I Got Heaven

#bubblegrunge, #indiePop, #hardcorePunk

The Philadelphia-based band switches around deftly between the various loci of 21st century rock, with this fourth album split down the middle between unadulterated hardcore punk, grunge- and shoegaze- inflected alt-pop—and a few songs such as the opening title track that fluidly synthesize all of the above into a blend of a very accessible catchiness and a heavy yet charmingly upbeat righteous defiance. Whether you’re an indie pop fan curious to test the waters of the heavy music moshpit in a welcoming way or a fan of hardcore looking for a fun, irreverent, and empowering romp across genres without compromising a punk bite, this is a great choice.
–Joshua `<|:{P>

RIYL: Ratboys, Ceremony, Zulu, Wednesday, Plastic Cough-era Great Grandpa, Illuminati Hotties, Sasami
FCC: 1 (“shit”, “Jesus himself ate my fucking snatch”), 2 (“motherfucker”, “fucking”), 6 (“fucked up,” “pussy”)
Favorites: 4 and 10 (for indie pop fans), 6 and 9 (for hardcore punk fans), 1 and 7 (everything altogether in a single song)

1. FCC (2:58) vocalist rotates between hardcore punk-inflected yelled verses, deadpan grunge vocals, and catchy floaty indie pop choruses, all over bubblegrunge garage rock guitar
2. FCC (3:03) garage-rock backing guitar, soft indie pop vocal verses and riot grrrl-style shouted choruses
3. (4:09) catchy and pleasant alt-pop vocals over really fun bubblegrunge guitar riffs
4. (3:44) gentle and romantic acoustic indie pop song that breaks into sweet & shoegazey distorted electric guitar with Angel Olsen-like vocals (both main and ethereal background vocalizations)
5. (3:27) indie rock rhythm guitar, distorted bass in chorus, all with high energy bubblegrunge vocals, fading into mellowed shoegazey outro
6. FCC (2:11) heavy hardcore punk song, screamed fem and masc vocals alternate between verses, with grindcore-ier rapid-fire intro and slower section after break
7. (3:26) spacey grungegaze frequently and fluidly alternating with dreamy bedroom pop, both with matching vocal styles, building with backup vocalizations, brief quiet noisey outro
8. (1:33) another heavy screamed hardcore punk song with riot grrrl influence and cool breakdown with moaned vocalizations and crunchy peaking outro
9. (1:27) most unadulterated aggressive hardcore punk, without extra bells and whistles, short enough to get away with minimal song development, just straightforward & perfect for a mosh :)
10. (4:01) bubblegrunge song with pop vocals that very briefly break into punk chanting yells, with brief spacey echoey synth drone outro