PropertyOfZack

Always known as the side project of its primary members (Tim Landers of Transit and Brad Wiseman of now-defunct This Time Next Year), Misser has been an interesting band to follow. The budding careers of both members’ original bands always seemed to impede the progress of the band ever finishing a release.

And then in 2012, the band’s first full-length Every Day I Tell Myself I’m Going to be a Better Person was released, and the hype around the band grew at an unexpectedly high rate. This hype turned into touring with The Wonder Years and unending questions about what kind of commitment Landers and Wiseman would make to Misser. The answer has arrived swiftly and in the form of the band’s new EP, Distancing.

The EP begins with the loud, aggressive “Goddamn, Salad Days,” and the track really encompasses what Misser is all about. Landers and Wiseman trade off lines, while the chorus is loud and catchy, and the guitars are always a highlight. The band’s lyrics have a bit of youthful arrogance to them, laced with profanity and anger.

Distancing begins to distance itself from its full-length predecessor immediately, as “Goddamn, Salad Days” is a sonic polar opposite from Every Day’s hazy, slow opener “Permanently.” Thematically, Every Day… was an album about missing a significant other on the road, Distancing seems to be an EP about that relationship ending. From the sound of it, the break-up wasn’t pretty.

Take the chorus from “Burn Out,” where Wiseman sings, “No one’s gonna save me now / like a spark, we were meant to burn out.” The anger is peppered thickly across each track, most notably on “Alone, Die” with repeated assertions from both Landers and Wiseman that, “You’re gonna die alone.”

Albums Out In Stores Today

May 28, 2013 ⋅ 11 notes ⋅ Comments

It’s May 28th, which means it’s release day. Let us know what new releases you’re listening to today and hit the jump below to check out the album details and download information for all the great records coming out this week!

POZ Presents: The Weekly Content Round-Up

May 27, 2013 ⋅ 10 notes ⋅ Comments

The Monthly Summary
Week I
Week II
Week III
Week IV

Albums Out This Month
Week I
Week II
Week III
Week IV

The Weekly Tour Round-Up
Spring-Summer

Exclusives
Riot Fest Announces Two More Locations

Interviews
You, Me & Everyone You Know

Reviews
She & Him - Volume 3
Pet Symmetry, Dikembe - Split
Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires Of The City
Wild Nothing - Empty Estate

Single Reviews
August Burns Red - “Fault Line”

Show Reviews
Skate And Surf Festival Day Two
You, Me & Everyone We Know - 05/20/13

Discussions
The Best 2012 Albums Of 2013

Festival Previews
Bled Fest Preview: Our Must-See Bands And Artists

Playlists
Foxfires, Harvey Pekar
Team Recommendations

Contributor Blogs
The Industry With Jesse Cannon

Contests
Spitalfield ‘Remember Right Now’ 10 Year Tour [Ends on May 30th]

Streams
Monuments - “Howl (Ft. James Carroll Of MDAM)”
Misser - Distancing EP
Little World - “Landing”

Video Premieres
The Goodnight - “When I Was Your Man (Bruno Mars Cover)”

Track-By-Tracks
Captain, We’re Sinking - The Future Is Cancelled
Misser - Distancing EP

Gallery
Skate And Surf Festival [Set One, Set Two]
It’s A Spring Fling
The Menzingers, Fake Problems, Captain We’re Sinking, Restorations

Showcase
Thesis
After Tonight

Sponsored Tours
Songs Of The South Fest [07/20-07/21]

Albums Out This Week

May 26, 2013 ⋅ 18 notes ⋅ Comments

May 28th is just two days away, and there are a few great releases coming out this week. Click “Read More” below to check out the album details and download information for all the great records coming out this week!

POZ Track-By-Track: Misser - Distancing EP

May 24, 2013 ⋅ 24 notes ⋅ Comments

PropertyOfZack’s Artist Of The Week, Misser, streamed their Distancing EP on the site earlier this week, and we’re happy to bring the band back for a Track-By-Track feature on the EP as well. Distancing will be out on May 28th via Rise Records so make sure to pre-order the release (iTunes, MerchNOW) and to check out the Track-By-Track below!

