With Confidence are a pop punk band from Sydney, Australia, who formed back in 2012. Having been through some line-up changes, the band now consists of Jayden Seeley (lead vocals & bass), Inigo Del Carmen (lead guitar & backing vocals) and Joshua Brozzesi (drums). In 2016, the band signed to Hopeless Records and released their debut album Better Weather. Now, in 2018, the band are back with their sophomore record, Love And Loathing. Here’s what we have to say about it…
This feels very much like the band have studied and followed the recipe for making the perfect pop punk record, down to a tee…and that’s not even a bad thing! Somehow, the record feels timeless within the realm of the genre but without sounding like a carbon copy of so many others. After only a couple of listens, it feels just like returning to an old favourite that has been in my collection for years!
Opening track, ‘That Something’, is a stunning way to kick off an album – it’s got catchy vocals (but not obviously so) about finding a new love interest, paired with strong instrumentals of varied tempos, topped off with superb and subtle production flourishes.
Other huge tracks to take note of, include: ‘The Turnaround’ is a massive tune about making a change in your life and grabbing it by the horns, all accompanied by seriously incredible falsetto vocals; ‘Jaded’ which is a fast-paced thrashing track that you might find from the likes of Simple Plan; ‘Better’ is probably my favourite song on the record – about the desire to improve yourself with it’s occasionally satirical lyrics and soaring high-pitched vocal melodies, it’s a track you can easily get lost in.
Diversity spans the record: ‘Spinning’ is much calmer tune that has ‘woohoos’ and the subtle catchiness of a We The Kings or Maroon 5 track; ‘Pâquerette (Without Me)’ wishes an old love well with mellow acoustic vibes and ‘Icarus’ is a far grungier and more aggressive song that bares a resemblance to something by You Me At Six – it’s got heavy guitars and screamy vocals and adds a new depth to the record.
After only a couple of listens, it feels just like returning to an old favourite that has been in my collection for years!
Even in its lower moments, this is an album that feels overall, positive and like a band that’s been revitalised. The tracks each sound unique and interesting in their own ways; some outright pop punk anthems, other mellow, heartfelt ballads and even a couple of slightly more experimental numbers…yet it all still comes together as a cohesive record. Love And Loathing is just that – a record of two halves, covering the excitement of new relationships and hatred of old ones.
It is a tight, well-produced album that, despite some recent, tumultuous events, feels like a band now set for even bigger things! Could this be the next All Time Low or 5 Seconds Of Summer? If you’re a pop punk fan, you will love every second of this record!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our review! What do you think of the band’s second album? Are you as much of a fan as us? What would you rate it out of 5? Please leave your thoughts in a comment or hit us up via our social media.
Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other reviews here:
Story Untold are a pop punk five-piece band based in Montreal, Canada, who formed back in 2012. In 2016, not long after signing to Hopeless Records, the band released their debut, self-titled EP. Now, they’re releasing their first full-length album, Waves, and here’s what we have to say about it…
The opening track, ‘In Or Out’, is a well-written, punchy, pop rock song with an uber-catchy, sing-along chorus that instantly had me excited for what more was to come, and rightly so…this is a very strong debut album!
Citing some of their influences as Green Day, Blink-182, Sum 41 and Fall Out Boy, it’s easy to hear how they have become the type of band they have. Think early Simple Plan meets more recent All Time Low but recorded in an even more polished way – that is this album! It’s superbly produced, filled with catchy songs and has highs and lows in all the right places.
Some of the main themes across the album include relationships and break-ups – pretty standard stuff – but the delivery is very current, with songs like ‘Delete’ referencing modern technologies (“Now you’re just a photo on my iPhone screen.”). Usually I find this sort of thing in songs a little cringe, but somehow the melodies the band have used and the conviction with which Janick Thibault sings the lyrics is so well executed that I really don’t mind it.
The band have compiled a sound, well-written, pack-a-punch, pure pop punk album…and it’s glorious.
