Features

The Carolyn have always written songs for the overthinkers, the underachievers, and anyone just trying to keep their head above water. On their new record, Pyramid Scheme of Grief (out this Friday on 59 X / Disconnect Disconnect Records), the Atlanta trio pack all those messy, unresolved feelings into sub–two-and-a-half-minute bursts of melodic punk you’ll want to put on repeat while you question your life choices. Think The Menzingers, The Lawrence Arms or Spanish Love Songs, but with their own raw twist.

Since the best way to get to know a band is to find out what they’ve been blasting in their headphones, we asked The Carolyn to share ten albums that left a mark on them. Here’s what shaped the band's hooks, heartbreak, and late-night singalongs that make their new LP their best yet.

Misfits - Collection II

Andrew: This had a massive impact on me at a young age and was probably my first "real" punk album. Not a lot to say here. It's The Misfits, goddamnit!

Camp Cope - How to Socialize and Make Friends

Oli & Andrew: The impact that Camp Cope's outspoken perspective, raw vulnerability and unique sound had on me when I first heard them cannot be understated. I've listened to the song The Omen hundreds of times and every time it brings me to tears.

Motion City Soundtrack - Commit This to Memory

Dave: Another band and record that’s responsible for a lot of influence on my playing. Just putting on headphones and sitting behind the kit trying to dissect Tony Thaxton’s drum parts.

The Menzingers - On the Impossible Past

Dave: Perfect from top to bottom. They just know how to write a song.

NOFX - So Long and Thanks For All the Shoes

Andrew: Also not a lot to say here. By far their catchiest record and flawless from front to back.

PXNDX - Amantes Sunt Amentes

Oli: The fact that this band doesn't get their flowers outside of the Spanish-speaking world is a travesty. At a glance this might seem like any other pop-punk record from the early 2000s, but there are too many catchy hooks and interesting instrumentation choices for this record to have been overlooked at the time - if only more people were exposed to it outside of Latin America. I listen to this album regularly.

The Falcon - Gather Up the Chaps

Andrew: I liked this record fine when it first came out, but a few years after its release I revisited it and holy shit. Not sure why, but it really inspired me and had a major impact on where I started to take my writing. 

Joyce Manor - Never Hungover Again

Oli: This is the perfect blend of emo and pop-punk. Short, energetic and infectiously catchy tracks. Just listen to The Jerk. Joyce Manor opened my eyes to a sub-genre that I'd written off for too long, and forever changed my approach to songwriting.

The Moms - Buy American

I saw this band play at a small local venue called Swayze’s back in 2014 and fell in love with them. This record is just so good.

My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

Oli: For Christmas when I was 10, I was given a copy of The Black Parade and I fell in love with it, but when I bought Three Cheers with some birthday money a few months later, I was blown away. The dark tone hit so much harder with Black Parade's marching-band aesthetic and Queen balladry stripped away. I don't think I'll ever get sick of this record.