Goddamn, Salad Days
Tim sent me this song with the chorus melody. Shortly after I opened up garage band and recorded an idea for the verse. It took me from that moment till about 3 days prior to actually tracking the song to finish the other verse. Why? Who knows. I over think everything and am never 100% confident with certain ideas I bring to the table. I also want the meaning behind the lyrical content to make sense to me and sometimes it doesn’t. I can get too weird for my own good. That’s where the beautiful garage band comes in handy. Tim and I can send things back and forth and keep each other in check if an idea is good or not.

Infrared
The day before I was scheduled to fly out to the Bay to start recording the Distancing EP with Misser, I started to do what I do best- overthink the whole thing. We had plenty of song ideas, but I couldn’t get the “are they good enough?”s out of my head. I was up at Maximum Sound studios with Gary, and I mentioned my worries, as he could see the stress on my face. “Go in the other room and write another one.” So, I did. Thirty something minutes later, “Infrared” was a demo.

When you spend some vulnerable years of life playing music on the road, it’s pretty easy to develop some defect in charter. Dropping out of school to partake in such an emotional roller coaster of a profession left me in a very insecure place. “Infrared” is about what happens when those two parts of my brain collide. It’s tough to stay sane when nothing around you is ever stable. P.S. There’s also parts in the song about a dream I had that aligned a recent tour with the story line of “Django Unchained.” Strange things.

Burn Out
When I showed Brad and Mikey the acoustic demo of this song, they told me they were excited to have a more mellow song on the EP. Boy, did we see it differently. It’s tough to portray the way you envision something with just an acoustic guitar and GarageBand. The song found its energy in some liquored up, late night writing sessions. Torre, Mike and Brad really helped bring this one to life. We all just really clicked when everyone was in the room jamming it. Brad started tracking vocals for this one first and 4 AM one night, after a night out with the whole team. It was amazing.
I’d rather not explain the real meaning behind these words. Reclusion is a strange thing.

Alone, Die.
The melody just kind of found its way into my head one morning. I thought I hated it, but Brad convinced me otherwise. It’s funny, it’s probably the most uplifting song on the record musically, but undeniably the most bitter, lyrically. We wanted to keep it very simple and straightforward on this track- I think that mindset let the whole song breathe well.

This one’s pretty much about how if someone you care about gives you an about face and a cold shoulder, then they’ll get it right back. Maybe with some pretty little details laced in there…

Slow It Down/Write It Out
We were only supposed to record three songs. Then we were like, “fuck it let’s do four.” Then we all had a hard time paring with “Slow It Down…” so we decided to keep it around. Personally, I always get super attached to all the songs I partake in writing. I hate cutting tracks. This song was the one that changed the most from the original idea, and I love it for that. Everyone played a part in bringing this song to life. Sam made me layer the guitar track in the bridge like 87 times. It’s so heavy- I fucking love it.
“Slow It Down…” is about staying who and what you are, and dong what you do because it’s what you do. Sometimes you get wrapped up in things, and you’ve got to catch yourself and make sure you’re still going down the path you believe in.

POZ Stream: Misser - Distancing EP

May 22, 2013 ⋅ 41 notes ⋅ Comments

PropertyOfZack’s Artist Of The Week, Misser, will be releasing Distancing on May 28th via Rise Records, and POZ is very excited to be streaming the EP a week or so early. Make sure to pre-order Distancing (iTunes, MerchNOW) and stream it below after the jump!

Artist Of The Week: Misser

May 20, 2013 ⋅ 31 notes ⋅ Comments

Misser will be releasing Distancing on May 28th, and PropertyOfZack is stoked to have the band be our Artist Of The Week this week. We’ll have a stream of the band’s EP and some other great features coming for you. In the meantime, pre-order Distancing here and listen to two new songs from the EP below after the jump.

First Impressions: Man Overboard, Misser, The World Is A Beautiful Place

May 6, 2013 ⋅ 73 notes ⋅ Comments

I (Zack) stopped writing reviews for the site in the fall of 2011, and have had no true desire to start again; frankly, we have better people for that. I obviously do enjoy writing about music though, and have had the urge over the past few months to give my thoughts on albums once again: just not in typical review form.

Here and there, we’re going to be posting my First Impressions of new albums that have yet to come out, hopefully to stir up a little more attention to the releases we’re all looking forward to. We’ll start with Man Overboard, Misser, and The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die and see where that takes us. Check out First Impressions below!