Overall, this is an incredible debut and each track has their own great qualities but in my opinion, some of the best tracks on this record include; ‘In Or Out’ as it is just a fantastic opener for the record, ‘The 3ND’ has a great push in the chorus accompanied by quite choppy lyrics and varied vocals, ‘Drown In My Mind’ as it has a very intricate quality to it and ‘California’ for being a straight-up pop punk anthem (very Simple Plan-esque). To be honest it’s quite hard to pick stand-out songs as almost all of them are incredible – it’s even got your typical piano-style ballad, ‘Invisible’. The only track I thought let down the album a bit, was the last track, ‘Chasing Feelings’ – I loved the way the album began with a huge kick and I actually wanted it to end the same way; with a massive, all-out pop punk track – I felt that it was a bit of a weak end to such a great album. Other than that, it’s superb!
This is definitely an record I would love to see played live – from listening to their recording alone, you get a real sense of what their performances would be like. The band have compiled a sound, well-written, pack-a-punch, pure pop punk album…and it’s glorious – I haven’t been this excited about a new pop punk band for quite a while. With the sound they have created for themselves and the energy and buzz about them, I’m sure there will be a lot more to come from them in the future. Well done guys!
All The Same (Once A Liar, Always A Liar) (Official Music Video)
We hope you’ve enjoyed our review of Story Untold’s debut album, Waves. What do you think of it? Are you as much of a fan as us? Would you give it the same rating as us or rate it differently? Please leave your thoughts in a comment or hit us up via our socials.
Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other reviews here:
The idea for this post came about whilst I was contemplating creating the annual Christmas playlist I’ve done since I started Muzik Speaks back in 2015, but I quickly realised that I was purely doing it because of the time of year and with the thoughts that as a music blog, I should probably pump out something Christmassy.
Inside though, I’m just not feeling like celebrating Christmas this year and truth be told, I’ve been through a very dark patch for a few months now.I began this blog as a lover of music (ever since I can remember) but also with the old saying in mind that “music speaks louder than words” and I truly believe that in many ways, it does…hence the blog name!
However, since September this year, I was propelled into an incredibly difficult place and since then my head has gone through a very dark, deeply depressive and isolated state and it’s only now, that I’m starting to see some distant, very small rays of light at the end of the long, outstretched tunnel ahead, but with those rays, they have brought just a scrap of positivity into my life.
During the period I mentioned, one of the first things to take a hit was my passion for music – something which has always been an obsession of mine, and looking back, that was a key indicator that I was suffering from depression, although I couldn’t recognise it at the time. I’ll be honest and say that at my lowest point, for a couple of weeks or so, I contemplated suicide almost every day, for what I was being put through and how I was being treated and self-harm was something that alleviated just a tiny bit of the desire/waves of compulsion I felt, to end my life. I wish I hadn’t I let myself get to that stage now, and would never advocate someone do that, but I share this as a plea for people to seek support from whoever and wherever they can, to help give them some much needed strength during their darkest times.
As cliché as it sounds, the song ‘1-800-273-8255’ by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid came into my life by happy accident and instantly made an impact on me – it truly kept me going for a couple of weeks straight.
And then slowly but surely over the last few weeks, my passion for music has been really reignited – by mainly angry/empowering rock songs at first; Thirty Seconds To Mars‘ ‘This Is War’ was on repeat for a few days and then more recently, Linkin Park‘s ‘Faint’. The tone to those two songs really helped me to channel the anger I was feeling about the place I was in and charged me up with a little renewed strength.
However once I’d started to get over the anger, I began to truly take time to reflect where I was at with my mental state and objectively begin to deal with my dark thoughts and the things that were eating me up inside. It was at that point that a whole host of songs began to play their part in reshaping me and helping me to truly confront with what I was going through.
That is why I decided to create a playlist that is very personal to me and filled it with the songs that had a hand in keeping me alive, helped me to regain a fraction of my normal self and begin to deal with things, each in their own unique way.
