Ashley Costello – Lead Vocals Nikki Misery – Guitar
Tyler Burgess – Bass
Nick Rossi – Drums
NEW YEARS DAY follow in the dark tradition of tragic high-drama and grand theatricality embodied by the hitchhiking ghosts of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, the churning emotional smolder
of HIM, iconoclastic bombast of Marilyn Manson and the savage flamboyance of Motionless In
White. Gothic vampirism, heady fantasy and an adventurous spirit akin to Alice tripping through
the looking glass swirl within New Years Day, led by the charismatic thunder of Ashley Costello.
Strikingly confident, dangerously disarming and hauntingly beautiful, Costello grabs the mantle
laid down by iconic larger-than-life performers like David Bowie, Amy Lee and Shirley Manson,
belting out increasingly malevolent cries with power while maintaining a heeled boot-hold in the
pop-punk catchiness of dark muses like Alkaline Trio.
New Years Day is heavy, bold and emotional, challenging social media bullies and championing
gloominess and melancholy in an empowering way. Costello is a more confessional singer than
ever, too, opening up about issues like family and self-worth. The songs swing and bounce with
an almost radio anthem certainty, while eliciting head banging with crowd-moving crunch in
equal measure. Catchy, gritty, primal guitar riffs collide with the electro-influx of neo-industrial
rock like White Zombie and Marilyn Manson, all with an eye toward memorability.
There’s an immediate, jarringly authentic punk-rock chaos about New Years Day, an attitude of
challenging, scrappy contrarianism against a backdrop of charming vulnerability. The sensitive
melancholy in their music and imagery, coupled with a self-assured trumpeting of the pushed
aside and the broken, has resulted in a new and unique tsunami that has thrilled crowds at Vans
Warped Tour and in sweaty clubs with Motionless In White, Escape The Fate and Combichrist.
The band’s earliest work threatened to give Panic! At The Disco and Taking Back Sunday a run
for their money, but ultimately, New Years Day was beckoned by darker callings. Songs like “Two
in the Chest, One in the Heart” and “Let’s Get Dead” from The Mechanical Heart EP alerted the
world to New Years Day’s burgeoning abilities, which were cemented by their first album for
Century Media.
Produced and mixed by Erik Ron (The Word Alive, Motionless in White), Victim to Villain maintains a 5 star user rating on Amazon.com, and with good reason. Standout tracks like “Do Your
Worst” and “Angel Eyes” pickup the blueprint laid down by the prior EP and supercharge it.
The Epidemic EP further crystalized New Years Day as a force to be reckoned with, pointing the
way toward an even more triumphant future.
Costello has assembled a band around her that shares not only her artistic vision, but her steadfast determination to succeed against the odds, as well. The lineup exudes a glamorously inviting mystique with unique personas, not unlike the separate but unified characters played by the
members of Kiss and Slipknot.
The New Years Day audience is heavily made up of all genders, including a legion of young
women who identify with the balance of strength and femininity inherent in Costello’s overall
stage presence and personality. Costello commands the overall environment as swiftly as she
belts out her lyrics, delivered with deep feeling, the experience of someone who’s been singing
since the age of 13, and a sense of yearning. She’s someone who had her favorite bands’ posters
on her bedroom wall, just as her fans have her picture glowing from their smartphones.
As UK hard rock tastemaker Rocksound rightly pointed out, New Years Day is to be cherished for
their “admirable bite and sharp hooks laced with a plentiful amount of scene pomp.”
British mainstay Metal Hammer cheerfully agreed: “They’re on a mission to make rock n’ roll
theatrical again and have one of the most formidable young frontwomen in their ranks. Get
ready for the unstoppable, spooktacular rise of New Years Day.”