The Front Bottoms get experimental in their latest album "You Are Who You Hang Out With"
Photo via Instagram.
The Front Bottoms embrace the final few months of the year with their brand new album "You Are Who You Hang Out With" as they commemorate the tenth anniversary of their first album "The Talon of the Hawk" in the same year. With tracks that allude back to their textured style that has been so popular in the last decade, the pair delivers yet another unparalleled album.
The opening song, "Emotional", is so shocking at face value. The autotune, the electric guitar, and the background chanting all have a powerful effect, and are striking for the beginning of the album. It's not surprising that the Front Bottoms have such an avant-garde and experimental sound from the start, the group is known for always switching up their musical style, with every album having separate overarching themes, and it's a trait that is so engaging for listeners.
Although this song has an unexpected sound, lyrically it's nothing new for lead singer, Brian Sella, who has curated the niche yet straightforward lyrics– something that has always made the group so distinctive and given the band a unique identity.
The most traditional song of the batch, "Batman", has perky guitar riffs that flow into a passionate drumming. If you are looking for something to bring you back into the feeling of 2013, it's this song. It's a reflection of the albums title, being chanted over and over, and the added drums from Mathew Uychich are the perfect flare for the track.
Singles “Punching Bag” and “Outlook”, and “Finding Your Way Home”, are influenced by the more refined modern sound that the group has been gravitating toward.
“Outlook” is their first single released from this album, as well as their first release since early 2022. The duo take their notable combination of lyricism and storytelling to carve this track into what it is at its core: a love story. They formed an easily recognizable melody with the guitar loop and backing drums, and Sella delivers an incredible vocal performance.
"Punching Bag" in particular gives the album a more contemporary indie feel, with the acoustic guitar making it ideal for the opening credits of a coming-of-age movie. "Why don't you put your boxing gloves on/ and punch your punching bag?" may seem like strange advice for dealing with emotions on the surface, but Sella is reiterating that expressing rage physically is the only effective way to clear the air.
The song has a universe of possibilities thanks to the Sella-directed and produced music video, which is literally stacked full of alternative-reality images. It is always interesting to watch how a musician interprets their song into a visual medium.
Folk-punk coupled with Midwest emo is such a niche genre, but the Front Bottoms have found a way to keep it consistently experimental and are executing it seamlessly on “You Are Who You Hang Out With”.
A kickoff concert is underway at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre for the album’s release party, and the rest of the “You Are Who You Hang Out With” North American tour has already started with dates all the way into November, with openers Kevin Devine, Vundabar, and Slothrust.
THE FRONT BOTTOMS — 2023 LIVE DATES
8/1 – 8/16: YOU ARE WHO YOU HANG OUT WITH TOUR – PART 1 WITH SPECIAL GUESTS KEVIN DEVINE & THE GODDAMN BAND
9/15 – 10/1: YOU ARE WHO YOU HANG OUT WITH TOUR – PART 2 WITH SPECIAL GUESTS VUNDABAR
10/20 – 11/11: YOU ARE WHO YOU HANG OUT WITH TOUR – PART 3 WITH SPECIAL GUESTS SLOTHRUST
8/4 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre*
8/5 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex
8/7 Portland, OR Grand Lodge
8/8 Seattle, WA The Paramount
8/10 Berkley, CA UC Theatre
8/11 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
8/12 Los Angeles, CA The NoVo
8/16 Honolulu, HI republik^
9/15 Montreal, QC MTelus
9/16 Toronto, ON HISTORY
9/17 Detroit, MI Masonic Temple Theatre
9/19 Columbus, OH KEMBA LIVE!
9/20 Milwaukee WI The Rave
9/22 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
9/23 Indianapolis, IN Old National Centre
9/24 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
9/26 Cleveland, OH Agora Theatre
9/28 Boston, MA Roadrunner
9/29 Boston, MA Roadrunner
9/30 Philadelphia, PA Franklin Music Hall
10/1 Philadelphia, PA Franklin Music Hall
10/20 San Diego, CA OMA
10/21 Las Vegas, NV When We Were Young – Las Vegas Festival Grounds #
10/22 Las Vegas, NV When We Were Young – Las Vegas Festival Grounds #
10/24 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
10/25 Albuquerque, NM El Rey Theatre
10/27 Oklahoma City, OK Diamond Ballroom
10/28 Austin, TX ACL Live (Moody Theater)
10/29 Dallas, TX The Factory Deep Ellum
10/31 Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works
11/2 Birmingham, AL Iron City
11/3 St. Augustine, FL St. Augustine Amphitheatre
11/4 Atlanta, GA The Eastern
11/5 Columbia, SC The Senate
11/7 Raleigh, NC The Ritz Raleigh
11/8 Silver Spring, MD Filmore Silver Spring
11/10 New York, NY Terminal 5
11/11 New York, NY Terminal 5
# Festival Date
* Album Release Show with Say Anything
^ No Kevin Devine
