Stateside has just dropped their debut album Where You Found Me. It’s the kind of record that feels tailor-made for windows-down summer drives. The burst of sun-soaked energy wrapped in punchy riffs and anthemic hooks encapsulates the angst of those teenage summers. Drawing influence from their pop punk predecessors, they channel the emotional urgency of early 2000s Warped Tour icons while layering in a more modern, hardcore-influenced edge.
There’s no easing into it the band are flooring right out of the gate. They set the tone with Heads Up Big Guy delivering a meaty, driving riff. It’s loud, tight, and catchy, even incorporating some post-hardcore guitar elements. Stay Sweet then shifts the gears into more melodic territory. Featuring Joe Taylor of Knuckle Puck with his gritty, emotive delivery pairs beautifully with the track’s nostalgia-soaked lyrics.
Then comes Vista Verde (So Far So Good), where Stateside flex their hardcore influence. The guitars are heavier, the tempo more aggressive, and can I hear metalcore screams in the backing vocals? This then shifts to the greatly named The End’s Not Near It’s Hear. We get a song that truly captures that awkward, aching in a breakup. It’s not explosive or angry it’s worn down, and painfully honest.
The middle section of the album steadies out with some hazy emo elements. We then get an eruption of grief and portraits of loss through Like a Rosary and Bitter Spring. Stateside then flips the script and explores the pull of returning, not running on California Calls You Home. This feels like a more mature, subtle twist on this common trope of wanting to leave your hometown.
Mile Marker ends the album on just the right note, melodic, hopeful, and emotionally resolved. The themes are tied together without forcing some overly neat conclusion. Where You Found Me delivers a quiet confidence and suggests more is to come for this group.
Stateside’s track’s snap with a kind of youthful frustration and longing. You can hear the influence of bands like New Found Glory in the melodic structure, Four Year Strong in the heavier breakdowns, and Knuckle Puck in the vocal dynamics and lyrical vulnerability.
What makes Where You Found Me really stand out, is how cohesive and self-assured it feels for a debut. There’s a real sense that the band know exactly who they are and the sound they’re chasing—equal parts sunshine, sweat and heartbreak . It’s pop punk with teeth, and perfect for blasting on the Summer days ahead.
Where You Found Me is out now via Pure Noise Records for more information click here
