Front Bottoms

Picture this: A damp basement where the smell of pubescent sweat and anxiety is only barely overpowered by the scent of Natural Light beer, bought by someone’s older brother for a swarm of youths because he’s just chill like that. There is a haze of cigarette smoke swimming up the wooden staircase where teens cascade up and down when they eventually carve oxygen that hasn’t already been consumed by 20 other high school bodies. Your AP World History crush is here, but she doesn’t like you in that way and that makes you sad. If you were anything like me in tenth grade (first, I’m very sorry), then the band sound-tracking this memory is The Front Bottoms.

Consisting of duo Brian Sella (vocals, guitar) and Mat Uychich (drums) the Woodcliff Lake, NJ product is a wildly eclectic blend of pop, rock and punk influences accompanied by witty lyrics that offer a rapid-fire, slightly surreal perspective on the world around them. Often, they sound like what growing up feels like. Raw, introspective, and extremely personal, the Front Bottoms have being putting suburban kids in emotional distress for almost a decade now.

Their newest project, 2018’s “Ann” EP, is as witty as ever with stripped back instrumentation that is certain to make a live show a night to remember. If you want in on the fun, get your tickets for their November 24th show at The Anthem here.

Manchester Orchestra

Atlanta-based band, led by singer/lyricist Andy Hull with Robert McDowell, have spent their career challenging each other to build a poignant, exhilarating narrative with each new album and EP. And, at this point, they are masters at it. Crafting songs that question self-reflection, loneliness, and loss, the rock duo have a penchant for layered vocals and complex arrangements about complex emotions.

In 2017, they released their fifth studio LP, “A Black Mile to The Sun,” which debuted at number seven on Billboard Top Albums Sales. The band has received critical acclaim for its cinematic narrative and drive to explore, as Marks says, “the unknown and the unquantifiable.” Manchester Orchestra is no stranger to both the surreal and the spotlight, so expect a magical night at the Anthem on the 24th.