Happy St. Patrick’s Day to those who celebrate. While I’m sure much of your drinking and shouting the words to Irish songs you’ve only heard while watching The Departed, I’m going to take this opportunity to tell you that they are not the only Irish music punk bands you can and should be listening to on this holiday.

Anything by Bar Dust: That’s not the name of a song, just they do great covers of the Pogues. The Philadelphia-based Pogues tribute band (with members of The Menzingers, Steady Hand, and formerly Modern Baseball) puts on a hell of a live show. And I know for a fact they’re at John and Peter’s in New Hope, Pennsylvania, tonight (March 17, 2026). Get tickets if you can. I was at their last show there last year, and it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.

The Boys Are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy: Yes, everyone knows this song. I just get the sense it doesn’t get played enough on St. Patrick’s Day because it doesn’t have the Irish twang most people are looking for after five to seven Guinnesses. But if there’s a statue of Phil Lynott in Dublin, and there is, maybe you should consider playing it after your third shot of Jameson.

New and Local

Goalkeeper is getting heavy, and I like it. Last week, the South Jersey/Philly adjacent pop-punk trio put out “Pass the Blame.” I’m not sure if a new album is on the horizon for the band, or if this is just a one-off single for the time being. I’ve always been a fan of Goalkeeper, and if this is the direction of their new music, I’ll become an even bigger fan.

Humming On The El

Keep an eye out each week for updates to the Humming On The El playlist!

Afterthought by Super Sometimes: I’m going to see Arm’s Length at the end of April and Super Sometimes is one of the opening bands, so I figured I should listen to them. Their latest single combines a catchy chorus with high energy. I really can’t wait to see this band live.

Lost it in the Lights by The Wonder Years: While The Wonder Years are on tour celebrating 10 years of the album No Closer to Heaven, I’ve had “Lost it in the Lights” from The Hum Goes on Forever stuck in my head for the past five days.

Other People’s Stories by Oso Oso: I know for a fact this song made the last iteration of this playlist. It’s simple, straight to the point and catchy as all hell.

That’s it for this week, folks. If you’re reading this on Tuesday, I’m currently stuck in jury duty. I know it’s my duty as an American to serve on a jury at some point in my life, though I must say, I’d really rather not. Shoot me an email at humundertheel@gmail.com to let me know which songs I should be listening to to kill the boredom that comes along with jury service.

As always, be cool to your friends and go Birds.

-Dan

Speaking of Daylight Savings Time

Let’s not forget that Superheaven was once a small band called Daylight who played at places like the Doylestown YMCA and released bangers such as “Sinking” and “In My Dreams.” No, I don’t have a long rant on why I liked the music Daylight made more than Superheaven–I’m not that much of a hipster. I will say the change in music with largely the same members is interesting to go from nearly pure emo to grunge.

What’s New: Bike Routes

Everyone talks about Hot Mulligan being the biggest new band in pop-punk, but wait until you hear Bike Routes. The South Jersey native dropped “Delicate” on Thursday, and I can’t stop listening to it. Fortunately, I was awake at midnight and listened to it right away. Do yourself a favor and stream this. Overall, excellent song-writing

Humming On The El

Check back each week for updates to the Humming On The El playlist!

A Hole in the World by Young Legionnaire: An obscure side project by Gordon Moakes (the original bass player of Bloc Party) and Paul Mullen (formerly of yourcodenameis:milo and The Automatic) Young Legionnaire put together two incredibly catchy albums that offered very different songs from the founders’ former bands. “A Hole in the World” was the first song I heard from this band and I was instantly hooked…for about a year until I forgot about the project. However, last week, while on the El, the chorus jumped back into my brain. I present this song to you, thinking it may do the same.

Drowning by Slow Joy: I’ve spoken ad nauseam about Slow Joy. But do yourself a favor and listen to this song before the new record comes out, hopefully later this year.

Airplane by Bike Routes: Bike Routes will go down as Gen Z’s Death Cab for Cutie. I’m calling it now. Along with their new song in anticipation of a new full-length later this year, “Airplane” is actually one of the catchiest songs I’ve ever heard.

The Red White and Blues by Defeater: I don’t know what kind of person you are if you’re not pumped up after hearing “The whiskey burns going down…” at the beginning of this Defeater classic.

Thanks for reading, folks. As always, be cool to your friends and neighbors, and go Birds. Finally, if there’s a chance that Jeffrey Lurie is reading this, please do the cool and right thing by buying the Philadelphia 76ers. Also, if you’re in a band, know someone in a band, or can think of a band that you’d like to see featured for a short Q&A, let me know by emailing me at humundertheel@gmail.com.

-Dan

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Wealth Gap: “It’s Gotta Be Fast”

I first met Dan Van Matre, Wealth Gap’s bass player, in 2022 when The Menzingers were touring on the 10-year anniversary of On The Impossible Past. Since then, I’ve known him to be one of the coolest people alive who has an impeccable taste in music. When he helped create the band Wealth Gap, I knew I had listen to them and learn more about them.

You can listen to Wealth Gap on Bandcamp (trust me, you won’t be disappointed) and read my interview with Dan below. Learn about them now before they record their first full-length record!

Who’s in the band and how did Wealth Gap come together?

Jimmy on vocals, Nick on guitar, Alex on drums, and Dan (me) on bass. Nick knew I was looking for an opportunity to play bass, and floated the idea to me for building a project around some songs he’d had rattling around for a while. After jamming them a bit, Alex and Jimmy eventually were invited in to round it out.

Was there a particular sound you’re going for when you’re working on songs, and what does the songwriting process for Wealth Gap look like?

For Wealth Gap, it’s gotta be fast, first of all. Jimmy says we can always be faster! I like bass that has a groove to it. Most of our work starts with Nick on guitar, and he brings a cool, almost proto-punk approach that sounds more light and fun than it does angry. I gotta say, Nick is an excellent songwriter. The dude’s always got countless riffs and chord progressions ready to go, and we wouldn’t be much of a band without that. Alex is a self-taught drummer and is always searching for unorthodox beats and fills that you might not expect in a punk song. I once was chatting with another local drummer and he told me he doesn’t even like aggressive music, but loves Alex’s approach.

What music are you drawing on for inspiration when writing? And when getting the band together, was there a conversation about what the music would sound like?

We all love punk music, but that shows up differently for each of us! Alex and I have a history with hardcore, so that certainly gets repped in the rhythm side, even though we’re not a breakdown band. When we first started tossing around the concepts for Wealth Gap, some of the bands we collectively referenced included Comeback Kid, Bikini Kill, FM Knives, Gouge Away, Negative Approach, Mika Miko and Bad Brains. So yeah…punk rock for sure, but with elements out of left field.

There’s an active conversation about the wealth gap in America. Is that what made you all settle on the name?

I remember sitting in Nick’s basement tossing around band names, and there were some good ones, but when we whittled it down Wealth Gap just felt right. Since then the band often gets called Wage Gap, which works too and keeps the spotlight on inequality. And that’s the point of the name: Calling attention to wealth inequality and the economic divide in a country where the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans are in control of our society. The rich hate the rest of us. They want to enjoy the fruits of OUR labor and creativity without acknowledging we exist. They require our complacency in order to continue hoarding. And that wealth inequality, in my opinion, is the root of so much of the pain in our society. In one of the wealthiest damn countries in history, it’s criminal that the wealth gap phenomenon exists, and while we aren’t a preaching-type band, our belief in equality and a community that cares for each other are central to who we are.

What’s next for the band?

All of us are in other bands and heavily involved in local DIY music, plus we’ve got spouses and a couple of kids. But we are excited about Wealth Gap and pushing the project as far as we can take it. So after the demo last summer and a live recording this winter, we are recording our first studio album at Shards in Bethlehem right now, with shows throughout the spring. While Reading and Bethlehem are home, we love Philly and would love to book some gigs down here in the fall!

I love a shoutout, especially since I don’t know many other bands from the Reading area. Are there any local bands you think people should be listening to more of?

I said earlier we believe in community, so this is a loaded question!! We love our music scene and could easily name a few dozen acts for you. We all play in other bands too! If I have to name just a couple on behalf of the whole band, I’d point to Ra!d from Bethlehem. They put out a new record recently called Control/Disown that is excellent for fans of noisy post-punk. Knowing what you like, Dan, I’d add Chiseled Lilies from Reading who should have new music coming soon for people who dig a sort of melodic post-hardcore feel. A good comprehensive shoutout is Pleasuretone in Reading, which represents our two “homebase” DIY venues where we spend a lot of our time. Give them a follow and you’ll see many good bands worth checking out!

