Chicago quartet Wolf Rd have been hometown heroes right from the start of their career, and when they celebrated the launch of their 2019 debut EP, ‘Nowhere Around You’, the show was sold out.
Wolf Rd are still releasing singles from the EP, complete with music videos, along with high energy performances in the Chicago area, which have seen them share the stage with national touring acts, and ensuring their position as one of the Windy City’s most loved local bands.
Made up from Chris Hoffmann (vocals), Nick Hoffmann (drums/additional instrumentation), Geoffrey Duckmann (guitar), and Devin Stone (bass), Wolf Rd blend the signature anthemic melodies and passion of pop-punk instrumentation more familiar to fans of metal; suffice to say they’ve created a sound that is both unique and genre-inclusive. They’ve drawn comparisons with All Time Low, and State Champs, for their harmonic vocals, while their energy sees them likened to Neck Deep, and their raw emotion calls to mind that of their Chicago compadres, Knuckle Puck, and Real Friends. Wolf Rd’s cathartic songs are ideal to get those feelings out, no matter where you’re screaming the lyrics – whether that be the basement of a local club, or through your speakers or headphones at home.
‘As Good As It Gets’, from their new EP, ‘Counterpoint’, shows fans a more mellow, delicate side of the band. Produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Roye Robley, the track features acoustic guitars, and sweet harmonies, as well as a guest vocal from Sylvia Mendez. Explaining that break-up songs don’t have to be nasty or violent in order to share the pain, Chris Hoffmann says,
“One thing that was really important to me was that I didn’t want this song to be one-sided. I’m far from perfect, and when things fall apart, both sides usually share some of the blame.”
The video for ‘As Good As It Gets’ starts with the aftermath of a birthday party. A “Happy Birthday Bartley,” banner proclaims its intent, along with torn streamers and empty beer bottles, casually strewn around a backyard. The scenes of the clip perform as a metaphor for the rollercoaster relationship outlined in the song; we see both sides, from the sweet, intimate moments to the heated arguments and the dramatic end. But the memories – just like the remnants of a party, are still there to haunt you.
Watch the clip for ‘As Good As It Gets’ below, and find out more about Wolf Rd and their music online, by checking out their official website.
Harry Styles‘ third solo studio album is debuting at midnight local time globally on Friday (May 20), which means that numerous countries are already jamming out to the long-awaited new music. So far, the record reached No. 1 on iTunes in Australia, Taiwan, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, New Zealand and Vietnam.
One fan confirmed what fans were expecting, “I’m proud to say that Harry’s House is a zero skip album.” Another added, “You don’t even need to hear it twice to say Harry’s House is his best album.”
One of the standout tracks is “Matilda,” which has fans crying, sobbing and weeping. A number of fans pointed out the stark transition between “Matilda” to “Cinema.”
Another fan had a particularly hilarious theory that Styles named his song “Falling” so when people search “Harry Styles falling,” it wouldn’t be of video montages of him falling on the ground. They noted that when people search “Harry Styles house” the internet search results would first display his album instead of his home address.
See some of the best social media reactions to Harry’s House, below.
Check Out the Bestselling Album From the Year You Graduated High School
Do you remember the top album from the year you graduated high school? Stacker analyzed Billboard data to determine just that, looking at the best-selling album from every year going all the way back to 1956. Sales data is included only from 1992 onward when Nielsen’s SoundScan began gathering computerized figures.
Going in chronological order from 1956 to 2020, we present the best-selling album from the year you graduated high school.
Harry Styles revealed the real inspiration behind his upcoming song, “Daylight.”
The “As It Was” hitmaker confirmed that the forthcoming track is not about his ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift, who he dated in 2012. People believed that the song as it shares the same title as Swift’s release on her seventh studio album, Lover, which was released back in 2019.
During a recent interview with Howard Stern to promote his upcoming album Harry’s House, the radio host questioned if the song was indeed about the “22” singer.
“You’re reading too much into it. You know I’d love to tell you you’re spot-on, but I can’t. We will always wonder,” Styles confessed. The song is about a love who blew Styles off despite his attempts at gaining her affection. Styles described it as a specific woman who did not respond in the way that he thought she would which left him frustrated.
Styles revealed that he wrote the song, which has become one of his personal favorites, during a late-night “stream of consciousness” moment in the recording studio. Despite everyone being ready to call it a night and go to bed, he managed to stay up to finish the song as it would not have been the same if they waited until the morning.
“‘We have to find a way to finish this now,’” he recalled thinking at the time. Styles and his collaborators ended up staying up all night to finish it and ended up watching the sunrise on a local beach.
Harry’s House arrives at midnight local time on Friday (May 20).
Best Albums of 2021
From K-pop to R&B and everywhere in between, these are PopCrush’s 25 favorite albums, EPs and mixtapes of 2021.
Alanis Morissette has been in the music industry for three decades. She knows the struggle every young artist goes through and loves nothing more than finding ways to give back. Specifically, Morissette wants to send some goodwill Olivia Rodrigo’s way in the form of a “tour survival kit.”
For the record, Morissette loves Rodrigo’s music, telling Kelly Clarkson when she first heard one of her songs, she thought to herself, “I’m 40 and I’m really into this!” Clarkson then compared the two artists, “I feel like y’all are very similar… you’re different, but I thought, ‘man, she had to have been, like, influenced by you a bit.”
Morissette must feel that connection too, as she met with Rodrigo last year to discuss life as a young artist in the music industry, telling her she wished to, “have had a few more friends around me, period. Just a little bit more emotional support, someone where you could vent with them and process with them.”
Back to her chat with Clarkson, Morissette was asked about the “tour survival kit” she promised Rodrigo, “She mentioned she was going on the road and hadn’t done that a lot and I just thought, you’re either kind of a road dog or you’re not. And I think that those of us who are road dogs we have little tricks up our sleeve of what to bring to survive for self-care.”
Morissette was coy about items she would include in such a kit, but with any luck, Rodrigo will find out soon. A promise made should always be a promise kept.