Be Well
photo via Be Well Facebook

what Brian McTernan is listening to in isolation ++ new Be Well video

With the coronavirus pandemic keeping many of us home a lot more, we’ve been asking artists to make us playlists of the music they’ve been listening to in isolation, and this one comes from Brian McTernan, who fronted hardcore vets Battery back in the ’90s, currently fronts the killer new punk supergroup Be Well (alongside musicians who played in Fairweather, Bane, Converge, and Darkest Hour), and who produced classic records by tons of killer punk/hardcore/post-hc bands such as Converge, Snapcase, Piebald, Cave In, Frodus, The Movielife, Hot Water Music, Thrice, Circa Survive, and plenty of others.

Brian says “I have strictly been comfort-listening since this whole mess started,” and his list is made up of all old favorites, including songs by Turning Point, The Get Up Kids, P.O.S, Embrace, and H2O, whose 25th anniversary show in NYC would’ve been last weekend with Be Well opening until you-know-what got in the way (now it’s scheduled to happen in July). Brian also added reflective commentary and/or personal anecdotes for each pick, which you can read and listen to all his picks below.

Be Well are also scheduled to open The Movielife‘s short East Coast tour (CT, NJ, Philly), which was moved from May to October.

Also, Be Well released their debut 7″ on Equal Vision last year, and now they’ve got a lyric video for its song “Strength For Breath.” Check it out:

WHAT BRIAN MCTERNAN IS LISTENING TO IN ISOLATION

Turning Point – “Thursday”

I’ve loved everything this band has done except the one time they stayed at my parents’ house on tour back in the ’90s and they started playing drums at 2 A.M. “I’ve never felt so alone, and so cramped all at once” sums up the way I think a lot of people are feeling right now.

The Get Up Kids – “Holiday”

This song always makes me miss my long distance friends, which is everyone right now.

P.O.S – “Wearing A Bear”

The Bled guys said their rapper friend was going to come live with us in the studio while we were making Silent Treatment, which seemed like a terrible idea. That friend ended up being P.O.S, and it was rad. This song is an outlier vibe-wise, but will keep your heart beating on repeat. #aintshitbetter

Embrace – “End Of A Year”

This is the soundtrack of my lifetime commitment to social distancing.

H2O – “What Happened?”

Be Well was meant to be playing last weekend with H2O to celebrate Toby Morse’s 50th birthday.… so bummed that the shows ended up getting canceled. Love and miss these guys a ton.

Since we couldn’t see Be Well with H2O last weekend, here’s a well-shot, full-set video of the band in Philly last year: