News

Mainframe return with a catchy new, most definitely relevant, new song titled “Lockdown”. The band and IVM have released the song through IVM bandcamp right here (For Free) and it’ll be on all digital networks next Friday! It’s an exciting representation of the band, their message, and their experiences living here in the states during our very chaotic times. It’s got a great message and showcases their more punk rock n’ roll sound. Follow them on Facebook here and Instagram: @mainframepunk . Listen to the song, below.… Continued →

Adam Lohrbach who was a founding member and vocalist for So. Cal. pop-punk band – Home Grown, returns with a deeply personal new pop-punk project titled RadicalRadical. You can learn more at this link here and listen to some studio cuts of NEW songs that’ll be released on his debut album which is out this year. If these song samples are any indication of what’s to come on this debut recording, we are in for one heck of a surprise and quite possibly one of the BEST pop-punk albums of 2021!… Continued →

Chicago area based Hardcore band – 2Minute Minor, return with a very special benefit album, “Back In Our Day”, featuring a ton of classic Cartoon and TV show theme songs done in the band’s classic hardcore style. Songs from classic shows like Ducktales, Thundercats, Veggie Tales, The Jeffersons, Reading Rainbow, Mr Rogers, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and more. All proceeds raised will be donated to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Order physical merch here. Check out the band’s version of The Jefferson’s theme song, below.… Continued →

Punk rock developed somewhere in the 1970s when what had essentially been garage rock bands got louder, snarlier, and started playing shorter, faster songs. While critics argue about the official beginning of the genre (is proto-punk still punk?), it was fully fledged in the late 70s, and had already started giving way to what would become two new genres. New Wave was the poppier extension of punk (that would further develop into synth-pop and electronica). Post-punk was the darker, more introspective branch that would eventually give birth to goth and alternative rock.… Continued →

Craig’s Brother will return this year with their 4th full length release following last year’s “Devils In The Details” EP. After the 5 songs released last year especially the single “Follow Your Heart”, you just know that this collection of songs will be nothing short of extraordinary. Click here to contribute to this new album campaign and help them finish it up. Celebrate 25 year years of legendary melodic punk rock from California’s own, Craig’s Brother. CB for life!… Continued →

Listen: Amazon Music | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Lyrics:… Continued →

Edit: Five Iron Frenzy themselves have posted updated lyrics with corrections made, click here. Also, I left out info on “So We Sing” which is a catchy song in it’s own right but I didn’t mention because it was the first single released a few months back and I assumed most had heard it. Carry on…. Five Iron Frenzy surprised just about everyone by dropping their brand new, electrifying full length album on Friday. It is a complete, total dumpster fire wreck of an album and filled with nothing but pure feces.… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• Amongst Wolves – Voices
• Ben S Dixon – Born Unto Us
• Chase Tremaine – Developments
• Demon Hunter – Demon Hunter – I Will Fail You / Dead Flowers (Resurrected)
• Fire from Heaven – The Evil Wolf Chronicles
• Five Iron Frenzy – Until This Shakes Apart
• Heliocentric – Ishmael
• Seventh Day Slumber – Unseen: The Lion And The Lamb (Deluxe Edition)
• Valleyheart – T.I.K.

Pop & CCM

• Adam Lamb – It Had to Happen
• Alive City – Lay ‘Em Down (Acoustic Version)
• Armor Amor – Hold My Heart
• Apollo LTD – Acoustic Sessions (EP)
• Audrey Assad – Eden (Live)
• CAIN – Rise Up (Lazarus)
• Crowder – Good God Almighty
• Freedom Heart – Break Through
• Futures – Just So Good
• Haiva Ru – Oh, But Lover
• Joel Vaughn – Details
• Lazuli – HELMET OF HOPE
• Matthew Parker – Anyone
• Sarah Nathalié – 838
• Terrian – Genesis of Terrian (EP)
• Vaughn Owens – In The Middle

Electronic

• Freeg, Simon Miles, Exxoulls – All the Time
• Jaisua – Hero (EP)
• Ruth Lee Resuello, Bro Justin – Only Reason I’m Alive
• Swedish Revolution, LoudWorship – Ludicrous Mode

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• Benjamin Krogh – Ghost That Haunts
• Charlie Peacock – Skin and Wind
• The Dailys – The Dailys (EP)
• Josh Garrels – His Wings
• Teressa Mahoney – Good Good

Hip Hop & R&B

• Angie Rose– Unstoppable
• Ayomilly – Unstoppable
• Benxiah – Myself Different
• Caleb Gordon – Furnace
• Chris Elijah – Steppin’
• Crowns Down – Who Am I?

… Continued →

Remember when hardcore was still exciting? Fast loud rules! While hardcore can still be interesting, I find the monotony of some in the genre to be irritating. Here’s the formula: melodic leads, heavy use of breakdowns, some clean singing somewhere, and just enough tempo changes to give the appearance of being innovative. Okay, I’ll stop. I sound as old and jaded as I actually am. I still love the heavy music scene, and hardcore in particular. I just hate the fact that it’s getting harder and harder to tell the bands apart from one another (especially metalcore and deathcore).… Continued →

One of my favorite 00’s pop-punk/melodic punk acts – Too Bad Eugene, returns this year with new music. While we await such a magnificent return by Adam Nigh and company, the band has just put up the now classic year 2000 full length, “At Any Rate”, for download and streaming on all digital networks. For the first time in over 20 years you’ll finally be able to listen to this album I’ve been raving about ever since it’s release on CD 20 years ago.… Continued →

Listen: Amazon Music | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Lyrics:… Continued →

Danen Kane is one of a handful of local Wisconsin artists I care about, and in terms of local faith-based artists, he’s top-tier. He models humility and humor. He write complex songs that don’t mask his faith one bit. Today’s song is one of his best, quickly demolishing the singer-songwriter label and quickly moving into anthemic indie. It’s no mystery why he’s become a favorite act in the Fox Valley. … Continued →

Rock & Metal

• 4th Point – Right Wrong
• Chase Tremaine – Q2FN
• Fallstar – The Prism Glass
• Light45 – The Medic
• Love and Death – White Flag
• Pantokrator – We the People
• Reclaimers – Say What You Will

Pop & CCM

• Amanda Danziger – Intercede
• Andrew Ripp – Jericho (Acoustic)
• Chris Renzema – Let The Ground Rest B-Sides (EP)
• The Colour Negative – Good Year
• Cristabelle Braden – Growing (Pop Version)
• Danny Gokey – New Day (Radio Version)
• Eleni Baker – More Than a Million (EP)
• Ginny Owens – Shine Again (Stripped Mix)
• Jared Marc – What I’m Good At
• Joel Vaughn – Louder Than The Lies
• Josh Sellers – The Way It Seems
• Petey Martin, Lauren Daigle – Come Back Home
• Philip Shibata – Sad World
• Nathan Kitner, Lily Grant – I’d Follow You Anywhere
• Scott Riggan – Don’t You Lose Heart (Beautiful and Terrible)
• Trampolines – No One Loves Like You
• Twilight Meadow – Dust
• We The Kingdom – Holy Water (Deluxe)

Electronic

• Bryson Price, Mikesh!ft

… Continued →

Glam metal gets a bad rap. Especially in punk/indie/hardcore circles. Except for the occasional semi-ironic nod to the genre, it doesn’t get much love outside of 40- and 50-something dads who like to show off old photos of their teenage mullets. Whether the cheesyness or the sleaziness is to blame, folks seem to have a love-hate relationship with it. Occasionally, however, there are some real gems. Rage of Angels released one fantastic album in 1989 through Regency Records. Shortly thereafter, the Connecticut-based band split up, leaving 2 members to join the newly-formed mainstream pop metal outfit Steelheart, who had huge radio hits with “She’s Gone” and “I’ll Never Let You Go.”… Continued →

Indie-Emo-Punk band, The August Guns, return with their best song yet. This too has just been released in the new year. I think many of you are going to dig this. Check out the song below and follow the band here. … Continued →

At The Wayside return after a long 3 year wait with BRAND NEW MUSIC! That’s right, the band just dropped their new single titled “My Denial” which will be the first song released from their upcoming independent EP that is due out this winter. Check out the song below and make sure to follow the band on social media. … Continued →

Rock & Metal

• Arson – In too deep
• At The Wayside – My Denial
• Atlas and the Attic – Gold
• The August Guns – Be Not Burned Up
• Convent Bonfires – Shaky Hands
• Remedy Drive – Dragons
• WeAreGeneration – Photographic Memory
• Zahna – Look What You Made Me Do

Pop & CCM

• Allan Scott – Hold It All
• Anna Waters – Walkin on the Water
• Apollo LTD, Social Club Misfits – Good Day (feat. Social Club Misfits)
• Bre Reed – From the Start
• Brian Weaver – Bulletproof
• Charlie Peacock – When You Move Me
• The Colour Negative – Good Year
• Courtnie Ramirez – The Blackbird Sessions (EP)
• for KING & COUNTRY, Hannah Ellis, Jackson Michelson – TOGETHER (The Country Collaboration)
• DC Talk – Jesus Freak (Owl City Remix)
• Grace Graber – In My Head (EP)
• JJ Heller – I Believe in You
• Jon Webster – Lovesick
• Mandisa – Breakthrough
• Nfgn – Year 2020
• Xander Sallows, Sam Bowman – Daydream
• Tauren Wells – All God’s Children

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• The Altar Billies – The Ballad of Ol’ Luce
• The Altar Billies – Great Big Rollin’ Big Boy
• The Altar Billies – Virginia Truckee Line
• The Bowery – Mountains & Valleys
• Brooks Ritter – Ghosts Come to Life (EP)
• Charlie Peacock – Holding On and Letting Go
• More Than Rubies – Walking Through Fire
• Nathan Kitner, Lily Grant – Nothing Sweeter, Nothing Stronger
• Stephanie Quick – Redwood
• Zan Fiskum – You Are The Light

Hip Hop & R&B

• AyeItsAron – Strt Frsh
• Bold Noize – Goslow
• B-Shock, Roy Nova – Confetti (EP)
• Daniel Wayne – As I Am
• Joey Vantes – Legend (EP)
• Josiah Lowe, Xay Hill – DRIP.

… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• A Secret Ending – Deliverance (EP)
• Evans and Stokes – Diary of the Damned
• Killdevil Theory – Brotherhood

Pop & CCM

• Stephen Miller – Forever by My Side

Electronic

• Bryson Price, Mikesh!ft – Victory

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• Charlie Peacock – Faith, Hope & Love
• Charlie Peacock – Freedom Come Tonight
• hadassa morais – homesick for somewhere i’ve never been

Hip Hop & R&B

• CS LIT – Deleted 4
• Davis Absolute, Oh-So – Still Snowing
• Living Scars – O Holy Night
• Mouthpi3ce – No Delay (EP)
• Mr Del – MD 2020: Soulside
• Paradox, ReFlex the Architect – Freedom (EP)
• Saint Jones – I’d Rather Be Hot (EP)
• Tylynn – Sown 
• Uknowfro – Street Preacher 3

Worship & Gospel

• Iwan & Rebekka Sahertian – Your Kingdom come
• Poor Bishop Hooper – Psalm 53
• Ramp Worship – I See an Open Door
• Relion – Gospel (Our God Be Praised)
• Theunis Pretorius – Only One Thing

Other

• Charlie Peacock – See for Miles
• Charlie Peacock – Surprised Me Too
• Charlie Peacock – Your Stardust Kiss

Christmas

• C3 NYC – A Christmas Story (Live) (EP)
• The Crossing Music – Light in the Night
• DaySpring Worship – Our Emmanuel
• Emmanuel Worship – Angels
• Former Ruins – Fruit of Winter (EP)
• Hope Music – O Holy Night
• I.AM

… Continued →

Going way back into the vaults of IVM history a few of you might recall a female led indie pop-rock band called One Star Story. They had news and reviews on this site as well as appeared on multiple compilations. I just got a blast from the past when Vanessa (Rose) emailed me about her new project after more than 6 years away from making music. She was vocalist for One Star Story and now goes by the name of “Vanessa From Maine” on digital networks/streaming sites.… Continued →

Despite all the despair, hopelessness, fear, anxiety, death, destruction, and uncertainty that 2020 has thrown at us, we have all taken solace in our music and found hope through it. We are carried through the pain with messages of inspiration, songs of motivation, and songs that just plain electrified our souls. The following is a collection of albums, eps, and songs that were meaningful to me in 2020. Not all of the releases listed below are “Christian” but most of them rocked me to my core!… Continued →

