Live Review: Old Gray & Lovechild, Now That's Class (1/18/14)

Nestled on the outskirts of the city, Cleveland's dive-bar-gone-music-venue Now That's Class! has played home to some of the best tours of the past couple years including Every Time I Die's fall tour and several Title Fight headliners. Harboring an eclectic mix of hardcore, punk, indie and experimental music, the small sub-300 cap venue is known for its cheap booze and rowdy crowds which were exemplified to the extreme at Saturday's show.

Album Review: Old Gray - An Autobiography

Album Grade: A

An Autobiography is an emotional gauntlet. Roughly 26 minutes long, the band delves into traditional emo, building up monoliths of sadness with twinkling guitars and passionate spoken word that will no doubt become a staple in the scene. With a sound similar to heavy hitters Pianos Become the Teeth and La Dispute, An Autobiography will definitely be one of the most vital and important records of 2013.

Artist Of The Day - Old Gray

Over the past two years, Old Gray has grown immensely. They are almost unrecognizable from their 2011 demo when they used to play twinkly emo music in the vein of Snowing, but with their growth they have become one of the brightest upcoming bands in screamo. The group's latest EP Everything I Let Go & The Things I Refuse To took their sound from Do I Destroy The Universe and heighten it ten fold, raising the emotional intensity to a crushing level. From the spoken word opener "359 Pine" where drummer Charlie Singer speaks beneath post-rock style guitar riffs, to the chaotic build up to heavy distortion in "Resonance," to the intense repetition of the words "I am so alone" in "Winter '11," and to the intense feelings behind "Six Years," every song in the release is bult to create a powerful response. The songs easily accomplish the group's goals, and ended up coming together to be one of the strongest screamo releases of the year.