I guess in some way, I’m hoping that this playlist will reach even just one person who is going through a similar rough patch and that it helps them to fight back against their depression and regain their confidence and love of life, or that someone who has already come out the other side can relate to this and appreciate the songs for their unique qualities, thought-provoking lyrics and/or empowering styles.
I should add that I have been very lucky to have my partner, family, some good friends and even my dog (not that she’ll ever know it) to support me through this bleak time and they too have played a vital role in helping me get through this.
Additionally, I sought some counselling – at first it was over the phone but I quickly found that I was craving some human interaction and so went to meet a counsellor and that too has been invaluable to helping me, so I recognise that whilst it’s not entirely the music that has helped me, it was during the times, when I was alone, that this music kept me company, provided me with time to think and played a vital role in aiding me to recover some of my former mental well-being.
I just think that at this time of year, people can feel so alone and having been through what I have, I understand that not everything is joyous for everyone at Christmas time and so I am hoping this playlist will provide something different for people who are feeling down, depressed or suicidal and that it might provide some sort of pick-me-up that you might need or that my story or the music strike a chord with someone and give them something to stop and think about.
My message to anyone who is struggling is just know that things can get better if you hang in there. Believe in yourself and most importantly, take each day as it comes. Fill your time with things you enjoy doing, however small or simple – embrace them. Talk to whoever you feel comfortable talking to, whether it be friends, family or someone anonymous via a helpline – don’t bottle things up. Find joy in music you love, films you enjoy or any other things you like to do and try to take your mind off what you’re worrying about and try to envisage what a happier future would look like.
Finally, I really would like to take the time to ask you to donate to a good cause – if you are going through something similar to me, you have already been through it and managed to come out the other side or even just that you have enjoyed this playlist or felt something for my story, then please visit our JustGiving page www.justgiving.com/muzik-speaks or www.papyrus-uk.org/donate (please quote Muzik Speaks somewhere in your donation) and make a donation – £5 is enough to pay for one phone call, text or e-mail with a young person – you truly can help ‘Save a Life’.
*UPDATE* – 8th July 2018
Life continues to get better, but I still find I have to take it day by day. My journey through fighting what I’ve been put through continues, but music is certainly helping to empower me. Sure, I still find I have ups and downs and there are certainly days where dark thoughts pass through my mind and there are definitely times where I’m consumed by rage but I suppose that’s all part of the healing process.
I also have to reflect on the good things in life; my loving partner, my beautiful dog and companion, my wonderful family, my ever-supportive friends, music, this blog…there’s lots to be positive about! That’s so important when you’re finding life tough – no matter how hard it is and how hopeless you might feel, take just a minute to try and find something positive, no matter how small it may be and reflect on that. Try to push the dark thoughts out of your mind (or at least to the back of it) and know that life can get better, you just have to hang in there.
And talking. I still maintain that finding someone, anyone, you can trust and talk to, is paramount to fighting your inner demons. The old saying, “A problem shared, is a problem halved,” is very true and should not be underestimated.
I feel this journey may continue for many months to come, until I feel fully back to my normal self, and so undoubtedly this playlist will continue to grow but in the months since I first posted this, I have found 10 new tracks that have continued to help me.From the beautiful William Ryan Key‘s ‘Vultures’ to the angry anthem that is ‘F.W.T.B.’ by Yonaka; Panic! At The Disco‘s ‘(Fuck A) Silver Lining’ is a satirical and uplifting track whilst A R I Z O N A‘s ‘Freaking Out’ helps with those times you just want to let loose and go a bit mental; music is really helping to heal some of the pain.
So, to all of those on this playlist, thank you for making your music. You don’t know how much you’ve helped, and continue to help!
