Truetill'review #1 Averman & Stonewall split

This is the first instillation in this blog I’ve decided I want to start, where I will review Albums, EPs, Demos etc. I said previously that I wouldn’t review music that I was already very familiar with but I’ve decided to go against that and begin by going through my personal music collection and taking suggestions from comments. I may not review every suggestion but there is almost a guarantee that if it’s suggested I will listen at least a little bit, so feel free to comment on any post with your personal thoughts on the music I review or with your own suggestions! I will also say that I am not a very insightful reviewer, a lot of my posts might devolve into a dump of information on an artist or album, or simply gushing about music I enjoy. That being said I will do my best to deliver an engaging amount of criticism and dissection. 

Before I begin, I want to lay out a couple terms that will be used in my review for anyone who may not be familiar. A split is a musical release that features typically two artists but can sometimes include more, not to be confused with a compilation or sampler. And a 7" (Seven Inch) is a vinyl record that is much more compact than a typical 12" (Twelve Inch) record. 

Here’s where the review begins. Today I’m gonna discuss a 7" split featuring Averman and Stonewall, released on pushed too far records. Both bands and the label that put this split out were based out of Virginia Beach, VA. However their similarities in geographical location does not make for an interchangeable listening experience from either side of the record. While both bands are derived from punk and hardcore, Averman has a much more melodic sonic signature whereas Stonewall delivers a much more raw and aggressive straight forward hardcore sound. Both sides of this split are incredibly satisfying in their own right but I will go a little more in depth on them individually.

AVERMAN

Averman is one of my personal favorite Pop Punk Bands, they came up with a couple of emo revival legends like Title Fight and Turnover (a fellow Virginia band) however unfortunately stopped making music consistently a lot earlier on than the bands mentioned previously, leading to them not seeing as much growth. While I greatly enjoy the band and they have created a signature sound throughout their handful of releases, there is not much sonic progression in their discography. That being said if you are a fan of pop punk, melodic hardcore, hardcore etc, I highly recommend giving their catalog a listen. This specific split only features 2 songs from Averman on the physical release (however on digital releases there is 4 songs on the Averman side) those tracks are "B-Side to a Lifetime Cover Set" and "Varsity Blues". My personal stand out is the second track "Varsity Blues", it has great lead guitar throughout and and killer pop punk chugs from the rhythm guitar, Bryan Tobin's recognizable strained emotional vocals and lyrics that convey feelings of loss of hope and feeling like the people you’ve built relationships with don’t truly understand how you feel. All coming together to create a song that in my opinion lifts the short Averman side of this to another level.

STONEWALL

Where Averman delivers a more melodic and introspective feeling, Stonewall takes their side of the split in a far more direct pissed off hardcore direction. I don’t have as much to say about stonewall as I do Averman, due to the fact that the only stonewall material I’ve listened to is on this split which I own, and another split I have of them and kingshead. (which I will probably review at some point in the future.) Even though I describe Stonewall as a more straightforward hardcore band, they fit a lot better in a melodic hardcore sense with a lot of strong lead guitars and a lot of Sinking Ships "Ten" era esque soundscapes.(which is another 7" I have that I intend on reviewing.) My pick for a stand out song on the Stonewall side of this split would be the third and final track "A Fistful of Dollars" fulfilling the trinity of western film references in their song titles on this release featuring the other titles "Pale Rider" and "Once Upon a Time in The West". But to return to my original point my stand out favorite for this side of the split would be the third track. It delivers an almost immediate punch with the guitars and vocals, then getting to a nice sort of 2010s hardcore groove for the first part of the verse, moving to these more melodic chords later in the verse. The lyrical content is a straight forward and pissed off song about feeling exhausted physically and spiritually from the rituals of religion, and feeling that the words from holy men are worthless and empty. Delivered in a sort of angsty rasp that you can’t help but yell along to. 

Overall I find it to be a really enjoyable Punk/Hardcore release from Pushed Too Far Records which I would definitely recommend giving a listen. It’s not a very long EP to listen to at all and if you enjoy punk music at all I don’t think it’ll disappoint. Feel free to discuss in the comments if you are familiar with the EP and have your own thoughts, or if you check it out and come back you’re welcome to message me on here or on Instagram at bublxsquid or email me at xbetterthanathousand@gmail.com

I apologize if at any point this is difficult to read/unorganized, I'm a very amateur writer who will hopefully get better if I do this longer. Don’t forget to suggest a release you’d like me to review or talk about in the comments if you’d like and hopefully if you enjoy this you can keep up with future posts. Thank you to anyone who read this have a great day/night

-Oscar

XXX