Growing Up With Your Favorite Bands

The Menzingers aren’t the band they once were, and that’s not at all a bad thing. There’s a constant yearning for nostalgia from people my age–and it makes sense. The world didn’t seem like it was burning when “Clap Hands, Two Guns” came out.

But I can already hear the groans: “They’re not like they used to be.” I know because that was the first thought in my head when I listened to “Nobody’s Heroes.” But if we’re being real, do we want our favorite bands to act like they’re in their early 20s forever? So give it a listen, if you liked their last record Some Of It Was True, you’ll probably love this song.

Dug Up Another Gem: Crashing

I’m always on a quest to find music from local bands that no longer exist. Admittedly, it’s becoming easier. Although there are some bands (see my rant on The New Aggression from last year) that are getting harder to dig up the longer they remain inactive. Enter the now-defunct Bucks County-based pop-punk (that’s a lot of hyphens) band, Crashing.

The last show I went to right before the world shut down was a local show at a bar in Bucks County to see my cousin’s band, Saver play with Goalkeeper.

One of the opening bands was called Crashing and their song “Aubrey Plaza” was stuck in my head from the second it ended. For about a year, the band remained active–as far as I could tell from my bird’s eye view–and then they broke up without any explanation or fanfare. However, the music that was on Spotify was taken down, or lapsed, or whatever happens when people stop updating their artist accounts.

Every now and then, the spoken-word breakdown of “Aubrey Plaza” and the subsequent chorus–simply “She said goodbye”–would get stuck in my head and I’d have nowhere to go. And while there’s nothing good about Facebook, I have to thank the bass player of the band, seeking a new band, for posting the Bandcamp link to their four-song EP Hang Tight the other day. I also dug up a live video from the band that you can find on YouTube.

Humming On The El

Check back each week for additions to the Humming On The El playlist!

AMBULANCE by My Chemical Romance: While I’ll never claim to be the biggest MCR fan, this song consistently gets stuck in my head. I’m a sucker for a big chorus that peaks with perfect backing vocals, and “AMBULANCE” delivers.

Would’ve Killed You by Saver: Perhaps, I’m biased because my cousin played bass in this band, or because they released this song at a time when I needed to hear it (2019). But in sticking with the idea of loving a big chorus, this song hits the mark.

The Outlaw Star by Free Throw: This is the year for Free Throw and every single that comes out for their new record convinces me its going to be a top 10 album for many.

That’s it for this week, folks. As always, be cool to your friends and go Birds.

-Dan

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On the first day of high school, September 7, 2005, my friend’s older sister took him and I to see Green Day on their American Idiot tour at the then Wachovia Center. Jimmy Eat World opened, Bleed American came out four years earlier, and the band was preparing for the release of Futures, which would come out just over a month later. I was ignorant of all of that and just excited to be going to a concert, while also being a little overwhelmed at the number of people who knew so much more music than I did.

So 21 years after that concert, and 25 years after the album, Jimmy Eat World is one of the greatest punk/punk-adjacent bands to have ever graced a stage. They should be a million times bigger than they are and I’m hoping they have a resurgence that they missed out on. All that to say, I’m very excited to see them this summer. Maybe, after years of people telling me I should, I’ll get into Thrice who is opening the Philly show.

Humming On The El

Remember to check out my weekly updates to the Humming On The El playlist! This week’s additions include:

Midwestern States by The Menzingers: In 2027, this album, After the Party, will be 10 years old, and if I could buy my ticket to that show already, I would have. Anyway, “Midwestern States” gets overlooked on this record, in my humble opinion.

Your Graduation by Modern Baseball: I consider myself lucky to have been at Union Transfer in 2017 when, after playing “Your Graduation” to close their set, Brendan Lukans came back out on stage for an encore to say, “We’re going to play a song we haven’t played in a long time.” Only to play “Your Graduation” three times in a row. It’s the kind of song that makes me question if I want to know anyone who doesn’t know what comes after “it’s been three whole years of me thinking about you every day…”

Constant Headache by Joyce Manor: Do I really need to explain myself for this one? This is going to be the year Joyce Manor blows up with their new record I Used to go to this Bar. However, let’s not forget the early stuff. “Constant Headache” is a good place to start.

And with no explanation West Virginia by The Front Bottoms and Half-Lit by Single Mothers also made the playlist this week.

Thanks for reading, folks. If you’re interested, my debut comedy album, Robots in Philadelphia, will be available for streaming mid-March.

As always, be cool and kind to each other. Go Birds.

-Dan

Hey, Hummers… Don’t worry, I’ll never call you that again. If you’re reading this, I hope you have the day off and are enjoying the end of a long weekend.

And whether you celebrated Valentine’s Day or not, you gotta love a love song. Fundamentally, they speak–or sing–to the softer side of us all, despite how tough and cool we think we are. I’d even venture to say the guys, aliens, immortal beings, whatever you want to call the members of GWAR, have a few love songs they play when they’re not shooting fake blood onto audiences.

I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the genre’s best love songs. In pop-punk and alternative music, it’s very easy for bands to get whiny. Here are three love songs that aren’t whiny, and while there are plenty more, these are the ones that make my list of all-time best love songs.

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1. Daylily by Movements: It’s the song everyone knows by Movements, even if you, like me, haven’t spent a ton of time listening to them. There’s a million cliches that bands seem to easily fall into when writing lyrics to a love song. And while not overly poetic, when Patrick Miranda yells “if this lasts forever I’ll be just fine” you know exactly the emotions he’s pulling for.

2. You in January by The Wonder Years: Over the last five years I’ve probably seen The Wonder Years 10 times. At four of those shows, Soupy has said something to the effect of “People keep proposing at these shows during our most depressing songs. So if you’re going to propose, do it during this next one.” The band then plays “You in January.” So far, I haven’t seen a proposal at a Wonder Years’ show, but it doesn’t surprise me that people do it during this song–especially with the lyric: “You were the one thing I got right.” Although, I do wonder which of the other Wonder Years’ songs people are getting down on one knee too.

3. After The Party by The Menzingers: For tempo and tone, this is not a love song. But listen to it. There’s a whirlwind romance happening in this song that ends with two people existing outside of everyone else–immune to the world around them and sticking together when the party’s over.

Speaking of Music That I Love

Dryjacket’s new, four-song EP,Middle Names, is absolutely incredible. Maybe it’s the time of year and the never-ending bear of cold weather we’re getting in Philadelphia, but all things midwest emo are scratching whatever itch my frostbite is creating.

I’m Not Trying to Be a Self-Help Guy, so I’m Going to Let a Band Do it For Me

We’re all lyrics people. Everyone has a song they take too seriously and try to apply to their own lives. There are a few songs in particular that I turn to in times of major or minor strife. Recently, Flycatcher’s song “Truth” from their debut album Wrench has really hit home. The chorus with the particular line:

“You find peace once you let it go?
Or is it something that you’ll never know?”

In the form of a question–as the band intended–it’s a dare. The simple truth of not holding on sets you free. It’s an easy concept to grasp, but one that can feel insurmountable to put into practice. Holidays like Valentine’s Day make it seemingly harder. Take a breath, remember things will work out if you’re putting in the effort to make them so, and most importantly–listen to Flycatcher. Don’t worry; someday I’ll shut up about them.

Remember to check out my weekly updates to the Humming On The El playlist! This week’s additions include:

“The Opossum” by Joyce Manor.

“Useless and Comfortable” by Flycatcher.

“Green Like the G Train” by Aaron West and The Roaring Twenties.

That’s it for this week, folks. We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled Monday morning email next week. Congrats to the new Super Bowl champs, I guess. But as always, go Birds (the Eagles, not this new one from Seattle).

-Dan

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Luckily, I have a co-worker who has a million instruments. The guy plays everything. So when I got buzzed and mentioned that my midlife crisis was to re-learn guitar following 14 years of inactivity, he was happy to sell me an old–still very usable–guitar that he grabbed from his parents’ house in Georgia, untouched for the last few years.

“I don’t plan on recording country music with it anytime soon,” he said, taking a small amount of money for the instrument. “You’re funding this new kick pedal I need for my Cumbia band.”

Narrative intro aside–I could find worse ways to spend a midlife crisis. So I have to give a shoutout to my co-worker and JustinGuitar for reminding me how to play different chords. Seriously, if you’re trying to learn for the first time or relearn, JustinGuitar really makes it easy.

But sometimes YouTube tutorials are a little boring, and I’d like to learn to play something that I listen to somewhat frequently. In the last month of infrequent practice, here are two songs I’ve learned how to play. I should note that I’m not playing the lead parts to these songs. I’m not there yet.

