a few decades trying to figure yourself out in the scene.
Why you don’t: The only complaint here is that the record is too damn short, otherwise its relatable, technical and tight… pure brilliance.
Top Tracks: “Threadless,” “In The Shadow of Who You Thought I Was,” “Only One Wish”
Review by Bad Dad
Nate Bergman – Metaphysical Change
Velocity Records – 20 May 2022
Powerful voice is equal parts Marvin Gaye and Frank Turner with a dash of Joe Cocker.
Why you want it: For real, this man carries the strongest, best voice I’ve stumbled across in years, and manages to be one hell of a songsmith.
Why you don’t: Avoid if you are looking for something you’d find in a basement show, this is a stadium filler in waiting.
Top Tracks: “Into My Arms,” “Ode to Manchester”
Review by Bad Dad
Craig Finn – A Legacy of Rentals
Positive Jams Records – 20 May 2022
Another top notch record from The Hold Steady frontman
Why you want it: Storytelling that emotes more depth in 3 minutes than many on TV can scratch the surface of in 28 minutes.
Why you don’t: You’ve heard The Hold Steady, you’ve heard Lifter Puller, you know if you can keep up with the genius of Mr Finn
Top Tracks: “Jessamine,” “Messing With The Settings,” “Due To Depart”
Review by Bad Dad
Kendrick Lamar – Mr Morale & the Big Steppers
Aftermath Records, Interscope Records – 13 May 2022
Sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes saccharine, always honest and brilliant.
Why you want it: Among the most sincere, mature, self-aware and authentic albums of any genre.
Why you don’t: I can’t imagine how anyone couldn’t feel the lyrical genius on a deep level, but I also can’t imagine people who eat liver and onion sandwiches… psychopaths exist I suppose
Top Tracks: “We Cry Together,” “Auntie Diaries”
Review by Bad Dad
Praise – All In A Dream
Revelation Records – 06 May 2022
Melodic hardcore poised to tug on heartstrings while making you ball your fist.
Why you want it: Its brimming with that brutal and beautiful DC hardcore sound.
Why you don’t: The only excuse to not enjoy this is that you can’t get yourself to turn off Be Well long enough to try this. You should.
Top Tracks: “All In A Dream,” Keep Hanging On” “Hotline Memory”
Review by Bad Dad
Pulley – The Golden Life
SBAM Records – 13 May 2022
Hard-hitting melodic skate punk like Pulley has been perfecting for nearly 30 years.
Why you want it: The perfect encapsulation of what the grown up EpiFat sound should be.
Why you don’t: Don’t expect the goofy and sarcastic lyricism of NoFX, instead you’ll be getting a healthy heaping of realism.
Top Tracks: “Repeat Offender”
Review by Bad Dad
Stand Atlantic – f.e.a.r.
Hopeless Records – 06 May 2022
Very impressive, if not eclectic, LP from Down Under.
Why you want it: Bonnie Fraser seems to get better and better with each record of biting your nose off, while sounding like a sugar high of pop-punk bop.
Why you don’t: Thematically, the record is all over the place. I enjoy the diversity, but can’t speak for you.
Top Tracks: “dumb,” “doomsday”
Review by Bad Dad
The Stereo – Thirteen
Self-Released – 13 May 2022
The follow-up to Three Hundred we should have gotten (that’s not to say Rewind and Record isn’t criminally underrated, its just not The Stereo I wanted at the time of release)
Why you want it: Rory Phillips returns to the fold and the band sounds like they haven’t missed a beat.
Why you don’t: Maybe you gave up on The Stereo already, but if so you missed out on the way Phillips and his counterpart, Jamie Woolford, work so damn well together, even today.
Top Tracks: “Perils of Underestimation,” “Thirteen,” “Truth and Dare”
Review by Bad Dad
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