Man Overboard - Heart Attack (5/28)
Like I wrote in the Discussion for our Most Anticipated May Releases, timing is everything. Watching Man Overboard grow since 2010 — with the quick bang of pop-punk, an unexpected signing to the most bashed label in our scene, huge tours with New Found Glory, Taking Back Sunday, and soon to be back to back runs on the Vans Warped Tour — has been interesting.

It doesn’t take long to realize that Heart Attack is nothing like Real Talk or the self-titled, and that’s a good thing. The album can feel long at 14 songs, but there’s something for everyone.

Tracks like “S.A.D” and “Hoodie Song” are going to leverage “heavier” fans to find their soft spots for pop-punk again, while “Where I Left You” and “How To Hide Your Feelings” show the band’s best instrumental work and are bound to hit hard on summer and fall drives.

The record comes down to “Wide Awake” for me. I’m going to go ahead and crown it the song of the year for Tumblr’s pop-punk community. I can see the lyric .gifs, sad quotes, and expressions of teen love from a mile away, and that’s going to be big for the band. Think “Love Your Friends, Die Laughing” meets “Soco Amaretto Lime” meets “Your Own Disaster.”

I think the success or failure of Heart Attack will be known instantly. This is Man Overboard’s chance for their music and audience to grow to match or surpass the size of their brand.

Pre-order Heart Attack here.

Misser - Distancing (5/28)
I think it’s fair to say that I’ve been a little bullish on Misser since the release of Problems. Problems. Problems. in 2011. It was hard to tell if the band would stay a side-project in feeling, or turn into more of a real band with heart.

Every Day I Tell Myself I’m Going To Be A Better Person proved Misser was a band with heart, and that definitely made most fans happy. Distancing came as a surprise, considering how none of us knew when we’d be getting more material from the band. Surprises are good things.

“Goddamn, Salad Days” is a song that just fucking rips. It feels like Taking Back Sunday from a different era, but angrier, less sad, and littered with Tim Landers’ best guitar work. The other songs on the EP are all good, but I’m mostly interested in where the solidifying of the Misser name will take us.

Misser can only grow on the Internet for now, considering the band has limited touring abilities, but I’d expect that to change with time. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I think Misser will slowly overtake much of Transit’s fan base and outgrow the band in ways similar to what we saw with City And Colour and Alexisonfire. For now, I’d imagine we’ll get scattered releases here and there until the light switch flicks on for good.

Pre-order Distancing here.

The World Is A Beautiful Place - Whenever, If Ever (6/18)

POZ Discussion: Most Anticipated May Releases

April 25, 2013 ⋅ 108 notes ⋅ Comments

May is under a week away, and there are a slew of great records coming out in the coming month that PropertyOfZack team members couldn’t be more stoked to hear. In today’s new Discussion, we’re highlighting our personal Most Anticipated May Releases. Check out our list below and feel free to reblog with what you’re looking forward to as well!

The Wonder Years - The Greatest Generation
The Wonder Years are top-tier competitors when it comes to generating excitement for just about every move that they make, and their upcoming record, The Greatest Generation, is already seeing some of the wildest things this band has ever done for a record release. From the elaborate pre-order packages to the whirlwind Nick and Norah city-hopping release show cycle or the exclusive pop-up shop with limited merch and special performances, there’s plenty to talk about in celebrating the release of the beloved Philadelphia group’s fourth full-length record.

However, amidst all the hubbub just marking the occasion, let’s all take a deep breath, step back, and remember to get excited about the music too, not just the hype. The Wonder Years are no longer the brash pop-punk band that had everyone at “I’m not sad anymore.” Sonically, the new tunes that have made their way to the Internet are brimming with perspective and boast a maturity through pop-punk, as much of an oxymoron as that has been in the past. The expectations set for this record are already high - deemed the final chapter in a trilogy that includes The Upsides and Suburbia, The Greatest Generation has a lot to cover in the sense of providing closure for said trilogy as well as upholding the tight songwriting standards TWY have adhered to in the past. To put it simply, a lot of Wonder Years fans hold this band very close to their hearts, and to think of the ways this record will fit into the context of their legacy. Let’s just say we’re pretty confident the music will live up to the album title. - Adrienne Fisher

The Front Bottoms - Talon of The Hawk
This New Jersey two-piece has been one of the most successful bands of late to avoid getting pigeonholed, appealing widely to a vast cross-section of people. Anyone from young teenage kids who can’t wait to relate to the lyrics to an older crowd with great appreciation for the Front Bottoms’ masterful genre blend could be part of the fan base crescendo that only seems to be getting more rabid with time. With the announcement of their sophomore record, Talon of the Hawk, the Front Bottoms has already set up that hungry cavalcade of fans with an extensive slew of tour dates, a new video, and of course, a song from the upcoming release.