Playlist
Greyson Chance – Seasons
Logic – 1-800-273-8255 featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid
You+Me – Open Door
Kesha – Praying
Years & Years – Eyes Shut
Demi Lovato – Skyscraper
Justin Bieber – I’ll Show You
Kyan Palmer – Burn Mona Lisa
The Fray – How To Save A Life
Angels & Airwaves – A Little’s Enough
SafetySuit – These Times
Jessie J – Who You Are
Nicki Minaj – Fly featuring Rihanna
Thirty Seconds To Mars – This Is War
Linkin Park – Faint
Yellowcard – Fighting
Story Of The Year – Can Anybody Hear Me
Jimmy Eat World – Electable (Give It Up)
Angels & Airwaves – Lifeline
Good Charlotte – We Believe
SafetySuit – Looking Up
Remedy Drive – Daylight
Bars & Melody – Scream
MUNA – I Know A Place
Kesha – Learn To Let Go
Superfruit – Future Friends (Brian Robert Jones Choir Remix)
You+Me – Unbeliever
You Me At Six – Carpe Diem
Simple Plan – I Don’t Wanna Be Sad
OneRepublic – I Lived
Update – July 2018
31. William Ryan Key – Vultures
32. A R I Z O N A – Freaking Out
33. Shawn Mendes – In My Blood
34. The 1975 – Give Yourself A Try
35. YONAKA – F.W.T.B.
36. Good Charlotte – Actual Pain
37. Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry
38. Jess Glynne – I’ll Be There
39. Panic! At The Disco – (Fuck A) Silver Lining
40. SafetySuit – Victory
If you have a story you are willing to share or you want to discuss anything in this post, then please leave a comment; I would just ask that you remain sensitive with what you write on this post please. I also urge you that if you yourself are feeling suicidal or you are concerned about someone, to please call PAPYRUSon 0800 068 4141, text 07786 209697 or e-mail pat@papyrus-uk.org – whilst I am always happy to talk, I’m not a trained professional but people at PAPYRUS are, and will do their best to help.
We wanted to wish each and every one of you who has supported Muzik Speaks this year, or those who are just finding out about us, a very Merry Christmas!
We have put together a special playlist with some of our favourite songs and artists in celebration of the festive period. Please follow our playlist on Spotify and share the link with your friends too!
Matt Terry – When Christmas Comes Around
Justin Bieber & Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You
Ariana Grande – Santa Tell Me
Simple Plan – Christmas Every Day
The Darkness – Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)
Carly Rae Jepsen – Last Christmas
Pentatonix – Hallelujah
Owl City – Humbug
Britney Spears – My Only Wish (This Year)
Yellowcard – Christmas Lights
Patent Pending – Christmas Is Already A Thing
Brenda Lee – Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
Destiny’s Child – 8 Days Of Christmas
Christina Aguilera – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Kylie Minogue – Wonderful Christmastime featuring MIKA
Idina Menzel & Michael Bublé – Baby It’s Cold Outside
Sara Bareilles – Love Is Christmas
Perry Como – It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
The Jackson 5 – Frosty The Snowman
Sam Smith – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Tom Odell – Spending All My Christmas With You (Next Year)
Fun. – Sleigh Ride
James Corden – The Greatest Gift
East 17 – Stay Another Day
Kelly Clarkson – Underneath The Tree
We hope you enjoy this and please spread the festive cheer by sharing the link with your friends.
Simple Plan released their collaborative single, ‘Jet Lag’, with Natasha Bedingfield back in 2011 (5 years ago), so it seems fitting to feature it this #ThrowbackThursday.
The song is powerful, catchy and incredibly well-written, with its harmonising duet vocals, hard-hitting guitars interesting lyrical theme. The video is interesting too and fits perfectly with the lyrics of the song.
This song is timeless and I still regularly have it on repeat; great song, brilliant band, excellent vibe. Play this one loud and rock out!
What do you think of this collaboration? Would you have chosen a different Simple Plan track? Please leave a comment below or talk to use via our social media accounts.
Chicane shared our post and we’ve been lining up some interviews for November – it’s been an amazing month and I can’t wait for November to start!
We hope you have enjoyed our song choices throughout October and you can find the Spotify and YouTube playlists below!
