Issue #1
The idea for DSALT came to us when various people in our lives continuously urged us to create any form of content to document our various adventures in the music industry. Over the course of our Winter break from college, we created this very website from the ground up with our first article already in mind: our top albums from 2016. AKA when we were ten years-old with not the most knowledge of the music industry. Regardless, the early-to-mid 2000’s had some of the best music that properly shaped our childhood into adulthood. We chose four EP’s/albums to share with you.
Our Top Albums/EP's from 2016:
#4: Terrible Things: The Orphan The Poet
Mindy’s Favorite: Terrible Things (basic)
Ash’s Favorite: Wild & Young
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We first discovered TOTP’s Pop Rock sound when they opened for one of oldest-loved band Weathers on their 2022 “My Friends Have Better Friends” tour. Since that day and onwards, our love for their sound and them as people has done nothing but grow within each day and each time we have the opportunity to watch them live. Their Terrible Things EP was their first release as TOTP with a more grunge/rock-leaning sound. In comparison to their music today, it can be observed how their genre has changed but still keeps that edge. Regardless, every song released since then such as their most recent song titled “Eureka” has been nothing but bangers. Additionally, this is our formal request to bring back “Terrible Things” to their live shows as we’ve nagged them to do for the past four years.
#3: Sounds Good Feels Good (B-Sides And Rarities): 5 Seconds Of Summer
Mindy’s Favorite: Safety Pin ​
Ash’s Favorite: The Girl Who Cried Wolf
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Sounds Good Feels Good is a top tier album, as everyone knows. After its 2015 release, the band released a B-Sides And Rarities EP including two new songs titled “The Space Between A Rock And A Hard Place” and “Story Of Another Us”. Our favorites from this collection already exist in the Sounds Good Feels Good album, but out of the two newer songs in the EP, our collective favorite has always been “The Space Between A Rock And A Hard Place” also known as “Catch 22” to most fans. You can catch us blasting this song (and album in general) in our cars or rooms most days, and it’s Ash’s favorite album!
#2: Misadventures: Pierce The Veil
Mindy’s Favorite: Dive In
Ash’s Favorite: Sambuka
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Coming at #2 is a band everyone is more than familiar with, Pierce The Veil. We also let Mindy have full-reign writing this one (she’s very, very annoying about PTV). Not only was Misadventures one of the most iconic releases of the year 2016, it also was their last album that would be released before their seven-year hiatus. With the release of Misadventures, the San Diego-based band paved the way for experimental albums and songs, an example being one of their top songs off of the album titled “Floral & Fading”. “The Misadventures Tour” was just as iconic, where the band played the entire album from start to finish.
#1: Double Dare: Waterparks
Mindy’s favorite: Gloom Boys
Ash’s Favorite: Hawaii (Stay Awake)
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And finally last but absolutely not least, we have “Double Dare” by the amazing, unique band, Waterparks. Waterparks also serves as our collective favorite band, who we have been fans of for eight years now. This past November through December, we had the pleasure of being able to follow “The Prowler Tour,” where we attended four dates. From Washington, DC, all the way to Sacramento, California. This album solidified the ongoing success of their careers. Lastly, according to Ash, “we love Hawaii and Awsten is wrong.” "Double Dare" is their favorite album so they're automatically right.