Summerbruise ‘Infinity Guise’ Release Highlights

Summerbruise released their new album, Infinity Guise, on September 19, 2025.

Infinity Guise serves as an evolution for Summerbruise. It serves as the longest collection of songs they’ve released (at 12 tracks), and it features a freshened-up production value. The vocals have a sharp clarity to them, and though a growly bass is featured in much of the track, the mixing work helps the warm buzz and intricacies of the guitar to stand out. Then, there’s a sort of crashy raw drum that pushes a punky DIY feel.

This LP features cheeky lyrics that serve as an introspective but quirky delve into mental health and self-deprecation, and there’s a bit of an inner dialogue with oneself that’s further explored in the track “Bottle Episode.” They have a goofy edge to them, but at the end of the day, they explore realistic feelings from a pessimistic outlook. Put together, the music and lyrical penmanship make Infinity Guise stand out as a stellar Midwest Emo LP. It’s fun, and the way that it flows has an addictive quality that stays from start to finish.

Starwave Spotlight—

Overall, the addictive guitar, full-band sound, and goofy but introspective lyricism make Infinity Guise build into a well-developed collection of songs. Each track fits together well, but they also each find a way to shine on their own. That being said, here are four tracks curated for a spot in the light by Starwave because they stand out. These tracks are “Meet Hell Halfway,” “VAN,” “Cookie Monster Snapback,” and “Was The Grink There?”

Meet Hell Halfway

“Meet Hell Halfway” is the shortest track on the album, but there’s something about the lyricism that does well at painting a visual scene. It slows the pacing down from much of the album, and the bass pulls back from its growl to a less aggressive buzz for the start. The guitars get a lot of the spotlight, and the softer percussion plays into it all to create a piece that feels deeply thoughtful. Lyrically, it captures a very potent scene. It’s about the main narrator of the album seeing their cat watch TV. This causes them to introspect on whether the cat understands the words. This leads them to wonder whether what they say makes sense to the cat, which gives comfort in the fact that “he'd (the cat) tell me if I were crazy.”

VAN (with Carpool)

“VAN” works with a buzzy bass lead that provides the perfect canvas for addictive guitar hooks and a forcefulness that plays well with the emo whine of the lead vocals. This track includes a buzzier grit to it, the vocals breaking into more of a scream at times. Its bass flow works with the power vocals to build into an anthemic sound. There’s a great energy and drive forward overall, and the shouty outro lent by Stoph Colasanto is a great pinnacle. The lyrics in this track tell a tale of self-isolation, avoiding friends, and a struggle with feeling judged by others.

Cookie Monster Snapback (With Tades Sanville from Hot Mulligan)

Then there’s “Cookie Monster Snapback,” which once again pulls back from the buzzy production style, and it does so in a way that gives it a really crisp sound, especially vocally. It dashes a bit of a pop punk sound into things with its catchy guitar melody and vocals that beg to be belted along to. Tades Sanville has a lot to bring to this track, and his vocals bounce around with and harmonize with Summerbruise vocalist Mike Newman’s so cleanly. There’s a lot of synergy that comes from this feature, and both vocalists deliver their parts of the track with power. This all is a great backdrop for the narrative, which tells the story of a fifth grader who is learning how to navigate the world after learning how to do so from Andrew Tate. The chorus rings out, “He doesn't know how bad he's gonna hurt you / He doesn't recognise all the ways he's learning to.” The way that it builds together shows the impact of toxic masculine figures and how it may affect the youth as they grow older.

Was The Grink There?

The final track of the album is “Was The Grink There?,” and it’s a really strong finish. It seems to take the core of Infinity Guise, both musically and lyrically, and ties it all together. The bass and guitar give it a bit of a sway in the softer moments, and the more filled-out instrumental moments provide a lot of energy. They seem to play back and forth, and this gives the track moments that pop out really well. Lyrically, it gets into the self-deprecation that flows throughout much of the album. It gets into one’s own thoughts of feeling so pessimistic that they make situations worse, even if they haven’t happened yet. Getting deeper, it’s about struggling to connect with others, because they don’t know how to struggle with the narrator’s mood changes and triggers. It finishes with punchy vocals that go “You let that dumb shit stick to you / Ruin all sorts of shit for you / You make me sick, you really do.”

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Though these tracks stand out one way or another, there’s a lot of depth a connection through the entire album. Each song touches on deep concepts in a creative way, and somehow, Infinity Guise creates mental portraits of personal struggles in a way that’s fun.

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What’s next for Summerbruise?

Fresh out of the release of Infinity Guise, Summerbruise are going on the Fake Emo Fight Night Tour for every date. They will be joined by the other bands, Dear Maryanne, Oolong, and Moosecreek Park, and it will kick off on November 6th in Pittsburgh. Tickets for the different dates of this tour can be found on Dear Maryanne’s linktr.ee.

Written by Sage Plapp