So, it’s New Year’s Day. 2020 is a recently faded memory, but with the obvious enduring repercussions. Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Or affirmations, or commitments, or whatever else people are calling them nowadays? My wife (who is an artist) loves the New Year holiday. She sees it as a blank slate. A new chance to start over. Erase all the marks from the chalkboard (remember those?) or the whiteboard, or your Zoom screen and go again, taking all you’ve learned to try and do it better next time.… Continued →

I was going to write a little intro to this list of mine, but in the end I figured I’d just let it speak for itself. Alot of great music dropped despite all the year brought us and these are my top 20. Let me know what you think!     20. Everything In Slow Motion – “Influence”. (Rock/Hard Rock) Released 10/16/20 on Facedown Records. Influence was the band’s first release since the 2016 ep, Laid Low. While it didn’t feel like a whole lot of new ground was covered, that is a good thing, especially considering their sound.… Continued →

Abel had a good run on both Come & Live and Facedown’s indie imprint before releasing Make It Right independently. It was a fitting final album, seeing the band in their rawest form. “Fifteen Years” is a highlight track, one of urgency, pain, and longing paired with fear and remorse as seen through the eyes of a beggar. In its simplest form, it’s a reality for the urban homeless; in its deepest sentiments, it’s a parable akin to the woman at the well. … Continued →

Merry Christmas friends and readers. We made it! Can you believe that after all the chaos, death and destruction, and utter disappointment that 2020 is now classified as, that somehow we made it to a beautiful day like Christmas? We are reminded of our Savior’s Birth and the promise of redemption that would come through his death and resurrection. 2020 may suck royally but at least we all have each other, our families, our love, and God up above. Despite what has happened this year, it has been a teachable moment in time and we are reminded of not only our importance as believers living here on this Earth, but the whole reason for the season (sorry for the cliche reference, it is important).… Continued →

Former Ruins has released a surprise Christmas EP (technically some brief notice was given). Noah has covered a lot of Christmas releases already, so you might feel a bit overwhelmed. Further, the timing may seem inopportune. After all, today is Christmas, isn’t it? You’ve got better things to do than listen to music, and then you’ll shelve this for next year. But these are not your typical Christmas songs – they speak to the season of Christmas on the church calendar. They’re for today and beyond.… Continued →

First things first–merry Christmas everyone! It’s been a challenging year, and many of us are ready to see the back of it. I always post my Song of the Day picks on Friday, so I was pleased to the lucky draw for Christmas Day! Of course, it had to be a Christmas song, and there are lots of good ones to choose from, even from our niche scene. For those unfamiliar with Adam Again, they have deep roots in the Christian music scene. They started out in the California scene of the 1980s through Broken Records and later Brainstorm Artists.… Continued →

Florida-based Wind Words has returned with his newest project, Minor Prophets, a collection of spoken word meditations. These Scripture-driven pieces recount the narratives of both popular and overlooked biblical accounts. This is a bit of a diversion from his debut, Digging Up Earth, but it carries the same level of passion. Minor Prophets by Wind Words… Continued →

Initially, this was one of my least-favorite tracks on the albums – but it’s a beautiful, Gospel-tinged track full of Scripture under a veneer of soulful piano.  … Continued →

Rock & Metal

• Bride – Here Is Your God
• Chase Tremaine – Fear Not Want
• Fallstar – Waiting
• Messenger – In to Win
• Northern Flame – Twisted Reality
• Steve Taylor & the Danielson Foil – Ecstatic Delight
• Then It Ends – Kingdom (Alternative Version)
• Words – Trees (Live) (EP)

Pop & CCM

• Chris August – Ghost
• Conrad – Hidden Places
• Crossroads Music – Come In From The Cold
• Darla Baltazar – Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
• Eniola Abioye – MARBLED MOSAIC.
• John Ward – Graves and Graces
• Jordan Feliz – Say It
• Josh Sellers – Far Away
• Lovelite – Mmxx (EP)
• Mike Donehey – Better
• Stephen Stanley – No Hopeless Soul
• walk in love.

… Continued →

Indie rock/Post hardcore act Yours For Mine release new song! FFO: Meadows, Eaves, and Idle Threat.