New Music Roundup

Oh, you lucky people. Are you in for a treat today! The country may be burning down but the music gods have smiled upon us with four great new albums in the last month. I don’t want to overwhelm you with this much awesome all at once so let’s do 2 today and 2 in another few days. Cool?

First up is AFI with, well, AFI. This is their self titled album but everyone is just calling it The Blood Album because the cover has 3 drops of blood on it. No matter what you call it, this is AFI’s best album since the 2006 DecemberUnderground. The more fast paced tracks recall the band’s early hardcore days while the more pop entries could easily be outtakes from Crash Love or Burials. Guitarist Jade Puget takes over production duties and does a fine job. Although there are some obvious Davy Havok “Ohs” that were edited out much to my disappointment. Check out the songs Still a Stranger, So Beneath You, and Pink Eyes.

Lower than Atlantis is a new band for me. They hail from England and until this album were kind of a New Found Glory pop-punk outfit. On their new album, Safe in Sound, they drift more toward the rock side of the spectrum with more than a smattering of Bastille in the mix. I really like these guys and if Safe in Sound doesn’t show up on my top albums of 2017 that means there is some spectacular stuff on the way. Check out the songs Had Enough and Could Be Worse. I posted another song, Dumb, on the Criticult Facebook page, found HERE so check that out and be sure to like our page while you’re there!