Alternative rock band Post-Skeleton releases their first EP, the five-track Everyone You Know is Alone on Friend Club Records. Post-Skeleton is the newest creative outlet of front man, guitarist and singer Andrew Low of The Jazz June, a mid-90’s emo band in the vein of Sunny Day Real Estate and The Get Up Kids.

Rounding out the group is bassist Matt Whittle of Emperor Zero and drummer Robbie Richardson of Giant Sons along with secondary drummer Dom Davies. Bryan Gassler, lead guitarist for The Jazz June, added to the recordings remotely from his home in North Carolina.

Everyone You Know is Alone continues Low’s mission of making guitar forward rock and roll music with vulnerable storytelling lyrics. The songs feature a lot of down stroked guitars, pounding drums, melodic lead guitar hooks, and Low’s accessible everyman voice. Their style of music could be classified as “emo” in the traditional sense. But it also takes a lot of inspiration from 80’s and 90’s college rock/punk bands like The Replacements, Husker Du, and Superchunk. They would also appeal to fans of punk rock by way of Springsteen created by artists like The Gaslight Anthem and Frank Turner.

Interestingly, the EP sounds less-produced than The Jazz June’s last LP After the Earthquake. This gives it an overall naked, independent tone that is refreshing. It’s not lo-fi or gritty. The recordings are very clean. But it sounds like there is very little production meddling in between the band’s amps and the listener’s ears. Spinning the album is akin to sitting in on the recording sessions. In that way it is an incredibly intimate experience usually reserved for singer-songwriters.

Everyone You Know is Alone starts out with a mellow rocker titled “The Loudest.” Ironically this may be the softest song on the project. It then transitions into “Double Vision” and “Cigs” both up-tempo narrative rockers that would fit well alongside of the later Against Me discography. The lackadaisical guitar solo on “Cigs” recalls the better parts of 90’s alternative. And the pulse-pounding strum, drum, sing combination on the chorus is exceptionally shoutable (whether you are a smoker or not).  “And I haven’t had a single cigarette this year.” The EP was purportedly written and recorded before the world shutdown. So I’m really curious is Low has been able to keep to this anthemic declaration.

I’m back and forth between “Cigs” and “Sea Isle City” as my favorite tracks. The vocal work on “Cigs” is undeniably the catchiest part on Everyone You Know is Alone. But the guitar lick on “Sea Isle City” has a post-punk tone to it that’s wholly captivating. The lyrics too are heartfelt and relatable. “I was sick of thinking about it. All the silence remained, just seemed so g**damn pointless…How did we end up in this town? All the other places that we’ve been, never seemed to get to me like this.” The open-strummed guitar fadeout at the end recalls Pete Townshend gleefully windmilling on “Baba O’Reilly.”

I know I included a lot of band comparisons in this article. This isn’t to make me look like some ‘smarter-than-thou’ music critic or to suggest Post-Skeleton’s music is derivative. I do this because I’m having a difficult time describing what they do in these five songs without referencing bands I absolutely love that have followed similar paths. Everyone You Know is Alone manages to channel the best parts of honest-to-God blue collar rock and roll that speaks with a vulnerability which avoids being sickeningly sweet or overly dramatic. If this is emo, then it’s not the early 2000’s kind with too-tight shirts, eyeliner, and whiny lyrics about cutting wrists. And the listener is all the better for it.

You can follow Post-Skelton on Instagram and stream Everyone You Know is Alone HERE.