Concrete Castles Release Debut Album

Concrete Castles Release Wish I Missed You

In May 2021 I reviewed “Half Awake” by Concrete Castles. This was the follow-up to their debut single “Just a Friend”. At the time I wrote “Concrete Castles is off to a strong start with their first two singles. With Audra Miller’s stunning looks and voice, along with the band’s sound, this a musical group that is ready to soar. It will be interesting to see what their future releases bring”. Well, the future is now. The band just released their debut album Wish I Missed U on September 17th via Velocity Records / Equal Vision Records.

The Erie, PA trio is comprised of Audra Miller (vocals), Matt Yost (guitar), and Sam Gilman (drums). Many people know them from their work with their cover band First To Eleven which has amassed over 1,000,000 YouTube subscribers. Each Thursday First to Eleven releases a new cover version of songs from artists such as Metallica, Rage Against The Machine, My Chemical Romance, Avril Lavigne, Taylor Swift, and many others. These slickly produced videos have millions of views with Sweet Child of Mine having over 34 million views. Last year the band signed a record deal with Velocity Records to record their own music and with that came a new name, Concrete Castles.

Several songwriters including Blake Harnage (PVRIS), Tyler Smyth (Lights, Blessthefall), Jayden Seeley (With Confidence), Mark Maxwell (Lindsey Stirling, Afrojack), Esjay Jones (Alient Ant Farm, Frank Zummo) contributed to Wish I Missed U. John and Stephen Gomez of TWIN XL were brought in to produce the album.

While discussing the album Concrete Castles shared “To say we’ve been waiting a long time for you to hear this album would be such an understatement! We’ve been writing this album for almost 4 years now & in the recording/production process for about a year. We’re all so proud of what we created & couldn’t have asked for a better team to do it with! We can’t wait for you all to hear Wish I Missed U, it’s almost here!!!”

Concrete Castles chose an Indie Pop direction for Wish I Missed U. The emphasis was placed directly on Miller’s vocals. It is a solid debut that is a very polished, well produced piece of work. However, I was hoping for a different direction from the band. As First To Eleven the members cover songs across multiple musical genres. I think the band shines best when they perform songs that lean more toward the rock and pop punk side of the musical spectrum. Miller’s vocals tend be more powerful and edgier for this style, while Yost and Gillman are better able to display their guitar and drum skills which seemed to get lost on this album.

I really like Concrete Castles and believe this group of 19 and 20-year old’s have a huge upside. Audra Miller is a fantastic vocalist that has only just tapped her potential. It would be nice to see a change in style like we just saw with Machine Gun Kelly going from hip-hop to pop-punk. Just like my last review of the band, I’ll finish with it will be interesting to see what their future brings.

Wish I Missed U Tracklist:

1. Wish I Missed U (feat. Anthony Green)
2. Hidden Faces
3. Just A Friend
4. Porcelain
5. Holding On
6. Half Awake
7. Atmosphere
8. Suburbia
9. Thrill
10. Say It
11. Mess

Follow The Band:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/concretecastles
Twitter: www.twitter.com/concretecastles
Instagram: www.instagram.com/concretecastles

Post by Scott Raymer (Website | Instagram | Facebook)

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