The new track features quite a bit from the musical cauldron that made us fall in love with the Front Bottoms in the first place - the self-deprecating, uncomfortable imagery, the twangy quirk in Brian Sella’s voice as he coughs out lyrics in stunted meter, the overall weird cosmic blend of dirty DIY indie-punk that palpably feels like it crawled out of a basement in New Jersey. What’s different is that it’s got more of a rock n’ roll kick to it to pull together all the stylistic musings they’ve used in the past, and while delivering a more cohesive sound runs the risk of diluting the charming weirdness they’ve established, new music from these guys will undeniably fall well into the hands of anxiously waiting, excited fans. - Adrienne Fisher

Man Overboard - Heart Attack
Things feel different for Man Overboard this go-around. The band is coming off of a sold-out tour with a new album, solidified lineup, evolved sound, and Warped Tour is just around the corner this summer. Timing is everything, and the timing may just be right this time for the band. Heart Attack features the most aggressive, fun, and serious songs the band has ever written. But the closer on Heart Attack will end up being the key for the band. It’s where “Love Your Friends, Die Laughing,” “Soco Amaretto Lime,” and “Your Own Disaster” intersect, and it’s going to be a fan favorite like the band has never experienced. - Zack Zarrillo

Misser - Distancing
Fans who were anxious that Tim Landers would quietly stick to Transit and Brad Wiseman would float back into the musical ether to leave Misser’s fantastic freshman album Every Day I Tell Myself I’m Going to Be a Better Person as a one-album wonder can breathe easy again. Misser — Wiseman and Landers’ gutsy pop-punkish project — is releasing Distancing on May 28.

Misser faithful are batting 2/5 on songs we’ve heard from the EP thus far, and both are barnstorming crowd-rousers. “Goddamn, Salad Days” is a fiery anthem, riled-up dual vocals and scorching guitar licks. “Burn Out” is of the same sort of breed, slowing down for a mid-tempo bridge before rollicking into its chorus. If these two no-holds-barred burners are any indication, Misser is just getting started. - Erik van Rheenen

Misser Release New Song “Burn Out”

April 11, 2013 ⋅ 43 notes ⋅ Comments

Misser have released a new song called “Burn Out.” Stream it below by clicking “Read More!”

Misser Launch ‘Distancing’ EP Pre-Orders

April 5, 2013 ⋅ 18 notes ⋅ Comments

Misser’s Distancing EP can now be pre-ordered via Rise Records. Check out the deluxe package below by clicking “Read More.”

Misser Reveal ‘Distancing’ EP Artwork

April 2, 2013 ⋅ 24 notes ⋅ Comments

Misser have posted the artwork for their new EP, Distancing. Check it out below by clicking “Read More.”

POZ Exclusive: Details Of Last Night’s Run In With Homophobia At The Wonder Years Tour

March 28, 2013 ⋅ 103 notes ⋅ Comments

As most people have read by now, a situation erupted last night at a venue called Empire in Virginia when the promoter of The Wonder Years’ show, Tyler Greene, called Misser’s merch man a “faggot.” The situation was resolved by The Wonder Years’ merch and crew member, Floyd James. PropertyOfZack is happy to be bringing you a short interview with Floyd on what exactly occurred last night and his thoughts on our scene taking a stance against homophobia. You can read the interview and additional commentary on the night as a whole from Floyd below by clicking “Read More.”

Promoter Addresses Members Of TWY Tour Package As “Faggots”

March 28, 2013 ⋅ 296 notes ⋅ Comments

A promoter named Tyler Green in Virginia at Empire apparently called multiple members of The Wonder Years bill tonight, including support, “faggots” and possibly other homophobic words. Check out tweets from multiple members on the tour below by clicking “Read More.”

Update: Details Of Last Night’s Run In With Homophobia At TWY Tour