Self-described “sad party punks” Clay J Gladstone have made a name for themselves in Sydney and beyond, with even Slipknot’s Corey Taylor calling them his favorite band. But their debut album—following 2021’s Dead Friends EP—takes their emotionally volatile, melodic punk to new heights as vocalist Tim Wisbey reflects on the anxiety that followed his father’s death when Wisbey was 19. Is This How I Die? opens with the line, “I’ve needed therapy since I was 18,” before the title track launches into the punchy refrain, “I’m not doin’ fine”; Wisbey finishes the song wishing for a lobotomy. From there, the combination of narrative heft, hooks, and catharsis recalls the concept albums of bands like Cursive and Titus Andronicus. Like those, this record is rich with contrast: Observe how the shout-along fury of “Postmodern Teenage Angst” drops away as “Death by Idle Hands” retreats to acoustic guitar and creaky singing at the start. Whether staging a raging defense of the marginalized (“Fight Me”) or bottling youthful alienation (“Why Does Everybody Hate Me?”), Wisbey revisits his internal growing pains in a way that’s both very personal and very relatable.