PureVolume

Members: Mark Mikina, Wills Mayo, Jon Adams, David Favazza

In an industry dominated by anti-artists, there are few sights more refreshing than a group of gentlemen relishing playing music they believe in and love. Those four gentlemen are Baltimore, Maryland rock band Storm The Beaches. Since their 2009 inception, the act have released two EPs - 2009's Gifts From Sea and 2010's The Color Earth - both to an overwhelmingly positive fan response and have amassed a loyal following in their home state. "Maryland has a vibrant, supportive music scene," says bassist Jon Adams, "but it's difficult to break out". With an electrifying, scintillating, and occasionally terrifying live show filled with their brand of heartfelt, intense melodic-rock songs, there is no reason the quartet can't become a global act. With a similar tone of hunger and ambition, vocalist Mark Mikina speaks to epitomize everything surrounding the band as simply as; "we want the world," before continuing with a philosophical approach to the past and future of the band; "We see our past as the prelude. We're ready for the real story to begin. This full-length, is our collective chapter one."

As an old music industry adage goes, you have your entire life to write your first album. Following a few personnel changes and having built a team around them, the foundation was in place for the band to take the colossal step of a debut full-length. True to the band’s style, that process wasn’t taken lightly, as guitarist Wills Mayo explains; "we literally retreated to a farm to record demos for three months," as Mark Mikina justifies; "it’s our baby and we had to do it right. The recording process itself saw the band working with producer Trevor Simpson - the man who produced both of the band's previous EPs as well as working with artists such as You, Me, And Everyone We Know – and the relative eternity spent demoing and recording gave birth to the 15 songs that make up Storm The Beaches' debut full-length, Hemisphere. The process not only brought the band even closer together, but also facilitated the development of their sound and fixated their musical style and direction, with the final product extraordinarily weighing in at 67 minutes long. Drummer David Favazza explains; "It’s our first full length and we wanted to make the album we wanted to make. There’s definitely a variety of songs on the record; slow songs, fast songs, catchy songs, serious songs. Compared to our older material, I’d say the new songs are more powerful, dark, and diverse and they're also more serious in nature and less poppy, but catchier than ever. I think a lot of people expected a full-length from us after Gifts From Sea, but after following that up with an EP, we really just wanted to do a full-length for the fans this time around."

Indeed, Hemisphere leaves listeners spoiled for stylistic choice and variety, and also potential singles, with its mix of fast-paced catchiness, thoughtful, personal songwriting, and ability to calm the storm with heart-wrenching acoustic numbers placed throughout. Visibly animated with a tint of inspiration, vocalist Mark Mikina exclaims; “We poured so much of ourselves into this record. This is what we were meant to do.” Having signed to Boston, MA based independent label Apparition Records, the real challenge will be delivering the album to ears and hearts around the world. "We want as many people to hear the album as possible," asserts Mark Mikina. That goal is shared by the band's label, "Apparition have been great to work with so far. They really love what they do and they want the best for us. They work hard and leave no stone unturned, and they've given us full creative freedom," says Jon Adams. With touring becoming the main priority for the band, few can deny that the stage is set for Storm The Beaches to make a thunderous impact. “Whether through our live show or our recorded music, we want to bring people closer to our band and we hope people can pour out their life experiences to us and to our other fans just as we have. We all grew up listening to music and music was our medication to whatever was going on in our lives. I really just hope that we can turn around and be the same for the next generation”. Such a combination of talent, ambition, and security can only equate to one outcome: Storm The Beaches are set to take the world by storm. Hemisphere is out now via Apparition Records.