Twin Size Mattress by The Front Bottoms: While noodling around on my new guitar with no real direction, I accidentally played the first two notes, and since then (about a month ago), this banger has been stuck in my head.

But Not Often, By Microwave: Something about the guitar intro resonates with me. I can’t exactly describe it, but it is what it is. It’s not an incredibly difficult song to play, but it is a good exercise in changing chords without stretching the length of the guitar neck.

Flycatcher Live

If you’ve read this newsletter before, you know how much I raved about Flycatcher’s debut full-length, Wrench. After a missed opportunity to see them headline at Ortlieb’s in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia (it was the same day as the Marathon and I couldn’t stand), I knew I had to catch them live.

Opening for Seahaven, the four-piece band from New Jersey delivered an excellent live show, with the majority of their set consisting of songs from the aforementioned live show. No notes, perfect set. Also, incredibly cool dudes who clearly love what they do.

Humming on The El

Check out the “Humming on The El” playlist each week to see what’s been stuck in my head, and what I think you should check out. This week’s additions include “Famous Last Words” by The Young Hearts and “One More and the Bill” by the Dirty Nil.

As always, be cool to your friends and go birds.

-Dan

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While this list is subject to change, here are three albums I can’t wait to hear this year.

1) Tiger’s Jaw, Lost On You: Tiger’s Jaw has always been around and has always put out hits. I’ll be as bold as to say that 2026 is the year of Tiger’s Jaw. Lost On You–which comes out on Hopless Records on March 27– already delivered with the singles “Head is Like a Sinking Stone” and “Ghost.”

2) The Menzingers (No Name so Far): The only evidence I have of The Menzingers coming out with an album is from a picture of a plane banner the band had fly over The Stone Pony in Asbury Park that says “Menzingers New Album 2026.” And that’s enough for me to get excited without having a new single to hang on to. I’ll just keep listening to After The Party until then.

3) No Pressure: In 2025, we were treated to the two-song LP Promo featuring Good Enough “ and “Wearing Thin.” I’ll be thrilled if these two songs are representative of what we’ll be getting on a full-length record later this year.

Joyce Manor: I Used To Go To This Bar

This one snuck up on me. I knew it was coming out, but got my dates mixed up and was supposed to be one of my most anticipated albums, then it came out on last Friday and has been played at least five times since then. With nine songs and clocking in at 19 minutes and eight seconds, it’s easy to listen to several times over.

Joyce Manor was always a band that I liked, but never jumped in headfirst to, as some of my friends did. This is a record for the aging punks. Catchy, melodic, and not trying to hang on to a genre seemingly designed for the youth. Each listen gets better, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Humming On The El

Check back each week for updates to this playlist for songs that have been stuck in my head.

“Keepsake Theory” by Hit Like a Girl: I’m very new to Hit Like a Girl. The raw energy in “Keepsake Theory” transcends traditional punk and brings in synths that remind you of Motion City Soundtrack–if the latter were very angry. I’m into it and can’t wait to see them slowly blow up.

“Proper Dose” by The Story So Far: There’s a groove–in the first verse–that’s guitar-driven, and I can’t get it out of my head. The album of the same name is one of the best albums of the last decade

“Man I Need” by Olivia Dean: I know almost nothing about Ms. Dean and even less about R&B and Soul, but this has been stuck in my head for the past week. Everything in this song comes together perfectly.

That’s it for this week. One new point and then the usual. Get rid of ICE. I can’t possibly conceive how anyone could think they’re doing anything right or by the book at this point.

So please, more than ever, be kind to your friends and neighbors, and go birds (please don’t retire, Vick Fangio–unless it triggers a series of events that leads to Nick Siriani getting fired and Mike McDaniel leaving the Chargers next year to become the head coach of the Eagles).

Welcome back to the newsletter that reminds you of your one group chat where only Spotify links are sent.

Let’s dive into the music.

More Horns in Midwest Emo, Please

I have never, and will never, claim to be an expert on Midwest emo. But in the last year, we’ve listened to, in my opinion, an over-saturation of twinkly guitar taps and tired lyrics about how “cigarettes remind me of you”--not calling out any band in particular, but you get the idea.

Last week, the almighty algorithm sent these two songs to me, and I can’t recommend them enough.

“Epi Pen Pals” by Dryjacket

Scud Running by Prawn

The Top 5 of 2025

Since we’re running on Humming Under the El time, I can finally, with confidence, disclose what my top five albums of the year are. So, for however many folks who have been dying to see which albums of 2025 have been my favorite, here you go:

1. Wrench by Flycatcher: Delivering a western vibe with a shoegaze tone and attitude, Wrench was by far my favorite album of the year. Maybe it’s because typically this kind of music wouldn’t be, but I needed to hear this record. Perfect to put on and be introspective too.

2. Bambi by Anxious: When I say this is a perfect album, I mean it. Absolutely no notes here. Taking vocals out of it, Bambi is one of the most musically interesting albums to come out of pop punk in a long time, while maintaining its ability to be easily listened to. The Connecticut-based band isn’t asking us to follow along to a jam band, afterall (thank god).

3. Joyride The Pale Horse by Heart Attack Man: Who knew an album about death and feeling down on yourself would make it to number two on my list? I did, I could have pretty easily predicted it, if I’m being honest. Anyway, beginning to end, incredibly catchy, with hard-hitting lyrics. They forwent fanciful metaphors and decided to tell you like it is on this record.

4. God Save the Gun by Militarie Gun: Before this, I had only listened to a handful of Militarie Gun songs. But God Save the Gun is definitely getting me more into them.

5. Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party by Hayley Williams
   I got to this album a month after it came out, and having never really listened to Hayley Williams’ solo music before, I went in blind. It’s impossible to tell you which song on this album is my favorite because they each offer a unique sound without blowing up the record into an experimental wasteland.

Humming On The El

Just one this week because it’s literally the only song that has been stuck in my head.

“The Way Back” by The Young Hearts: I’m almost positive this made last year’s playlist at some point. With that said, one morning this week on the subway, I couldn’t get the chorus out of my head and frantically Googled the lyrics to remember what the name of the song was. As easy, alternative, pop-punk-adjacent song

That’s it for this week. If you’re in a band, or know someone who is, and they want free press, let me know. As always, go Birds.

-Dan

…Any way, my goal for 2026 is to put this out once a week for the entire year. To do that, I’m going to need something to write about. At the end of 2025, I interviewed Philadelphia-based pop punk band Cheer Up Dusty! When I first started writing about music years ago for the now defunct, Scottish-based espyrock.com (not linked because it doesn’t exist anymore), I had the opportunity to interview tons of cool people and I’d like to get back to that. If you know any local up and comers, or if you’re in one, send them my way and I’ll ask them some questions.

Am I Getting Old or Is Country Music Getting Better?

The center of the Venn diagram of pop punk(or alternative punk/however we’re describing the genre of bands I’m including here) and country music is getting bigger. The differences in the outer circles (or ovals if you know what you’re doing) will probably show vast differences–however in the biggest font on the graph should be the word “SAD” in all capital letters. Maybe sad about different things, but still sad nonetheless.

Over the years, there’s been a TikTok trend of content creators doing over-the-top country covers of your favorite emo songs, and vice versa. But earlier this week, and I know I’m late to it, the almighty algorithm took me to Muscadine Bloodline’s cover of “Clairvoyant” originally by The Story So Far. Something about a mild country twang to “Clairvoyant” helps strike the same mood as the original. I can’t recommend listening to this enough.

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OK Buddy

I’m an incredible sucker for melodic hardcore, but haven’t sought it out like I used to. I’ll admit the algorithm has made me lazy as far as actively trying to find music goes. Almost everything I want to listen to is dropped in my lap.

So imagine my joy when I saw a TikTok and heard the chorus in “Ridgerunner”:

“Cause when the fire goes out you’ve got to find a way to feel some comfort in the rain”

It’s one of the catchiest choruses I’ve heard in quite some time and the rest of the band’s music delivers the same quality of music: striking the delicate balance of heavy and catchy, without falling into unnecessary breakdowns. The Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, quintet has a clear Title Fight influence. But their music sounds like an homage to the NEPA melodic hardcore legends, rather than a ripoff. Here’s hoping those guys put out more bangers in 2026.

A New Year, A New Playlist: Humming on The El

I love a playlist. I make one for everything. A new running route–absolutely. Do I have to drive somewhere I’ve never driven before? If so, I’m making a new playlist. So with that said. I’m retiring the “Get It Out of My Head” playlist–although it will exist forever–so please continue to listen to it.

