LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bush), A New Punk Album Release, And An Unreleased EP!!

Today's post is half devoted to big news from two fronts in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, and to a surprise belated album release from some familiar faces in Sault Ontario, but let's start in Michigan with a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the summer concert calendar!

London, England post-grunge/hard rock quartet Bush will make their local concert debut on Saturday, July 18th when they headline an outdoor concert at the Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace! The first SMS-amenable outdoor concert at the St. Ignace branch that I am aware of since the late Ace Frehley rocked out there in 2024, Bush have been staples of rock radio for decades thanks to hit songs like "Glycerine", "Machinehead", and "Comedown", and while they're not my favourite 1990s band, it will be neat to see Gavin Rossdale and company in the E.U.P. this summer! Joining the former BushX (ask a Canadian) in four months are Seattle grunge/alternative quartet Candlebox (best known for their hit single "Far Behind") in a regional set six+ years in the making. As you may recall, Candlebox were slated to headline at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin in April 2020 before the first pandemic lockdown scrapped it.

You may not consider this to be a makeup date when it's A. as a support band, and B. an hour south of the Soo, but it will be good to finally see Candlebox on a local stage in July! Interestingly presented by Rock 105 & 95.5 and Classic Rock: The Bear in the tip of the mitt rather than Rock 101, tickets go on sale on Friday at 10:00 AM at this link, at the in-person box office, and at 1-800-KEWADIN. Including convenience/handling fees, tickets reportedly start at $96 USD, but remember that this is a large-scale outdoor show, and neither band has been up here before (VIP packages will also be offered). Visit the above links for more details on what should be a huge concert in St. Ignace later this year!

Next up, here's a mild surprise, as inactive local hardcore punk trio The Sole Aggressors have released their self-titled debut album that was teased last year! Given that the band was parting ways with members leaving the area for university, it's understandable that this is unexpected, especially when they never outright said how much work had progressed on the album. "Sole Aggressors" was mixed & mastered by Nicholas "R. Solomon" Sapounas in Detroit, and features cover artwork by regional comic artist Andrew Krahnke (the brother of former Bad Side frontwoman and Yes FM DJ Melissa Krahnke). The album features a whopping 21 songs, including all 18 originals seen in their live concert videos from 2023-2024 alongside three new songs (a self-titled opener, "Napoleon's Bonaparte", and the closer "No Part"). The band claims that the album is on "all platforms", but where is it exactly?

"All platforms" really isn't accurate in this case, as the album is not currently on YouTube Music! You can actually stream "Sole Aggressors" on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Bandcamp, and Tidal. In terms of outlets to actually buy the album in mp3 files, iTunes is selling it for $9.99, so it is officially on sale there! It is 100% free to download on Bandcamp though, not even via a "name your price" model. Alas, this adds to our insane backlog of new local metal, hard rock, and punk album releases for our monthly reviews, so I won't be looking at it until the fall, but definitely give this rare example of Sault Michigan punk rock in studio form a listen via the above services!

Finally, as you may recall, mid-late 2010s Sault Ontario funk/hard rock quartet The Elements had been working on a debut EP since at least 2016, and they posted "Need A Friend" from the sessions onto their Facebook page in February 2020. However, the guys never issued another public update, even after the pandemic lockdowns ended. Much to my surprise, the EP was posthumously posted to bassist James White's recording studio White Wreckords' YouTube channel two weeks ago! James appears to be reviving his studio, and he has posted other songs that he has worked on there as well, but The Elements are the only recognizable act off hand. What should you know about this EP as it stands six years later? In upload order, then five songs are "HHH", "Into You", "G20", "Freikorps Ball", and the aforementioned "Need A Friend". No sign of their originals "Liar", "The Rut", or "Riptide", for the record.

I don't know if the songs are presented in their intended track listing order. The Elements are represented here by their 2016-2020 and best known lineup, with James joined by Barbarians/ex-Wyld Stallyns frontman Rob Speers, Handsome Sandwich/ex-Jack Spades guitarist Jesse Cook, and With Gunfire/ex-Winkstinger drummer Jonas Gasperas. Rather than a unified album cover, each song has AI-generated artwork to represent them, which obviously wouldn't have been an option in 2020. Given that this isn't a paid and structured release for major streaming services (yet?), I won't add it to our lengthy local album review backlog, but I'll give some thoughts on what's here, and it's a solid batch of funk/groove metal and hard rock songs that fans of The Elements will want to hear at long last! While unreleased, it is cool to hear Rob and Jonas on completed studio material also, and Rob's distinctively raspy vocals add an effective layer!

Why The Elements broke up (pandemic acknowledged) is not known to me, and it's a shame that this EP never saw its intended release, but kudos to James for finally posting it for everyone to hear! While James isn't in a current band that I'm aware of, everyone else is active musically, and White Wreckords are back in operation, so follow what the guys are up to that way. Give The Elements' unreleased EP a listen above & below, and here's "HHH"!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!