This edition of Music Monday is mostly pop punk with a dash of Balance And Composure (sorry, I just couldn't wait to tell you). I'm not sure I am going to keep up with this whole weekly theme thing, but until I run out of genres I guess this is the way it's going to be. However! I have been listening to bands like Set Your Goals and New Found Glory and waiting for pop punk to make a comeback for a few years now, so there is a good chance Rain City Ambience will turn into POP PUNK FANSITE 3.0 [tentatively titled] pretty soon.

By the looks of things, the days of pop rock and hair swooping are coming to an end, and people are finally starting to appreciate honest music again. 2011 was an amazing year for pop punk, with the majority of these bands actually rooted in Northern California or the Philadelphia area. It would be great to see a movement around here too. (If you are in a NW pop punk band, leave a link in the comments!)

Glamour Kills also recently announced their Spring tour featuring The Wonder Years, Polar Bear Club, Transit, The Story So Far, A Loss For Words, and Into It. Over It. Check it out at El Corazon on March 24th. This is my most anticipated tour of 2012 so far, and incidentally my first two picks for this week are on the bill.

There is no way I am going to be able to post about every band that I want to tonight, so make sure you check out and subscribe to this nifty Spotify playlist if you want to hear more.

Click the album title to play it in Spotify. (Yes I really like this application. If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, what are you waiting for?) And as I said somewhere up there ^, if you are in a Northwest pop punk band, know of any NW pop punk bands, or have anything else to say, leave your input in the comments.

The Story So Far - Under Soil And Dirt
Key tracks: High Regard, Daughters, Swords And Pens, the entire album
This should have made my best of 2011 list. I don't know what happened. Here's the video for Quicksand:



The Wonder Years - Suburbia: I've Given You All And Now I'm Nothing
Key tracks: Local Man Ruins Everything, Summers in PA
This album has been on heavy rotation since its June release. They opened at Warped Tour and are now headlining the Glamour Kills tour this Spring. Watch the video for Local Man Ruins Everything:



Man Overboard - Man Overboard
Key tracks: Rare, Atlas, Picture Perfect
There are definitely a few cheesy tracks on this album, but both the opener and closer are amazing. Bright guitars and vocals, and clearly influenced by blink-182. I dig it. Here's Rare (audio only):



Balance And Composure - Separation
Key tracks: I Tore You Apart In My Head, More To Me, Defeat The Low
This is where the pop punk ends. Separation instantly became one of my favorite albums of 2011, and I need to spread the love. With influences like Sunny Day Real Estate, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Nirvana, it has to be good. Like Man Overboard, B&C;also doesn't have any recent music videos, so here's the audio of I Tore You Apart In My Head:



Who are we missing? (Obviously about a thousand other awesome bands.) Leave your thoughts in the comments!