This year, I’m putting all of the songs that get stuck in my head on the “Humming on The El” playlist–hey, I thought it was clever. Same idea as before: Two to three songs a week that I just ca

n’t get out of my head presented for you, the reader, to judge.

Love Someone Else by Lower Than Atlantis: Lower Than Atlantis came and went too fast. Alright, not really. After five albums and achieving European Stardom (I’m still personally annoyed they didn’t quite take off in the U.S.), the group disbanded just in time to avoid being impacted by the pandemic. “Love Someone Else” comes out fast and doesn’t take a beat to slow down.

Lefty by Title Fight: From the album Floral Green at a medium tempo, I’m not sure how “Lefty” isn’t stuck in your head right now.

That’s it for this week. As always, be cool to each other and go Birds (even though they’re not in the playoffs).

-Dan

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Concert Updates

In true fashion for this newsletter, I’m late again. It’s what you’ve come to love and expect about this newsletter. November was an incredibly busy month between all of the concerts I went to and marathon training (see the next edition of Humming Under The El for that story).

Also keep reading for a brief interview I got to do with local Philadelphia pop-punkers Cheer Up Dusty.

Drug Church On a Pop Punk Lineup

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: If you get the chance to see Drug Church, please do.

In his Substack, Drug Church vocalist Patrick Kindlon mentioned there were some confused looks in the front rows of folks waiting to see Hot Mulligan on their current tour. I was hoping Philadelphia would prove Mr. Kinglon wrong. He was unfortunately right.

Hot Mulligan’s fall tour includes future pop-punk legends, Anxious; the Canadian, midwestern emo band Arm’s Length, and right before Hot Mulligan jumps on stage, Drug Church. Drug Church and their incredibly catchy and aggressive style of what I’m going to coin as “alternative hardcore” (trademark pending) doesn’t quite fit the rest of the bill.

With that said, I’m a tad disappointed to see that fans of all of those bands aren’t more open to what Drug Church has to offer. No one on the lineup is presenting purely formulaic pop-punk. I’d think the folks who are there early for Anxious might already know Drug Church and party. From my experience being in the pit, that was not the case.

Other than this past weekend supporting Hot Mulligan, I’ve seen Drug Church two different times: Once headlining (spoilers–they were great) and once supporting Alkaline Trio. At the latter of those shows, concert goers looked a little confused. Though to be fair, a crowd of elder millennials who got on TikTok and refer to themselves as “elder emos” probably aren’t the best group of folks for a hardcore-adjacent opening band on a Wednesday when they haven’t been to a show in 17 years. So, I’ll say it one more time: Go see Drug Church.

Hot Water Music, Bane, Spaced

This may have been the best show I’ve been to all year long. I went in with a mild interest in Spaced and Bane, and loving Hot Water Music. My adoration for Hot Water Music, especially the current lineup with Chris Cresswell, persists. Go check out each of those bands.

Riley, Carly Cosgrove, Saturday’s At Your Place

This may have been the last show I’m going to for the year–I’m going to see GWAR tomorrow, but that’s theatre, not a concert. So if the trio of bands (all made up of trios) was the last show I end up at in 2025, it will have been a great one.

Not deterred by a light crowd in the beginning of the show because of the pending Eagles game (go birds) that night, Riley put on an incredible set opening with “777!”. As more people filed into Union Transfer during Carly Cosgrove’s set the Eagles’ game had just started, and the Philadelphia-based midwest emo band put on a clinic in keeping your attention while having the game streaming on my phone.

GWAR IS A MUST-SEE BAND

I’ll admit. I know literally one GWAR song – “Bring Back the Bomb.” That said, when a friend of mine told me they were coming to Philadelphia on a Thursday night, I had to go. If you’re a general fan of thrash metal and theatrics that would scare your aunt, who is literally a nun, you should see GWAR when they come to a city near you.

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Local Spotlight: Cheer Up Dusty

If you haven’t caught on by my sign-off of “Go Birds” k– k the most consistent part of this newsletter– I’m incredibly pro-all things Philadelphia. That includes the local music. Sure, we have (regionally and on larger stages) The Wonder Years, The Menzingers, Carly Cosgrove, and The Starting Line. But it’s also important to look at the local scene.

That’s where we find bands such as Cheer Up Dusty. Initially, like most new bands that come across my radar, I found them on TikTok. And while I’m still a tad annoyed that the algorithm has fully figured me out, I can confidently say that Cheer Up Dusty is pretty incredible. Mixing traditional pop-punk with heavy breakdowns that come at exactly the right time--the five piece band will surely be on your radar shortly.

Who’s all in the band, and what do they play?

Justin- Vocals

Brayan- Guitar/Vocals

Pat- Bass/Vocals

Nick- Guitar

We currently have a new drummer named Jordan starting shortly, who we’ve known forever, and our older drummer Caleb, played on the latest release.

How long have you been a band for?

I (Justin) started working on the first EP in January 2019. It went online in November 2019.

Where does the name come from, and is there a Dusty in the band that needs cheering up?

This is our most asked question. Dusty came from a dude I used to be friends with. We were in a band, disagreed on a lot, and every disagreement it was “cheer up, Justy” then turned into “cheer up, Dusty, it’ll be fine.” We had a falling out, and as to not pick a name already taken, I landed on it and rolled with it.

How did you all come together?

I started the band in 2019 with Nick and Pat’s help and some others. At the time, Nick was just hanging out, and Pat joined on bass not long after starting. Then I met Brayan, who came in and introduced us to our first drummer, Paul. It was the four of us for a bit until Paul left. Caleb came in, then Nick. Now we’re starting with a new drummer and are excited for what’s ahead.

How would you describe your sound?

We sound like a band from Philadelphia.

How would you say your sound has evolved?

The evolution comes with the changing of band members over time. The first EP was done by me (Justin). The second EP was made by me and our bassist, Pat. For the third and fourth EPs, Brayan came in and took more of a lead role.

Our first EP was just me by myself (Justin), then the second EP was myself and Pat (bassist). On the third and fourth EPs, Brayan came in and took more of a lead role with it. Now as we got our other members, everyone was in charge of their roles. We trusted each other, but are always open for ideas but mainly Caleb was in charge of his drums, Pat his basslines, Brayan with guitars and structures, me with lyrics and melodies. It became everyone’s band and not just my own. That’s the most beautiful thing that could have happened

What are some other local bands you guys are listening to/playing with?

FRND CRCL and Altarboy come to mind first. Would follow those dudes to hell if needed. Our friends in My Cousins Girlfriends House, All Systems Go, Kings of the Wild Things, Handguns, Keep Flying, Goalkeeper, iisweartogoth, Felicity, Scooped Up, and dude I missed so many. There’s so much talent and great people making art. Fuck AI.

Let’s talk about influences: What bands brought you this kind of music before you started (whoever is answering) even thought about starting a band?

We all like different stuff and we want to try to blend it into our own smoothie. We’re based around punk rock/pop punk but try not to pigeonhole us into it.

What’s next for Cheer Up Dusty? And do you have anything cool to plug?

We are focusing on our craft. Our numbers are mid, but we feel we’re putting out the best songs, videos, and content we’ve ever had. We’re focusing on our merch, our live show, and our professionalism. We want to tour more to reach more people and continue to treat the few fans we have that are constantly coming out as the family they are.

All we can ask to be plugged is our art. Listen to our songs if they’re your thing, follow us on the internet and streaming sites. We have zero management, zero connections, nothing. Cheer Up Dusty is just the five of us, but there’s not a soul out there who isn’t welcome.

Get It Out of My Head

Make sure to follow the “Get it Out of My Head” playlist featuring every song that gets stuck in my head throughout the year on Spotify! I’ll be adding to it every week before this email goes out.

HUTE: Get It Out Of My Head Playlist

Crows by Ovven: Man, am I a sucker for a band named after an appliance. This was another TikTok find and I’m not disappointed. Pulling in elements of every subgenre of alternative rock you can think of, Ovven hit the mark with this song. Hopefully, they’re on the path to putting out a full-length album that I can fawn over sometime soon.

Reindeer Games by Oso Oso: Just in time for the Christmas season, even though this isn’t a Christmas song at all. Do I really need to say more? Oso Oso is one of the most underrated bands of all time. Check out the song from their 2018 album the yunahon mixtape.

As always: Be cool, go Birds, and the Sixers are going to win the championship this year (my mental health relies on it).

-Dan

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A classic rock guy, who never stopped loving The Rolling Stones and The Who, one of his favorite jokes made fun of country music.