Please keep sharing our posts and sharing songs with us!
OUR CONTINUED AIM
We’d like to ask you, to go ahead and ‘like’ our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/muzikspeaks) and ‘follow’ us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/muzik_speaks). Then if you could please post a status or send a tweet to your followers and friends to ask them to check us out, we’d be really grateful! We want to grow this community and we honestly can’t do it without your support!
Lastly, please, please respond to our posts on Facebook or leave comments on each of our blog posts with your own tracks for each of the daily themes – we want you to share what you’re listening to because we love music as much as you, and we really enjoy finding out about new tunes. Thanks so much!
I’ve been a big fan of Simple Plan from their early ‘Addicted’ days and the group of Canadian pop punk rockers are gearing up to release their 5th studio album, in the coming months.
This epic, punchy anthem certainly sets out to achieve what the title says, ‘I Don’t Wanna Be Sad’, and they sure won’t be after listening to this track. It packs the power to turn the biggest frowns into joyful smiles and is the third single to be taken from the upcoming album.
No video has surfaced yet but if one is in the pipeline, I imagine something face-meltingly fun! Happy #FeelGoodFriday lovers!
What do you think of this upbeat belter? Have you got something similar for us? Please share in a comment below or on Facebook and Twitter.
Although this post is a trial, to see the reactions it gets, these posts will hopefully be a monthly occurrence, appearing on the first Sunday of every month (the Sunday after our monthly playlist).
This month, we have #reDISCOVERED:Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte originated from Waldorf, Maryland, USA and formed in 1995. Since 1998, the band has consisted of four constant members; twins Joel and Benji Madden, Paul Thomas and Billy Martin; then, since 2005, they have had drummer Dean Butterworth on board.
The band’s frontmen, the Madden twins, had a relatively rough childhood; on Christmas Eve 1995, the pair’s father upped and left, leaving the rest of the family to be evicted from their house. They then went on to work a whole host of jobs to help keep their family in their new home, as their mother had the autoimmune disease, lupus, meaning that she regularly stayed in hospitals. It was in 1996 their band began to take shape and record demos, launching them into their career, slowly but surely. This band and its members are ones I feel truly deserve to be where they are; they’ve worked their way up from nothing, to their global successes and achievements – a true marvel!
Good Charlotte
In September 2000, Good Charlotte released their debut album, Good Charlotte, with their first single, Little Things, being featured in the film, Dude, Where’s My Car?
The band went on to release a couple of other singles from the album, but the next track I want to feature is WaldorfWorldwide which is an album track also taken from their debut album. This song has a very ska-punk feel to it and caught my attention due to it’s interesting vibe.
The Young and the Hopeless
It was in 2002 (USA) and 2003 (Worldwide), when GC released their second album, The Young and the Hopeless, that they fully captured the world’s attention with their first single off the album, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. This track was iconic dude to its intense pop-punk sound and lyrical content about celebrities and their lack of appreciation for how privileged they are.
Next I’ve chosen single, The Anthem, which literally is an anthem for the band! The video featured cameo appearances from other American pop-punk bands, MEST and Home Grown; New Found Glory were also present at the filming, but weren’t featured in the final video. This particular song has gone on to be featured in a whole host of films, soundtracks and television programmes.
The third single from the album, Girls & Boys, has to be mentioned due to it’s popularity; up to this point this was their highest charting single in the UK, reaching number 6. The song is themed around girls basically being gold-diggers and the video featured elderly people playing video games and ends with Benji Madden, waking up to find an elderly lady in his t-shirt!
The final from this album was Hold On and this song particularly struck a chord with me due to its video. The song was written by the band, in response to letters they received from fans who said they were considering suicide. The video then featured several people talking about their experiences of either surviving suicide attempts or talking about loved ones they’d lost to suicide. This song feels personal and like it speaks out to fans – it’s a song to bring people, going through similar things, together.
