Review: A thrilling new album

Concrete Castles releases debut “Wish I Missed You”

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Hannah Velasquez

Relaxing to music during class, Lucian Steube-Lintner listens to Concrete Castle’s song “Thrill.”

Hannah Velasquez, Staff Writer

Alternative Pennsylvanian band Concrete Castles just released the highly-anticipated debut album, Wish I Missed You.” 

The band name comes from one of their songs “Thrill,” in which they sing about chasing their dreams without any back-up plan. Before Concrete Castles, front woman Audra Miller, drummer Sam Gilman and guitarist Matthew Yost spent years together playing in a cover band that racked up more than a million subscribers on YouTube and millions of views worldwide.

Their new album consists of singles such as “Just A Friend,” “Porcelain,” “Half Awake,” and the title track “Wish I Missed You,” featuring Anthony Green. The song almost didn’t make it on the album but now has more than 10,000 views on YouTube.

 All these songs will either leave everyone wanting to scream the lyrics out or keep you in your feelings. Despite its youth, the band has found its own style and sound and isn’t afraid to show the world what it’s got. The song “Hidden Faces” is an example of the story telling on this album; it tells a story about love, but not a pretty type of love. “Bleeding out, lose my control alone (Hey, hey the hidden faces)” and the song ultimately saying there can always be another side to someone that we we do not know.

The songs have catchy choruses and echoes in the background leaving the imagination to help tell the story, stories almost all of us can relate to. Concrete Castles also worked with songwriters such as Jayden Seeley, Blake Harnage, Tyler Smith, Mark Maxwell and Esjay Jones. When the band got together to write and record its album, band members worked with John and Stephen Gomez to produce and bring the vision to life. 

Reviewers even described the band as “electric.” The trio derived music influences from country music (Miller) to 1980’s hair metal (Yost) to classic rock and emo (Gilman). By writing songs almost everyone can relate to and dance to, they put their own twist on what we know as alternative music. This album definitely defies expectations and does not disappoint. Overall this is a good album and something you won’t be able to stop listening to for as long as you live.