“What do you get when you lose your wife, your house, and your dog? A country song.”

He’d laugh, the rest of my family would groan, and we’d go back to whatever we were having for dinner that night.

The more I dive into a variety of subgenres like shoegaze and Midwest emo, the more I’m realizing that we could very well replace “country song” with “a midwest emo song with an outlandish and long title with lots of guitar tapping.” I say this as a fan of the genre who also spends too much time on TikTok. In 2024, Midwest emo, on TikTok, felt like it was becoming an inside joke that made fun of itself without realizing, in the same way that some pop country has become a caricature of itself while continuing to play into it.

What initially made me think of the slight connection between Midwest emo and country is the new Flycatcher album, Wrench. Don’t bite my head off, I know Flycatcher is not Midwest emo by any stretch. But there’s a crossover between punk-influenced shoegaze and the aforementioned genre. No slight to the band, Wrench is a top 10 record of the year for me, and “Dissolve” and “Truth” are in the running for my favorite individual songs of the year. However, there is a bit of a country vibe throughout the record, but especially in the closing track, “Superbowl.”

New Local Music

Speaking of new music, Philadelphia-based Cheer Up Dusty dropped their new single “YOU’RE ON MUTE” on Tuesday. That song needs your spins. I’ll have a brief interview with the band in the next edition of Humming Under the El

Get It Out of My Head

Make sure to follow the “Get it Out of My Head” playlist featuring every song that gets stuck in my head throughout the year on Spotify! I’ll be adding to it every week before this email goes out.

HUTE: Get It Out Of My Head Playlist

“Wheels up in 30” by The American Standard: I was walking to catch the subway on Monday morning and the intro/chorus anchored itself in my head. After a good 30 minutes of trying to remember the band that wrote this song or the name of the song, I found it. And now you have it. An incredible, straight-forward punk-adjacent song that won’t leave your head. It’s wild to me that this band only has 20 monthly listeners on Spotify. Maybe we can change that and get them to play more shows.

“Big Love” By House & Home: House & Home has been on my radar for a couple of years now, and their latest single, ahead of their next full-length (INSERT NAME HERE) has me hooked and excited for the full record in November.

“Truth” by Flycatcher: I’m not exaggerating when I say this might be my favorite song for the entire year of 2025 (despite having a few months left). The album Wrench is almost perfect, and I recommend everyone listen to it.

That’s it for this edition of the semi-weekly Humming Under the El. In full transparency, I’ve created an editorial calendar for the rest of the year and we’re looking at a new email once every two weeks. So tell your friends and tell me what music you’re listening to.

As always: Be cool and go Birds.

-Dan

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Sometimes, there doesn’t need to be a theme. And that is the theme for Humming Under the El this week. No theme, no diatribe about what I think about the state of the music industry, just vibes–as annoying as that might sound.

To start us off, the world–and I am of the world–is dying for a Modern Baseball reunion. It feels like we might get one after years of quick teases on Instagram. That’s great. But what I think the world really needs is a Titlefight reunion. Just three shows (one must be in Philly), where they burn through their entire discography in about two-and-a-half hours. All that to say, I’ve had Hyperview on repeat all week.

Songs

Like Roses Cover “Believe” by Cher: I’m a sucker for a cover. See my previous rants and ramblings about Luke Bryan’s cover of Fast Car. That one made sense to me. On Wednesday, in conjunction with Songs That Saved My Life, Like Roses dropped their cover of Cher’s “Believe,” and even if you’re not into 80’s dance music, you’ll love this cover.

Humming Under The El: Get It Out Of My Head Playlist

Make sure to follow the “Get it Out of My Head” playlist featuring every song that gets stuck in my head throughout the year on Spotify! I’ll be adding to it every week before this email goes out. Note: Any misspellings or lowercase letters

maybe it’s me by Four Year Strong: It’s no secret that I’ve been on a Four Year Strong Kick for the last month or so. This is simply a continuation of a personal trend that I don’t see ending anytime soon.

Carbon Monoxide Hotel by Hot Mulligan: We’ve reached two weeks in a row where a song from The Sound a Body Makes When It’s Still by the Michigan-based pop-punk/midwest emo band has made the newsletter. As much as I hate to play into the hype of anything, goddamn this might be a perfect record, and once a week I find myself conflicted about what my favorite song on the record is.

Mirror Mirror by Good Terms: Here’s another instance of a band that I caught because of a catchy TikTok last year. While “Mirror Mirror” was not the song that hooked me to the California-based pop punk band, it is an incredibly catchy song that breaks out of the genre.

“Nobody’s Burden” by Old Neon: A last-minute addition to the playlist. TikTok delivered this incredibly catchy, classic pop-punk song in the nick of time.

As always, be cool to yourself, your friends, and go Birds, even if they’re going to give me a heart attack at any given time.

-Dan

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I warned you that this wouldn’t be the most consistent newsletter. My goal for the rest of the year is to write this weekly. Feel free to bully me if I don’t live up to the promise.

Since the last time I wrote this, I recorded my own comedy album (coming out later in 2025) at the locally famous John and Peter’s in New Hope, Pennsylvania, went to the worst football game I’ve ever seen (Oklahoma v. Temple, 42-3), and surprisingly only went to one concert (free Aaron West & [some of] The Roaring Twenties at Spruce Street Harbor Park).

Then it’s been a lot of nothing. Which is probably why I’m back to writing this somewhat weekly (man that’s a stretch) newsletter. If you’re still here, thanks for sticking it out. If you’re new here, just know I take a lot of breaks in writing.

10 years of No Closer To Heaven by The Wonder Years

Other than an occasional muscle that hurts when it rains, I’m constantly being reminded how old I am by the number of bands doing 10-to-20-year album tours I’ve been to over the last couple of years.

Local pop-punk legends The Wonder Years are celebrating 10 years (as of September 4) of their fifth full-length album, No Closer To Heaven. It may be my favorite album from the Lansdale, Pennsylvania, sextet. Beginning with “Brothers &” that crescendos perfectly to the first single “Cardinals.” From there, it only gets better. The band has alluded to the idea of No Closer to Heaven being an album fans sort of skipped over until recently, when they realized that a lot of people, including yours truly, count it as one of their favorite releases from the band.

At the time of writing, the band has announced a 10th anniversary tour for the UK later in the year. Before they spend much of the fall opening for A Day to Remember and Yellowcard, they’ll be playing two shows (still no clue how these didn’t immediately sell out and I was able to get tickets for both nights) at Underground Arts in Philadelphia. Although not formally announced, I’m sure they’ll be playing most of No Closer to Heaven during those shows.

The Two-Part Hardlord AFI Podcast

I can’t urge you enough to listen to both parts (part one and part two) of the HardLore Podcast with Davey Havok. It’s an incredible insight series of interviews with someone who’s embraced change from his hardcore punk days with AFI in the beginning and culminating in their next album Silver Bleeds the Black Sun.

Here’s One I Missed

Secret World, the Australian indie hardcore band (this is a whole genre largely outside of the U.S., I think, and it’s the most interesting kind of music being made right now), put out Tomorrow Is a Mystery To Me in September, and I can’t recommend it enough. Next week, they’ll be at Underground Arts opening for High Vis (who is in the aforementioned genre that I’m still trying to fully figure out what it’s called) in Philadelphia. There’s a 99% chance I’ll be there. You should be too.

One I Caught in The Nick of Time

At the time of writing, Taylor Swift’s new album has been out for hours, and the website formerly known as Twitter is both super excited and super mad about it. I haven’t listened to it, and will have no opinion about it here. There was a much lesser-known album that came out on the same day that you should listen to.

Opening softly with the lyrics “they upped another dosage…,” The Carolyn’s new album, Pyramid Scheme of Grief, is one to keep on your list. Sticking to their formula of short, anthemic songs, the Atlanta-based trio does not disappoint on this full-length. Eleven songs that span 18 minutes, it’s a straightforward and catchy punk album that the world needs more of.

Humming Under The El: Get It Out Of My Head Playlist

“The Days Of The Phoenix” by AFI: There are a million songs that could have stuck in my aforementioned AFI kick [change this]. “The Days Of The Phoenix” is the one that stuck. Striking the dark gothic tone that would dominate their next couple of albums, while maintaining an upbeat punk tempo, is a recipe for me to get annoyed at how often I’ve been humming this to myself.

“Cream of Wheat of Feet Naw Cream of (feat.)” by Hot Mulligan: I’m not going to pretend I know what that title is a reference to. That said, it’s an incredibly catchy and short emo song from The Sound a Body Makes When It’s Still.

