With “Threshold,” Portland’s Moments Of come out boldly. It’s their first official single, but it doesn’t feel like a band still figuring out their footing. It sounds like a group that knows exactly what they want to say.
“Threshold” lives in that uneasy space between comfort and collapse, the realization that what once felt safe is now slowly suffocating.
Listen in here:
Ben Wilson’s vocal delivery is heavy with that tension while Jackson Howard and Adam Howarth’s guitars twist and collide in a way that mirrors the push and pull of the lyrics. The verses feel like they are holding something back as they coil tighter and tighter until the chorus cracks everything open.
That’s where the rhythm section really shines. Dan Dunham’s drums thunder underneath, and Kyle Gravel’s bass keeps the whole thing locked to a pulse that is impossible to ignore.
What is striking is how alive the song is. Producer Adam Cichocki lets the edges show and resists the urge to sand everything down. It’s raw but not messy, polished but not sterile – the kind of recording that makes you feel like you are in the room with the band.
There is a late ’90’s / early 2000’s DNA running through it, but it avoids coming off as just another nostalgia trip. Instead “Threshold” feels like a bridge between that era and now.
As far as debuts go, this one is bold. It throws the door open wide and dares you to follow. It’s hard not to wonder just how big Moments Of are about to get.
About Moments Of
Moments Of are an alt emo five piece from Portland, Maine who balance melody and grit with a skill for writing songs that hit straight at the heart.
What began as frontman Jackson Howard’s solo project quickly grew into a full band with the addition of co-vocalist Ben Wilson, guitarist Adam Howarth, bassist Kyle Gravel and drummer Dan Dunham.
Together they have built a sound that pulls from late ’90s and early 2000s emo and pop-punk while pushing it into sharper and more modern territory.
Their debut single “Threshold” marks a definite turning point. It’s unapologetically honest and sets the stage for their forthcoming album At Least You Found a Way to Disappear.
Emerging from the vibrant San Diego indie scene, Poems have created an EP that captures the complex experience of young adulthood, exploring self-discovery, vulnerability and the quiet battles we face with our own minds.
From the first notes of “Placebo”, lightly fuzzy guitars and nuanced, commanding vocals pull listeners into a world of reflection and emotional honesty. Half-Life conveys a lived experienced, and a sense of wrestling with internal tension and the fragile beauty of confronting one’s own anxieties.
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“NFS (Naked For Science)” builds on this foundation, exploring the interplay between identity, medication and personal vulnerability. Sparse and carefully chosen lyrics leave room for reflection, while the vocals have a cool detached energy reminiscent of early 2000’s UK indie rock.
“Afterparty” is a track that ties the narrative together with more depth. It portrays the inner dialogue of someone navigating anxiety and self expectation, set against shimmering and pulsing guitar lines that underscores the tension inherent in the song. Produced by Billy Foster (Fontaines D.C., Wet Leg), mixed by John Catlin (Inhaler), and mastered by John Greenham (Billie Eilish), Half-Life gives the band’s vulnerability a lot of space to breathe while retaining a crisp and professional sound.
Poems turn personal struggle into music that resonates beyond just their experiences. Each track is a careful balance of tension, reflection and hope, proving that indie rock can be both introspective and captivating.
This is a band growing into its identity, unafraid to explore the messy, complicated terrain of the mind.
About Poems
Poems began releasing music in 2021 and expanded in 2022 with two new members, solidifying their sound as a full indie rock outfit.
The band has performed at venues across California, including Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, The Music Box in San Diego, and Brick and Mortar in San Francisco, opening for acts such as The Never Ending Fall.
Their first EP West Coast was released in 2024, followed by Half-Life in 2025. Poems explore themes of anxiety, identity, and coming of age themes blending UK-inspired indie rock textures with personal storytelling.
With its bittersweet lyricism and warm Americana tone, George Collins’s “By the Time” has already earned praise as one of his most evocative tracks to date.
Now, the newly released music video gives the song a cinematic heartbeat, placing Collins in a dimly lit Prague steakhouse as he strums, sings and pens a final farewell letter to a soon-to-be ex.
Directed by Thomas Cruz and Jarda Malina, and featuring a cameo by Max Munson – the real-life owner of Max’s Steakhouse – this video is full of intimate details. From the half-finished whiskey glass to the knowing glances of a friendly bartender.
