Aside from delivering one of the coolest album covers of 2020, Alton Video delivers a rough and in your face pop punk experience straight from Salem. "Separation Anxiety" revives feelings and nostalgia hidden away by the absence of bands like Title Fight and Knuckle Puck, it's a record that packs a punch and a bowl in the same swing if that makes sense. A collective anthem of seasonal depression with the power of friendship and unity found in the punk scene these days.
Released September 18th of this year (2020), Separation Anxiety gives us 12 tracks at just under an hour. It's a listening experience that puts you back end of summer circa 2012. It's cold, it's loud, it's harsh, and it earns the praise of being referred to as "very nostalgic" for a lot of listeners who grew up in an era of pop punk that was more angry and emotionally hardcore than what the genre would evolve from and into. Tracks like "Apathy" that give us flashbacks to small venue show circle pits, "Zoloft" reminding us of teenage house shows on Friday nights. Alton Video is a band that knows their identity and proudly presents it in each of the tracks of Separation Anxiety.
It's extremely rare to find a band who can put their hearts into every track of an album like Alton Video does with this release. Separation Anxiety is a classic waiting to emerge when the time is right. This is a ticking time bomb and one day people will discover this record and become infatuated with the times they live and have lived in. It earns a spot in our hearts, and it should be considered for a spot in yours too.
You can check out Alton Video on bandcamp as well as stream Separation Anxiety in it's entirety on their bandcamp page via the link down below. You can also give them a like and share on facebook, and if you like what you've read here consider doing the same for Polaris DIY.
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Separation Anxiety
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