“Find My Way Back” by Four Year Strong: Four Year Strong snuck up on me. I always knew they were good and an incredibly underrated band, but it wasn’t until the last four or months that they’ve been a heavy part of my rotation and “Find My Way Back” stuck,

Notable mentions: In my absence writing this newsletter, I’ve added a few songs to this playlist by accident:

“hospital bed” by saturdays at your place: Talk about a perfect song. With just enough pop, a sliver of the mandatory twinkly guitars required by all mid-west emo bands, and a catchy chorus, “hospital bed” will keep you humming. Side note: I’m not getting lazy with capitalization–this band operates exclusively in lowercase letters.

“Fever Dream” by Grayscale: I know people love Grayscale. And for years, I made a half-hearted attempt also to make them my favorite band. Last month, during a long drive to a show, “Fever Dream” popped on because of Spotify’s algorithm. I can now say that I still don’t fully understand why they’re your favorite band. But I do love this song.

“Bambi’s Theme” by Anxious: Anxious will be the next big thing in pop punk–when Hot Mulligan decides to end their current reign at the top of the genre, that is. All that to say, “Down, Down” played randomly during a long run last month, and for the next two miles (anywhere from 16-18 minutes, if I may brag), I played that song on repeat and had to throw it on the playlist.

As always, be cool to yourself, your friends, and go Birds.

-Dan

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Welcome back to Humming Under the El–the most occasional newsletter about music that I like.

For years, and on this episode of my friend’s podcast “Get Into It,” I’ve mulled the idea of becoming a public speaking consultant who only consults bands on their live banter. It would be the perfect grift because for 95% of artists, I’d give the following advice:

1) Walk on stage and say: “Hello, [insert city you’re playing that night].”
2) Play five uninterrupted songs.
3) Short (two minutes at most) speech about the venue and why it’s cool to play in [insert city].
4) Keep playing
5) When you have two songs left, say: “We have a couple left for you.”
6) Play those last songs, say thank you, and walk off stage.

The best bands I’ve ever seen are the ones that don’t rant. I’ve seen punk and hardcore bands that have a message behind their songs, and they know what they’re talking about. Those bands’ mid-set banter is impactful and carries a message that you can take with you, and offers a greater appreciation of where the song is coming from.

But normally, I’m an old man yelling at clouds: “Just play your damn music.”

All of that to say, Pet Symmetry has the best banter in emo/punk-adjacent music. I had the opportunity to see them in their hometown of Chicago last week, and the banter was between three friends who loved playing music together. It made the already intimate show (less than 100 people) feel even more intimate and added context to their songs like “Please Don't Tell My Father That I Used His 1996 Honda Accord to Destroy The Town of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania in 2002.”

So Pet Symmetry has largely changed my mind on pointless banter. But, bands, if you’re going to banter, please banter well.

Get It Out Of My Head

Make sure to follow the “Get it Out of My Head” playlist featuring every song that gets stuck in my head throughout the year on Spotify! I’ll be adding to it every week before this email goes out.

Humming Under The El: Get It Out Of My Head Playlist

“Crop Circles” by Liquid Mike: I don’t know if I’m late to the game on Liquid Mike, or if we all just need to pull our heads out of the sand to put Liquid Mike as a headlining band. Whichever is true, “Crop Circles” is short and to the point, but not without sacrificing a groove that carries the song.

“All For Love & All For Nothing” by My Cousin’s Girlfriend’s House: Before I get into the song, this is the best band name ever to be conceived—absolutely no notes. With that out of the way, this song has a huge, gong-vocal style chorus that keeps itself in your ears long after you’ve stopped listening to it.

Big Mileage by Pet Symmetry: Gang vocals and a grimy bass line that drives the beginning of the song. There’s no way this wasn’t going to get stuck in my head.

As always, be cool to your friends, yourself, your pets, and go Birds.

-Dan

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I needed a few months off from writing. I’m not sure why, but there wasn’t anything that I actively wanted to write about. In my defense, I said this would probably happen. But more importantly, I’m back.

A few weeks ago, when Spotify was down for a couple of hours, I remembered how I used to find a bunch of good music on Bandcamp – because I’m still not paying for Apple Music. It was then that I continued my years-long search for music by a band called The New Aggression that existed in the greater Philadelphia area during the Myspace days. I’d seen them several times at the Doylestown YMCA, bought a t-shirt, and their first of two albums, Praying for a Stray Bullet.

The New Aggression coupled fast riffs with smart song-writing and impossibly catchy choruses. For a 15-year-old new to the local punk scene who was scared of everyone, including my own shadow, they were also incredibly nice to be around and easy to talk to after a show.

In 2008-09ish, the band put out a four-song EP Only a Fools Hope, that lived on MySpace and Pure Volume in the waning days of those websites. Then, quietly, they stopped being a band. I had no idea what happened–to my knowledge, they never had label support and maybe just needed to get jobs and give up the dream. We all hate to see it, but it’s the reality of getting into local bands.

Fortunately, in February, the band’s guitar player and singer put up Praying for a Stray Bullet and Only a Fool’s Hope on Bandcamp. Being too nostalgic is annoying, but hearing The New Aggression again for the first time in over a decade brought me back to screaming the lyrics to “Falling Down,” and I couldn’t have been happier that day.

Now, someone, please ruin my nostalgia by telling me this band did something awful and that’s why they broke up. I’m wondering what some of your favorite local bands from the days of VFW, laser tag arena, and YMCA shows are?

P.S. Don’t say Spraynard. We all loved Spraynard. To keep this as hipster as possible, I don’t want to hear that you don’t know what happened to Spraynard. The predecessor to Spraynard, The Domino Theory–whom I just found again on Spotify–however, is a perfectly acceptable answer.

Album of the Week

Burst and Decay (Vol. III) by The Wonder Years – Pulling in an orchestra to temper down some very upbeat and high-tempo songs from the Lansdale pop-punk royalty had to take a concerted effort that paid off, for the third time in a row. On this edition of Burst and Decay The Wonder Years gave us a brand new song (“Junebug”) to open the record and pulled in Joe Taylor of Knucklepuck to offer the acoustic version of “Came Out Swinging” that we never knew we needed. “Teenage Parents” has been stuck in my head for some time, and lo and behold, the orchestral version will also now be heavily featured in my daily rotation of songs I listen to at work.

What brings this record to life is the work of the Little Kruta Sting Ensemble and how they captured the spirit of each song while helping to reimagine each track into something new.

Tracklist:

1. Junebug
2. Came Out Swinging
3. Oldest Daughter
4. Wyatt’s Interlude
5. Wyatt’s Song (Your Name)
6. Teenage Parents
7. I Don’t Like Who I Was Then
8. The Ocean Grew Hands to Hold Me
9. Doors I Painted Shut

Get It Out Of My Head

Make sure to follow the “Get it Out of My Head” playlist featuring every song that gets stuck in my head throughout the year on Spotify! I’ll be adding to it every week before this email goes out.

HUTE: Get It Out Of My Head Playlist

Since the last edition of Humming Under the El, I’ve had a million songs stuck in my head. Here are three.

“The Gallows” by Heart Attack Man: Ooof, Heart Attack Man’s latest record Joy Ride the Pale Horse, is catchy, but once you start paying attention to the lyrics, it’s a real bummer. No notes on The Gallows” other than I can’t stop singing it in my apartment.

“Other People’s Stories” by Oso Oso: There’s nothing flashy about this song. From some music major’s perspective, this probably shouldn’t be such a great song. But I wasn’t a music major, so that’s a moot opinion. Lyrically, it tells a story of being bored by every person except one. It resonates, it’s straight to the point, and it’s stuck in my head.

“Untitled” by Knuckle Puck: What a perfect transition. I’m going to see Oso Oso open for Knucklepuck next week. Knucklepuck is celebrating 10 years of their album Copectic, and while overall it is a pretty great pop-punk record, the final “Untitled” song is more music than lyrics, but it hits perfectly. If I’m being honest, I’m going to that show to see Oso Oso, but I spent most of my money knowing Knuckle Puck will be playing “Untitled” at the end.

Upcoming Shows

The one show I have left for May is sold out. It’s in West Chester, Pa. While you may not be able to make it to this one, check out the monthly shows at Turk’s Head Cafe to catch the great lineups Ryan puts together.

As always, be cool to yourself and your friends. Go Birds.

-Dan

Getting Used to New Members

I’ll admit that I haven’t listened to Mastodon on a regular basis in more than a decade. Blood Mountain came out when I was in high school, and I couldn’t stop listening to it. For a kid that was largely in death metal and hardcore punk, the progressive stoner album was new to me and I really wouldn’t shut up about it.

