Leaning into the myriad of artists that influenced 21-year-old Christian Cicilia and 22-year-old Nick Crawford’s individual music tastes, they both draw considerable inspiration from a variety of genres and decades. Imbuing their auto-tuned melodies with traces of Fall Out Boy, Hellogoodbye, Juice WRLD, Kelly Clarkson, and ‘10s SoundCloud rap, their debut EP Just In Case The World Ends (2022) showcased their penchant for blending maximalist production with pop-punk for a highly danceable fusion of “hyper-punk”. In Face For The Radio, they up the distortion levels, leading with fuzzed out guitars and a sprinkling of alt-pop synths, with sugary melodies and emphatic rhythms that get you on your feet.
Remo Drive, the longstanding project of brothers Erik and Stephen Paulson, want you to feel something. Following a six year run of pristine emo-influenced rock ‘n’ roll records comes Mercy, the band’s fourth album and third for Epitaph. It’s the band’s most lyric-focused offering to date, a record about reinvention, trusting yourself, and wearing your heart on your sleeve even when it’s painful or vulnerable.