L.S. Dunes Past Lives LP (Orange Crush Vinyl)

BrooklynVegan 50 Best Punk Albums of 2022 - Rated 12/50!

Luminaries from rock's thriving post-punk and hardcore scenes, guitarist Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance), guitarist Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria), vocalist Anthony Green (Circa Survive), bassist Tim Payne (Thursday), and drummer Tucker Rule (Thursday) have joined forces to create L.S. Dunes.

Unshackled from the expectations and aesthetics of their already successful careers, L.S. Dunes super-charge their heavy anthems with punk energy into a sound unlike anything that has come before it. From the gripping, theatrical opener "2022," and the crunchy, frenetic earworm "Like Forever," to the pummeling, expansive "Permanent Rebellion," and the disarming album closer, "Sleep Cult," Past Lives is an electrifying and emotional ride.

Past Lives was produced by Will Yip (Turnstile, Circa Survive, Quicksand) and recorded at his Studio 4 Recording in Philadelphia, PA. Going deep on issues of fearlessness, dependency, nonconformity, and impermanence, writing for the album was a collaborative effort.

After the shock of the pandemic shutdown, the close friends and mutual admirers urgently realized that 'tomorrow' is not promised. "We never knew if we would ever get to play these songs together, in fact none of us lifelong musicians really knew if we'd ever be able to play music for a live audience ever again," Iero recounted. "'Permanent Rebellion' is about taking back what is rightfully yours." Rule added, "We wanted to do something where you can hear all our bands in it and yet, not have it sound like any one in particular. Our roots are punk rock and hardcore, and the vibe is hope for all the lost souls."

The seeds of L.S. Dunes were planted during rehearsals for Thursday's Christmas livestream event in 2020 which included friends and acquaintances from some of their favorite bands. The chemistry at the serendipitous, impromptu jam sessions was instantaneous. With the addition of Circa Survive vocalist Anthony Green, it was organically clear, this time, the music formed the band.

Original, aggressive, and intense, L.S. Dunes is the next great leap in rock's grand evolution.

'Permanent Rebellion' [is] a high-octane, scrappy and incredibly fun piece of punk rock jubilance that collects every member's talents, smashes them together and goes wild with it.

As L.S. Dunes, this all-star five piece hearken back to the music they made in the mid 2000s without sounding like any one of their bands in particular. Anthony brings his scream back in a big way and fuses it right in with his ethereal clean vocals, the interplay between Frank and Travis' dual lead guitars is dazzling, and Tim and Tucker lock in as tightly as they have for the past 20+ years. And while the overall vibe of the music might bring you back about 15-20 years, Anthony wrote urgent, powerful lyrics for this album that he could only have written in the present-day.