Hostage Calm
Die on Stage
Release Date: Sep 16, 2014
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Record label: Run for Cover Records
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Buy Die on Stage from Amazon
Album Review: Die on Stage by Hostage Calm
Very Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating B
Connecticut’s Hostage Calm made a name for themselves by way of reinvention, starting off as a genuine hardcore punk outfit on Lens before becoming an atypical pop punk act by their self-titled sophomore effort. 2012’s Please Remain Calm flashed glimpses of greatness, combining the borrowed ideology of The Clash with harmonies and melodies lifted straight from The Beach Boys. On Die On Stage, these punks continue blending ’60s bubblegum and distorted power chords into a sound they can call their own.
Based on rating 3.5/5
Die On Stage is definitely the album that confirms the path which Hostage Calm have set themselves on. They've tempered and toned down their sound record by record over the past couple years, tinkering along the way at Run For Cover. I noticed this since 2010. As skeptical as I was, I still enjoyed their body of work though and this album, while not their most definitive or most assured set, does feel like the skin they are most comfortable in and something has to be said for that.
'Die on Stage'
is available now