Look closer, and you’ll even spot a Dave Matthews Band poster tucked into the scenery, a nod to one of Collins’s lifelong inspirations, and hear his previous single Open Up drifting faintly in the background.
In this conversation, Collins opens up about the song’s origins, the creative choices behind the video and why capturing its acoustic, roots-driven soul on screen was just as important as getting every chord change right.
Watch the Official Music Video here:
Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
I came up with the riff while I was noodling around on my acoustic guitar many years ago, and it immediately struck me as extremely catchy.
The opening line, “By the time you’ll be getting ’round to reading this,” popped into my head at the same time, as those lyrics seemed to fit the riff very well in rhythmic terms.
I filed it away for a long time and started writing the song in earnest last year.
The chord changes are quite interesting, full of unresolved tension by deliberately moving outside the key and employing lots of seventh chords, to match the troubled tone of the lyrics.
From the outset, I was hearing the influence of Tom Petty on this tune, and when I started working with my producer to bring the song to life in the studio, I specifically suggested we aim for a similar Americana vibe as Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers,” which was produced by the legendary Rick Rubin, who is an absolute genius and one of my favorite producers.
As we developed the track, the influence of other great songwriters such as Chris Stapleton, Steve Earle, Johnny Cash, George Strait, Ray Davies (one of the finest storytellers in all of music) and Jimmy Buffett (ditto) also became apparent.
Although I have written almost all my songs on my acoustic guitar, this is the first fully produced acoustic track that I have released. In the past, we took my acoustic demos and fleshed them out with a band in the studio, and I have recorded stripped-down acoustic versions of my previous singles, but this is the first time I deliberately kept the track close to its acoustic roots, to better capture the Americana/Outlaw Country vibe of the song. So you’ll hear many influences in this song, but I also hope that “By the Time” is recognizably me.
What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
In my mind’s eye I imagined a scene like that of the cover art for Led Zeppelin’s last studio album, “In Through the Out Door,” in which a man is sitting on a stool in a dingy dive bar burning a “Dear John” letter.
With the phrase “By the time you’ll be getting ’round to reading this” in my head, I realized that the narrator of my song would not be reading or burning a “Dear John” letter, but rather writing one to his soon-to-be-Ex.
In a bar, of course.Once I imagined the scenario, the lyrics flowed quite naturally — fortunately, and unlike most of my other songs, this one has no autobiographical connotations whatsoever!
What was the process of making the video?
One of my closest friends in Prague, Max Munson, owns Max’s Steakhouse, a classic steakhouse modeled on those from his native Chicago.
He runs a lot of great ads for his establishment, which are created in conjunction with Thomas Cruz of Thomas Cruz Studio and Jarda Malina of Moneyshot Studio in Prague.
Once I decided that I wanted a live music video for “By the Time” (rather than the animated lyric videos for my other tracks to date), and that I wanted it to be shot in a bar, I knew that Max’s Steakhouse would be the perfect location, and that Thomas and Jarda, with their previous experience of filming in the Steakhouse, would be perfect for creating this video.
I met with Thomas several times to discuss the song and exchange ideas for the video, and I invited Max to make a cameo appearance as the friendly bartender. We agreed early on that there would be two major features of the video: Me singing the song with my guitar, and me writing the letter at the bar.
I arrived early at the Steakhouse early on a Saturday morning, when the restaurant was closed. Thomas and Jarda were already setting up lights in the main dining room, and I helped move tables and chairs away to clear a space for my solo performance. I’d brought several of my guitars and a variety of shirts, which Thomas tested under the lights before choosing a creamy color that would match the warm hues of the room.
With Jarda handling the lights, I sat on a barstool and sang “By the Time” over and over as Thomas filmed me from a variety of angles – I probably played the song fifty times before Thomas was satisfied that he had enough to work with.
Then we moved into the barroom. Max and I chose a bottle of Elijah Craig as a prop – I actually drank apple juice during the filming, though Max did have to pour several glasses of whiskey so we could show the bottle getting progressively emptier. I enjoyed those glasses, however, only after the filming was completed.
I had written several versions of the lyrics on parchment, each showing the “letter” in various stages of completion. Again, with Jarda manning the lights, Thomas filmed me from numerous angles as I sat and sipped and wrote and pondered: Close-ups of my hand moving across the page, close-ups of me stroking my chin and staring off into space, long shots of Max carrying a rack of glasses from the kitchen to the bar before offering me a refill of my bourbon.
