Kaonashi The 3 Faces Of Beauty: A Violent Misinterpretation Of Morgan Montgomery A Second Chance At Forever: The Brilliant Lies From Casey Diamond

Philadelphia’s Kaonashi wants to create change. The quartet—Peter Rono (vocals), Ryan Paolilli (drums), Ryne Jones (bass), and Alex Hallquist (guitar/vocals)—aspire to generate compassion, understanding, and empathy through art. They understand that music is and has always been a force for bringing people together. They’ve made it their mission to leverage the platform that music provides to change the world around them for the better. “These songs make up a fictional story but it’s rooted in our personal experiences,” Rono explains. “We are starting from the ending and moving to the beginning. On the 2021 LP Dear Lemon House, You Ruined Me: Senior Year, it’s about Jamie and it’s the tragedy that happens on graduation day. The last release, 2024’s The 3 Faces of Beauty: A Violent Misinterpretation Of Morgan Montgomery, is about Morgan and their junior year. And this album is about Casey and reveals more about how we ended up at this tragedy.” While the songs draw from the members’ personal experiences, Kaonashi are simultaneously able to construct a parallel universe with their music to get lost inside that’s as cathartic for the band as it is for their fans. “There’s a lot of unfortunate stories to get inspiration from and this really is a tragedy, but it’s therapy for me getting it out in these songs,” he continues.