The Chronicles of Life and Death
The first single from this 2004 album was Predictable and saw an angrier side to GC. I particularly liked this song at the time, due to its angry, almost-spoken, sections – it really was every emo-kids wet dream to chant along to…and sort of still is! The video was interesting too, taking place in an almost Edward Scissorhands-like town, which was actually drawn by band member, Billy Martin.
Next, I’ve chosen the title track from the album, The Chronicles of Life and Death – this song has quite a plodding feel to its verses before bursting into an anthemic chorus about life and death, as is the song’s theme. It’s quite a simple, yet effective track.
The final song I’ve chosen from this album is the song We Believe; as well as being the final single from the album, this song captured me from the very first listen of the album. I adore the build-up from the mellow verses to the more beautifully chaotic choruses – even the instrumental breakdown feels passionate. It’s a real chanter and makes you feel like you’re part of something special when you sing along. This is possibly one of my favourite GC songs!
Good Morning Revival
Released in 2007, this album saw GC move from pop-punk to dance-punk with its more synth-infused sound. I have chosen the first single off this album, The River, as it is one of my other, favourite GC tracks, featuring M. Shadows and Synyster Gates from the band, Avenged Sevenfold. The song features several Bible references but has a very catchy chorus.
The next song I’d like to mention is Misery, which although was released as the fourth single taken from the album, did not ever have a music video. This song really encapsulates their dance-punk sound from this album; the bridge from the verse to the chorus has an interesting, fast-sung quality to it and works well with the synths underlying the song.
The final song I’ve chosen from this album, was the album track, Broken Hearts Parade, as it’s got a very ska-punk quality to it, similar to their track WaldorfWorldwide from their earlier days.
This album also saw the band support Justin Timberlake on some dates of his FutureSex/LoveSounds Tour.
Cardiology
In 2010, GC released their fifth album. This particular album saw the band return to their more pop-punk sound, with Benji Madden stating that the album would “sound a lot like Blink-182.”
I’ve chosen album track Counting The Days as my first featured song from this album; I love the gang vocals towards the end of the song as it would make a real crowd-pleaser at a live show!
The penultimate track was the second single released from GC’s fifth album, Sex On The Radio. The song’s all-consuming chorus makes you sing along and whilst it’s sort of cheesy, it’s got quite a 1970s/1980s rock feel to it, making it quite a stand-out track.
The last song I’ve chosen is GC’s final single release (to date!), 1979. This sound has a very summery feel to it with its predominantly acoustic-driven sound. It also paved the way for The Madden Brothers‘ debut album, Greetings From California, which has a similar vibe, even though it wouldn’t come for another four years after this album. You can read more about The Madden Brothers on our recent #FeelGoodFriday post.
So here it is, the full list of Good Charlotte, re:DISCOVERED. Please feel free to watch the playlist on YouTube or listen to it on Spotify, both of which are found below:
Little Things
WaldorfWorldwide
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
The Anthem
Girls & Boys
Hold On
Predictable
The Chronicles of Life and Death
We Believe
The River featuring M. Shadows and Synyster Gates
Misery
Broken Hearts Parade
Let The Music Play
Sex On The Radio
1979
As for the future of Good Charlotte, no one is certain. The band are rumoured to be working on a sixth album, but nothing is set in stone, as of yet. We’ll keep you updated though.
I hope you’ve enjoyed our first re:DISCOVERED post about a band who mean a great deal to me. Are you a Good Charlotte fan? What are your favourite songs by the band? Please share this with your friends on your social media accounts and spread the GC love.
With Confidence are a pop punk band from Sydney, Australia, who formed back in 2012. Having been through some line-up changes, the band now consists of Jayden Seeley (lead vocals & bass), Inigo Del Carmen (lead guitar & backing vocals) and Joshua Brozzesi (drums). In 2016, the band signed to Hopeless Records and released their debut album Better Weather. Now, in 2018, the band are back with their sophomore record, Love And Loathing. Here’s what we have to say about it…