Overall, we must have filmed for eight hours for what was eventually edited into a video that clocks in under four minutes.
In the editing process, Thomas had the brilliant idea to have my previous single, “Open Up,” playing in the background as I’m sitting at the bar. That song, about remaining vulnerable and open to love in spite of disappointments, is the perfect setup for “By the Time,” which is ultimately about liberation and moving hopefully into the future.
I am grateful to Thomas, Jarda and Max for capturing this vibe and helping me bring my song to life so beautifully.
Fresh off a string of high-profile shows and the release of their emotionally charged single “Threshold”, Portland, Maine’s Moments Of are proving they’re not just riding the emo revival wave. They are helping shape it.
With a sound that bridges early 2000’s emo and the grit of modern alternative rock, the band has quickly built a reputation for delivering high energy performances that stick with you.
In this exclusive interview, the band opens up about the creative process behind their “Threshold” Official Music Video – why they chose a performance driven concept over a narrative, how nostalgia for the late ’90s and early 2000’s shaped its aesthetic, and what it was like shooting under the intense glow (and heat) of vintage stage lighting:
1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
We really thought long and hard about the direction we wanted to take as a band for the Threshold music video. The talk of building a narrative story behind the video was had but we really thought that due to the energy of the song and our timeline to get it done by that a high energy performance video would be best for Threshold. We also wanted to bring high quality, and a high energy performance video back to the scene as a cornerstone for our new music and sound. And when people see us live, we bring that same energy, so we wanted people anywhere in the world to be able to get a sense of that from Threshold.
2. What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
For us a lot of the inspiration comes from the late 90’s early 2000’s videos not just music videos but entertainment and tv in general. The warm feeling and soft focus bring in those themes that you’d see on tv back then and also plays on many techniques how soap operas were shot. Giving off that heaven like feeling. The set being well lit and showing the gear, flight cases, rigging around gives it that feeling of watching a band at a theater or opera house where you would see rigging, cases, amps in the background.
3. What was the process of making the video?
The making of Threshold was done in a soundstage environment where we had full control of the space. The decision was made to use older tungsten film and stage lights to really play into the theme we wanted and to be immersed in the set. Warm, cozy, heavenly, euphoric even and the focus would just be the band well-lit and slamming hard. We shot the video setup to takedown in about 5-6 hours. Of course, we did many takes of the video individually and full band during that window to get the shots we needed. It was challenging at times dealing with old school stage and film lights as they admit a crazy amount of heat, so staying hydrated was key and avoiding knocking over or brushing up against lights and stands because everything was hot enough to cook food on. But we think it was the right move once we saw the finished video! Threshold is a raw and basic take on a well-lit and shot performance music video that will be timeless and invoke feelings from a simpler era in music.
After a string of visually striking and concept driven singles, Reeya Banerjee brings things home both literally and figuratively with the music video for “Upstate Rust,” the fourth and final release ahead of her upcoming album This Place set for release on August 22nd, 2025.
Filmed at Lorien Sound in Brooklyn, the video captures Banerjee and her band The Merseyside Darby in their natural habitat – laughing, sweating and absolutely living inside the music.
Unlike the stylized visuals of her previous singles, this video opts for raw honesty and full band energy, spotlighting the chemistry, connection and joy that fuel Banerjee’s live performances.
It’s a fitting choice for a track that closes the album with heart and clarity.
We sat down with Reeya to talk about the story behind the song, and the decision to film a stripped down performance.
1. Tell us the story of this song – why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
Upstate Rust is the closing track on my album This Place, and in many ways, it’s the emotional resolution.
It’s a song about leaving a place you’ve loved – not with regret, but with trust, love and a little bit of fear. It’s about grown-up decisions, emotional survival and believing that what you’ve built can last, even when the geography changes.
The three singles before this had quirky, stylized videos – animation, photo essays, rogue guerrilla no-permit filming in Grand Central.
With Upstate Rust, I wanted to do something totally different. I wanted to showcase my band, The Merseyside Darby, because this song feels like a full-band anthem. Even though they didn’t record it with me originally, they’ve learned it, owned it, and made it their own.
This video is a celebration of that live energy – of how much fun we have together in the room. It’s the first time we’re all on screen together, and it felt like the right way to bring this song to life.
