A lot has happened to Hellogoodbye since the Huntington Beach, California-based act released their breakthrough album Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! back in 2006. Over the past four years the band have parted with their old record label, retooled their lineup, released a handful of EPs and performed everywhere from the Philippines to living rooms. All of these cumulative experiences play into the band’s latest album Would It Kill You? a collection of perfect pop gems that not only proves that Hellogoodbye are still relevant but affirms that if anything, they’ve sharpened their musical edge over the past few years—and looking back, the band’s frontman Forrest Kline sees the past few years as an amazing opportunity to hone his craft without pressure.

“I’m super slow at everything no matter what I do,” Kline explains when asked what the process of writing and recording Would It Kill You? was like. “If I’m going to clean out my closet it’ll take me all day because I’ll empty out the whole thing, then I’ll paint it, then I’ll tear off the drawers and get new hardware. Everything becomes a process and musically it’s the same thing,” he continues with a laugh. “If I do one thing, I have to do 900 tasks to get it done, so to be able to take the time with this album was a relief because I didn’t have to stress about not having enough time to accomplish everything I wanted to do with these songs.”

Having toured nearly non-stop for ten years as frontman for The Academy Is..., William Beckett has built up an incredibly dedicated and supportive fanbase around the world. Though massively proud of the band's accomplishments and experiences together, their eventual disbanding as a group in late 2011 allowed for Beckett to begin the next era of his career, as a solo artist. After returning home to his roots and family in Chicago, Beckett began pouring his heart and soul into a trilogy of EPs — Walk The Talk, Winds Will Change, and What Will Be, and the Pioneer Sessions album (a collection of twelve acoustic versions of songs from each of the EPs) — all of which was self-released in 2012.

Beckett is currently recording his debut Equal Vision Records release, a full-length album, in his hometown of Chicago, IL with producer Marc McClusky (Weezer, Ludo). “This new record is nothing less than my greatest musical accomplishment,” Beckett confides earnestly. “And after writing and releasing the three EPs last year, working with Marc McClusky was a no brainer. While we share the same vision for the album, we are also constantly pushing and challenging each other to lift it to next level.”

Like most good things, Mike Mains & The Branches came from the South. Born in Texas, and bred in Michigan, this indie rock collective has spent the last three years making waves everywhere in between. Following the release of their debut album, Home, they've used their relentless touring, unique sound, and sharp jawlines to carve out a place for themselves in the hearts of rock music fans across the country, and have now gained the attention of literally dozens of people in other countries as well. With a live show that has been praised as "above-average" and the promise of a followup record, good things lie in the future of Mike Mains & The Branches.