Live Shows: Poison Ruin and Peace Talks, The Stone Church, Brattleboro, VT 4/15/26

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Poison Ruin have released one of the most intriguing punk/metal albums of the year with Hymns from the Hills. Lots of bands blur the lines between punk and metal, but no one does it quite like them. Their tour has brought them to a few venues around New England, and considering how much I love The Stone Church in Brattleboro, VT but rarely get there, that was the date I chose to check out.

Poison Ruin are an absolute beast live. It's loud, it's heavy, and it's great. Just pure, no nonsense punk mixed with metal. They play shred heavy rock without being overly showy. What's truly great about Poison Ruin's music, and in turn their live show, is how diverse their sound can be. Some songs are more punk, some are more metal, and some had an undeniable groove that leaned into funk. This is the kind of band that attracts hipsters in ironic mullets and metalheads in unironic mullets. And both crowds make complete sense at a Poison Ruin show, and both had a great time. It was the kind of set that slowly drew everyone in the audience closer to the stage as it went on. This was a solid set, and we can't recommend a Poison Ruin show enough.

Opening the show was Peace Talks from Pittsburgh. I usually check out an opening band's music before the show, but didn't get around to it for Peace Talks. Their set was mind-blowing. It was heavy and fast hardcore punk with lots of screaming and riffage. It might have been the perfect pairing for Poison Ruin, as both bands blur the lines between metal and punk. Their set woke up the crowd and got a decent little pit going, and they quickly converted the entire venue into brand new fans. I only wish the vocals were a bit louder in the mix as they were drowned out a few times.

On Repeat...

Rocket - "Wide Awake"

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Photo by Tanner Deutsch Rocket have been making 90's inspired alt-rock, but their latest single ups the ante on that sound. "Wide Awake" is a mixture of shoegaze fuzz and the more jagged style of guitars that made me love Sonic Youth. Singer/bassist Alithea Tuttle's vocals have a dreamlike quality suited to dream pop or shoegaze, which contrasts delightfully with the more aggressive parts of the song. Despite not truly sounding like a song made in the 90's, "Wide Awake" has so many elements of that decade to give you little bursts of nostalgia. Plus, the video for the song is like a cross between Blur's "Charmless Man" and Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)," in case you need a little more nostalgia thrown in. Rocket say of their new single: “R is for Rocket is about relationships, the most important part of life; relationships with your friends, your parents, your girlfriend or boyfriend, and most impo...
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Yawn Mower - "Rascal"

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Photo by Mary Dorsi Asbury Park's Yawn Mower had two goals for their upcoming album. First, after playing their hometown's Sea.Hear.Now festival, they wanted to write songs that worked on a larger stage. Second, they wanted the album to be their Pinkerton , "A raw, rough around the edges, noisier follow up to [their] debut album." The first song from that album is "Rascal," a song partly about the kids of their friends and family. It's a fun track that includes lines like "Here he comes now what a little asshole." It's a quirky and noisy indie rock track that reminds me of an edgier Fountains of Wayne. As anti-kid as the song may seem, you can tell it's not done seriously and there is a ton of love behind the track. Vocalist/guitarist Mike Chick says of the band's upcoming album: “While Dana Yurcisin (bass), Rudy Meier (guitar),  and Nicole Scorsone (violin) have certainly helped fill out past releases, this was the first time that ...
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Mei Semones - "I can do what I want"

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Photo by Alex Hirata Brooklyn's Mei Semones has one of the most unique sounds in modern music, and her latest single showcases that strongly. "I can do what I want" starts off as an acoustic singer-songwriter track, and then slowly evolves into multiple genres, with multiple genres happening at the same time. There are elements of indie rock, jazz, and rock throughout, all with a theatrical flair. The styles of the song seem to meander it at will, crafted into this mind-blowing song that edges strongly into the world of pop. But if "I can do what I want" is primarily a pop song, this is one of the most fascinating versions of pop we've heard in years. Mei Semones is the type of artist that seems to be daring you to not become enamored with her music. Mei Semones says of her latest single: “‘I can do what I want’ is one of the most high-energy songs on the album, as well as one of the most challenging songs to play. Lyrically the song is centered around doing...
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