2. What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
The inspiration was really simple: let’s just show the band being the band. Upstate Rust is a big, reverb-heavy, U2-flavored banger, and it’s also my favorite song on the record. We wanted to show what it actually feels like to play it together – no gimmicks, no heavy storyline, just real joy and connection.
We shot the video at Lorien Sound in Brooklyn, which is a studio run by my lead guitarist James Rubino and his business partners Austin Birdy and Jack Quigley. Our rehearsal space is the live room at the studio, and Jack also directed the video. We pumped the master track through the PA and performed it together thirteen times – close-ups of everyone, wide shots of the room, no lip-sync fakery, just full-out playing.
Jack’s footage captured our chemistry and the joy we feel making music together. Luke Folger, our drummer (also my creative partner, co-writer, and the producer and composer for the record) is a beast on drums and has a smile that could light up a room. He’s a full-on beam of sunshine.
There’s a moment where I’m singing along with Daria Klotz, my bass player, and we’re just in the moment together. I’ve known her for ten years – we’ve sung in harmony together in so many bar bands and performances and other contexts, and it was lovely to capture that shared history on camera.
Sam Levine is our rhythm guitarist and the newest member of the band. He’s incredibly talented and smart, and a bit shy – but by the end of the shoot, he was rocking out and singing along, and it was just so endearing to watch him come into his own.
My favorite part is in the final chorus where James and I are literally jumping up and down together. We’ve also known each other for ten years – he’s my ride-or-die best friend. It felt like having a dance party with my little brother. Neither of us are spring chickens – we both have bad knees – so it was probably a terrible idea, but we couldn’t resist. At one point, James’s hat flew off mid-jump and he kicked it toward Sam, who had to duck to avoid being beaned in the face. We could not stop laughing. I’m almost sad that moment didn’t make the final cut.
3. What was the process of making the video?
This was honestly one of the most fun and relaxed shoots I’ve ever done. We met at Lorien Sound, and Jack set up a click track for Luke so we could stay locked in with the master. Then we ran the song thirteen times – two close-up takes for each band member, and three full-room passes to capture the in-between moments and the group dynamic.
The goal wasn’t perfection – it was connection. We weren’t trying to make a slick, overly produced performance video – but that said, what Jack delivered is the most polished of the four videos I’ve made to support the singles from This Place.
We wanted to show what it actually feels like to rehearse this song: sweaty, joyful, slightly chaotic, and deeply connected.
There’s a moment in “Manchild”,Gun-Shy Butterfly’s scathing new single, when the sarcasm curdles into something darker.
It’s the sound of the last straw breaking, the laugh you let out after being underestimated one too many times. It’s also the moment you realize this song is a reckoning of sorts.
Philadelphia based duo Julie Exter and Andrea Tarka White take no prisoners on this fuzzed-out, fire breathing alt-rock track that drips with wit, indignation and undeniable hooks.
What starts as a pointed eye-roll becomes a full on evisceration of entitled mediocrity, all set to a soundtrack that echoes the raw honesty of Hole and the punch of L7, with a melodic sensibility entirely their own.
But “Manchild” doesn’t just about calling out bad behavior—it’s about the emotional labor women are expected to do in response to it. The song’s brilliance lies in its refusal to smooth over that exhaustion. Instead, it puts it front and center, lets it roar and dares you to look away.
The lyrics are needle sharp here and they balance bitterness with clarity – there’s no vagueness and no metaphor to soften the blow. Just bold, clear language that hits like truth tends to – suddenly and without apology.
Production wise, it’s lean and loud. Every instrument has room to breathe, but it never lets up in intensity. The guitar tones snarl, the bass stalks just beneath the surface and Exter’s vocals command every inch of the mix.
“Manchild” then is a torch song for the pissed off and perpetually talked over. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the most powerful thing that you can do is tell the truth and crank the volume up while you do it.
About Gun-Shy Butterfly
Gun-Shy Butterfly is the Philadelphia based alt-rock duo of Julie Exter and Andrea Tarka White.
With a minimalist setup and a maximalist sound, the pair craft raw and riff-heavy anthems fueled by feminist fire and unfiltered emotion. Blending the grit of ’90s grunge with sharp lyrical wit, Gun-Shy Butterfly tackles everything from cultural exhaustion to personal reclamation. Always loud, always honest.
Their debut singles “Dark Side” and “Manchild” announce the arrival of a band unafraid to rage, reflect, and rip the volume right off.
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