Although the allure of that record did eventually wane, it was one I went back to from time to time. The Atlanta-based quartet continues to make some really interesting music, and while it’s been years since I’ve seen them live, they put on a hell of a show.

Instrumental (pun intended) to that sound was guitar player Brent Hinds who helped form the band. His unique voice and clear 70’s guitar-driven rock influence on Blood Mountain is what made me fall in love with the band in the first place. And taking a relisten to the record,

The band recently announced that after 25 years they would be parting ways with Hinds. It’s a bit of a bummer, but there are other bands where if certain members left I would be more sad about it. It sounds like Hinds was entirely over metal. Although as of writing time, he hasn’t made a statement. If there’s any good, personally, that comes from his departure its the reminder that I like Mastodon and will probably be listening to them a lot more in the coming weeks.

For their live shows, Ben Eller, a phenomenal guitarist, has replaced hinds. Apparently the band called Eller with little notice before they played the Tool in the Sand Festival and asked him to immediately learn 17 songs. From the videos I’ve seen, he nailed it and is going to be a great addition to the band in Hind’s absence

Which bands do you think have one or two members who are instrumental to their overall sound? Let me know by emailing me at humundertheel@gmail.com.

Get It Out Of My Head

Make sure to follow the “Get it Out of My Head” playlist featuring every song that gets stuck in my head throughout the year onSpotify! I’ll be adding to it every week before this email goes out.

HUTE: Get It Out Of My Head Playlist

“Fast Car” (both versions) by Tracy Chapman and covered by Luke Combs: I hate to be the guy who says things like “I like to listen to a lot of everything except for country”; however, that is mostly the truth for me. However, during the Grammy’s last year, I got to watch Luke Combs perform “Fast Car” with Tracy Chapman. Aside from it being a phenomenal performance, I fell down a rabbit hole of videos talking about how much the song meant to him, and the reverence he feels for one of the greats. Somehow, that makes me like both versions of the song a lot more.

“Who Watches the Watchmen” by The Prize Fighter Inferno: Let’s be honest, Claudio Sanchez can do no wrong. Having not listened to this song since it came out in 2006, “Who Watches the Watchmen” (and the rest of TPFI for that matter) is a departure from what we know Sanchez to do in Coheed and Cambria by creating an almost digital-folk song that has a mild four-bit video game feeling.

“A Decade Under the Influence” by Taking Back Sunday: I know the point of this newsletter is to talk only about bands I like. That said, I am HUGE Taking Back Sunday hater. I manage to see them once every couple of years because they pick killer opening bands (Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band and Citizen to name a couple) and my friends like them. Typically, I’m complaining the whole time they’re on. With my distaste for the band aside, Spotify must have realized it’s a perfect BPM to be on mile seven of a nine-mile run. At 156 beats per minute (blame Google’s AI if that’s wrong) the song is perfect for a quick pace. That, coupled with the catchiness of hearing “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” twice a verse, had me repeat the song for an entire mile. And now, it won’t leave my head. So you, dear reader, must also now have this song stuck in your head.

I do have a few shows coming up. In the most recent future, I’m returning to a show I helped start for their anniversary show at The 700 in Philadelphia. That’s March 28 at 700 N. Second Street at 7 p.m. Eastern. Here’s the ticket link.

As always, be cool and go birds.

-Dan

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Editor’s note: I apologize for being a week late on this. It might happen again, but I won’t make a habit of it.

In late December, I was laying out my goals for the year, and one of the big ones in 2025 is to pay down some bills, cut down on spending, and save some money so I can move out of my apartment with an alley view next year. One obvious answer to my money-driven goals is to cut out the number of concerts I would attend in 2025.

It may have been a nice thought, but not buying concert tickets for the year only lasted about a week. I’ve never felt like its been a waste of money to see a band I love, or quite frankly, a band I’ve never heard of. Outside of the allure of live music, I’ve found community in concerts and have gotten into great conversations with people from all over who just want to celebrate the majesty of live music.

So far, I’ve only been to three in 2025: One freebie that The Tisburys played; Counterparts last week; and Comeback Kid (a matinee show) last Sunday. As an aside, all concerts on weekends should be matinee shows. I was out of the venue before 6 p.m. But I digress.

Even if you’re trying to save money, go to the concert. Maybe don’t buy 15 overpriced beers from whatever vendor is hacking them at your preferred venue. As for saving money, I’ll just have to start eating healthy and perhaps not order pizza nearly as much as I do.

Get It Out Of My Head

Make sure to follow the “Get it Out of My Head” playlist featuring every song that gets stuck in my head throughout the year onSpotify! I’ll be adding to it every week before this email goes out.

HUTE: Get It Out Of My Head Playlist

“Gone Forever” by High Vis: There’s something major-chord, pop-influenced British hardcore that I really do love. Gone Forever, the closing track on the High Vis’ latest record Guided Tour, perfectly encapsulates every previous song on the record and wraps it up nicely. I already bought my tickets to see them and Militarie Gun at the end of April

“Wake the Dead” by Comeback Kid: As previously mentioned, I got the chance to see Comeback Kid for the first time last week. I’ve always been a distant fan, but now I’m a convert. I’ll see them anytime they’re in the general Philadelphia area.

“Stay Golden” by Combat: At the time of writing, I’ve only known about this song for less than 24 hours and I must have listened to it over 25 times. I don’t know a lot about this band, but with the first song on their 2024 record Stay Golden, the Baltimore-based punks must be nodding to My Chemical Romance without copying them chord-for-chord. The song “Stay Golden” is aggressive, lyrically intellectual without being pretentious, and doesn’t slow down for anything.

If you want to know what other music I’ve been thinking about, I was on an episode of Feel Feelings with my friends Danny Getz (see artwork above) and George Bruderman, where we created a playlist that doesn’t make a ton of sense together. But

I’m currently training for a half-marathon and desperately need music that’s good to run to. Email me at humundertheel@gmail.com to let me know what songs I should have on that playlist.

Remember to be cool to yourself and your friends while the world goes to hell,

Dan

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It’s easy to fall into the trap of listening to a new album and having an immediate reaction of “this is a perfect album.” When you can listen to a record straight through 10 times and have no complaints about a single song, then I think it’s fair to say you’ve found a perfect album.

With that said, I had no plans this last weekend and almost exclusively listened to Anxious’ Run For Cover Records’ Debut, Bambi. While I’m sure all of my friends who I’ve texted about it, who I also think are the majority of HUTE of subscribers, I’ll say it again: Bambi by Anxious is a perfect pop-punk/pseudo melodic-hardcore/throw a couple other genres in there, record.

It is musically one of the most interesting pop-punk albums I’ve listened to in a very long time. Moving away from a stereotypical four-chord progression. Certain bands grow to defy the genre they started in. With Bambi, Anxious has become one of those bands. We love to talk about how The Wonder Years are just The Wonder Years. Anxious is just Anxious and seems to be on a path to continue to put out incredible, genre defining albums for as long as they want to.

What is in your list of perfect albums front to back? Rented World by The Menzingers is also on my very short list of perfect albums. Let me know what you think of Bambi, or what your perfect album is by emailing me at humundertheel@gmail.com

Get It Out Of My Head

Make sure to follow the “Get it Out of My Head” playlist featuring every song that gets stuck in my head throughout the year on Spotify! I’ll be adding to it every week before this email goes out.

HUTE: Get It Out Of My Head Playlist

“JUMPERCABLES” by Winona Fighter: I’ve pretty consistently alluded to Winona Fighter being one of the best bands around. Their clear influence from the Offspring and heavier guitar-driven “JUMPERCABLES” is the perfect album opener for their debut full-length, My Apologies to the Chef. If they aren’t headlining nationally soon with this album I will blame everyone who hasn’t told their friends about Winona Fighter.

“Big Engagement” by Pet Symmetry: It’s not often I come away from listening to a pop-punk song feeling optimistic about the world. The Wonder Years have three songs that I leave in a better mood than when I started listening to them. “Big Engagement” brings us into the life of someone who seems terrified to ask his partner to marry him but escalates over that fear jump into the next step of his life, and quite frankly, what I suspect is going to be a pretty great album that comes out later this year.

As always, let me know what’s stuck in your head by emailing me at humundertheel@gmail.com.

As always: Be cool, don’t be too hard on yourself no matter how late your newsletter is because you had too many Miller Lites during the Counterparts show in Philly on Sunday and Monday morning was rough to say the least…, and go birds.

