Thrilled-Punchline

It was an exciting way to end the year for a local band.  Punchline is a band that formed out of Belle Vernon, PA in 1998.  Since they formed, the band has combined time after time to create a total of five studio albums, as well as three EP’s.  “Thrilled,”  their fifth and most recent release is one of their best.  After a three year drought of not making any music, the band members made it their primary interest to put together the perfect album.  With the December 4th release, Punchline also announced a tour covering areas in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and even Maryland.  I was lucky enough to not only see them once, but twice on this tour.  They played a show at the Altar Bar in Pittsburgh and followed up by announcing a secret show the next night at the Smiling Moose.  Though short notice, each show was fantastic and displayed some hits off of “Thrilled,” as well as songs from their entire discography

“Thrilled” features a familiar sound from the bad while still incorporating new sounds of the pop punk genre.  When you listen to this album from start to finish, it will almost put you into a trance, forcing you to continue listening through the entire 40 minutes without you even noticing.  After looking back at previous albums, you can see a definite transition of style.  The band has surely matured throughout their years of making music.  You could argue that the style change could be due to the replacement of band members.  Another argument could be that the band is just getting older and really fine-tuning exactly what they want to sound like and portray through their music.  One thing is for sure, these men in their thirties can still rock out with the best of them and put out a solid album.  If you get a chance to ever see this act, make sure you go. In the meantime, check out the album.  No matter what your favorite style of music is, there is a very good chance that you will find a song that you connect with.

Average Critic Rating: N/A
My Rating: 80/100

Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude – Pusha T 

Pusha T, born Terrence Thornton, released his second solo album, “Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude,” December 18th, 2015.  For those of you that may think Pusha T is fairly new to the hip-hop industry, think again.  King Push has been around since 1992 when the rap duo Clipse formed.  During his time with Clipse, the duo put out three studio albums and have since been loved by many fans of the hip-hop world.  Throughout working on this album, Pusha T was appointed president of G.O.O.D. Music, a record label started by Kanye West.  With this promotion, King Push has said that he will be working his hardest to make sure the best music possible comes out of their group.  Pusha has remained consistent with his sound throughout his stint with Clipse and even now that he is a solo artist.  Later on this year, he will be scheduled to drop his third album “King Push.”  Until then, we are lucky to have this album.

“Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude,” offers some of Pusha T’s best work as a solo artist.  On this album, we see features from A$AP Rockey, The-Dream, Kanye West, and a few other notable names.  What I thoroughly enjoy about this list of features is that they are consistent to names Pusha T has used in the past.  He is not trying to overwhelm the audience with big names just to get a large appeal.  He found the artists that mesh well with him and he ran with it.  The tracks, like most from the G.O.O.D. Music label, present complex instrumentals that include an array of pleasant vocals as well as a mix of deeper, darker synth effects.  The drums hit hard on almost every track without over-saturating the sound.  Tracks on here that I would recommend anyone to give a listen to are Sunshine, M.P.A., and Crutches Crosses Caskets.  Those three tracks will really give you an overview of a majority of the album, but at 33 minutes in length, you should find it easy to make it through the whole thing in one listen.

Average Critic Rating: 85/100 
My Rating: 88/100