-Dan

P.S. I promise that next week’s newsletter is out on time, on Monday, March 3…unless I have too much fun at Comeback Kid the day before.

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Going to local punk shows in high school for me meant hear

ing four out of five bands perform a cover of “Astro Zombies” by The Misfits. That is likely the reason I never tried to get into nor cared for The Misfits—although Astro Zombies was the first song I played on the bus home on Fridays on whatever version of an MP3 player I had before getting an iPod.

So after spending years disliking any and all covers, I’ve come around on them. But I need something unique about the cover. There’s something about “Do I Wanna Know?” by The Arctic Monkeys that lends itself to other artists creating wildly unique versions of the song that quite frankly change the tone of the original itself.

For example, Chvrches cover

of “Do I Wanna Know?” almost inspires optimism on behalf of the song’s protagonist. Moving deeply in the other direction, Hozior’s rendition of the song feels like a song of mourning and is even sadder than the original.

I wonder what the folks in The Arctic Monkeys think of their song being so coverable? Surely Glenn Danzig and the Misfits would be pissed if someone changed the tone of “Astro Zombies.”

Get It Out Of My Head

Make sure to follow the “Get it Out of My Head” playlist featuring every song that gets stuck in my head throughout the year on Spotify! I’ll be adding to it every week before this email goes out.

HUTE: Get It Out Of My Head Playlist

“Tilt” by In Flames: Sure, the real metal heads will tell me to listen to one of their 1,000 other songs. But something about “Tilt” resonates with me. For no particular reason, this song was stuck in my head during the entirety of my first semester away at college. I listened to a lot more metal back then, and this was by no means the heaviest song I was listening to–Deflorate by the Black Dahlia Murder had just come out and that was an everyday listen for about a month straight. But I digress, In Flames has consistently put out incredible music walking the thin line between heavy and, more recently, radio-friendly rock.

“Threadbare” and “Still Around” by Mineral King: Wow, two weeks in a row where I can’t decide on which song by the same band to include in this playlist. Indie rock didn’t catch my soul like punk did when I was in highschool and college, but I’m opening up a little bit to it on my 30s as I’m actively working to be less angry and both of these songs, while a tad sad, somewhat inspiring.

“INMYFEELINGS” by Hungover: An interesting combination of emo lyrics, big amphitheater energy, with just a touch of synth work. This song sounds like the band is playing to an audience of 1,000, and that’s just the recorded version of it.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Winona Fighter’s new record My Apologies to the Chef which came out last week. 10 out of 10 album; and if you’re not listening to it, you’re messing up.

This week’s newsletter is a tad shorter than it usually is. I had a bit of writer’s block and a long weekend never helps me. I’ll be back next week. As always, email me at humunderthel@gmail.com to tell me which bands I should be listening to and what shows are coming up that I can’t miss. Turns out, I’m already going to a million concerts this year that I forgot about until the time of publishing.

If your band or folks you know in a band want to be highlighted and do a brief Q&A for the newsletter please reach out. I’d love to talk to more musicians.

Stay happy, be your own biggest fan, and go birds,

Dan

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For a while I’ve been interested in why some of the biggest bands in punk and pop-punk–from 2010 to now–come from the greater Northeast corridor of the United States. Are we sadder or more angry than the rest of the country here? Is the changing of the seasons we enjoy in this part of the country an ingredient for angst and poetic lyrics?

Growing up, I had the opportunity to see The Menzingers, The Wonder Years, Title Fight, Tigers Jaws, Daylight (now Superheaven) among several other bands at a local VFW or a YMCA who would go on to headline large rock venues as headliners. Later, Modern Baseball would become the darlings of Philadelphia emo (though I never got to see them in a YMCA).

And when leaving Pennsylvania and bringing New Jersey, New York and New England into the fold, you’ll find some of the biggest bands of the last 20 years: Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance, Midtown, and Anxious. You may not have heard of Anxious yet, but trust me, you will.

The geography brought me wondering why does this area pump out bands of this caliber? To answer this question, I had my friend and writer for New Noise Magazine jump on a Zoom call to answer the question: Are we sadder than the rest of the country?

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Humming Under The El: Is the Northeast of the U.S. sadder than the rest of the country? And if so, is that why we’re pumping out some of the top names in pop-punk and emo?

Ryan Curtiss: When you ask “why the Northeast”? I think it’s two-fold: One, music for us up here is a little different for us. I’ll give you my working theory. I’ve seen Coheed and Cambria hundreds of times. I got to see them in New Orleans and people don’t move down there. They just stand still and watch it. The second thing, specifically for the genres we’re talking about, a lot of bands from up here had a tonal shift in the 2010s. The Wonder Years is one of the bands who did that. In pop-punk they all kind of wrote about the same thing–it was heartbreak, it was some whiney guy who was the lead singer. The tone has changed and it’s become more of a serious genre. We can talk about things that matter, not your heartbreak in fourth grade. You’re 45; get over it.

HUTE: You’re seeing that in the genre a lot more. Specifically, with Spanish Love Songs (although not Northeast) they’re constantly talking about being poor and in debt.

RC: I think SLS is very influenced by bands like The Wonder Years and Title Fight. I also think anywhere there’s a harsher climate you get better music.

HUTE: I also wonder how local scenes impact the kind of music coming out. I know years and years ago I was able to see bands like Title Fight, The Wonder Years and The Menzingers at VFWs or a YMCA in Bucks County. Does that kind of a scene really exist in other places?

RC: I think it depends on genres too. If you go across the country to different places like Atlanta, they’re rap scene is huge. But you’re probably not getting a ton of punk or pop punk. But if you head over to Chicago, they’re punk scene is booming. You have bands like The Lawrence Arms and Sincere Engineer. Across the country, the pockets that for us would be more hardcore or punk, you’re going to see other genres fill that in from the local scene.

There it is, folks cold weather and genre defining bands in your local music scene make the best music. Outside of writing for New Noise Magazine, Ryan is the owner of Over Caffeinated Records, and has a podcast called “Get Into It.”

I’d like to do a lot more Q&A’s and brief interviews like this. If you’re a music writer, a band, or a long time fan of music and just want to talk, email me at humundertheel@gmail.com.

Get It Out of My Head

Make sure to follow the “Get it Out of My Head” playlist featuring every song that gets stuck in my head throughout the year on Spotify! I’ll be adding to it every week before this email goes out.

HUTE: Get It Out Of My Head Playlist

“If You’re Lonely” and “Needs” by Citizen: In a HUTE first, two songs by the same band on the same album are making it to the playlist. Coming off of the album Calling the Dogs, Citizen stretched their indie rock muscles on this record. With few exceptions, I’m not an indie rock guy. But something about the ways these songs are constructed (along with the record as a whole) scratches whatever itches in my brain secretly craves anything that sort of sounds like The Strokes from 2007.

“Someone Who Can” by Coheed & Cambria: I am, at best, a fair-weather Coheed & Cambria fan. I was once berated on Facebook for mentioning that The Color Before the Sun–the band’s one non-concept album–was my favorite of their collection. I stand by that opinion. That said, the prog rock outfit’s poppier songs always make me happier than some of their longer and more progressive songs (e.g., “The Suffering” and “Blood Red Summer”). So their first single on their forthcoming record “Someone Who Can” is the perfect radio-friendly hit that will get me into the rest of the album, regardless of how many time signature changes they go through on some of their longer songs.

“Count Your Bruises” by The Flatliners: Who here remembers The Flatliners. At one point in my life, I listened to the song above nearly three times a day and stuck with every new release they put out until about 2017. “Count Your Bruises,” a pretty positive song good for someone on their self-help journey, jumped into the algorithm while I was working out and now it’s back into a three-times daily rotation for the foreseeable future.

“A Martyr Left Alive” by Counterparts: Full disclosure: I’m going to see Counterparts in two weeks and have been buzzing about this show since the tour was announced. Their surprise EP Heaven Let Them Die, is in my opinion, the heaviest record they have ever put out. However, created in a way that progresses their sound without losing the signature sound that has led Counterparts to be one of the best semi-melodic hardcore bands working today.

Honorable Mention: I know there’s a lot this week. However, I’d be wrong to say that the second album from L.S. Dunes, Violet (released last week) is very solid and I’m hoping they go on a headlining tour in 2025 so I can see them play these bangers. (Not on the playlist but you should check this album out.)

As always, let me know if you have any songs to recommend or bands to listen to. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t give my friend and comedian Danny Getz a shoutout for the new logo you saw at the top of this newsletter.

Email me your thoughts at humundertheel@gmail.com.

Go Birds,

Dan

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