Biography
San Antonio post-hardcore band Across the Atlantic crafts intense, punk- and screamo-tinged rock that revolves around frontman Jay Martinez. The group first assembled near 2011 when Martinez answered his own Craigslist notice while beginning coursework at the University of Texas San Antonio. Rehearsing around class schedules, the five-piece—guitarists Jason Lugo and Julio Bautista, bassist Jayy Garza, and drummer Cody Cook—honed a fervent, aggressive style. Across the following four years the musicians issued two self-produced albums and cultivated a dedicated regional audience. Throughout this period Martinez, a communications major, juggled academic demands and part-time jobs against his commitment to the group. In his final undergraduate semester the members began tracking material he assumed could mark their last collaboration. Only weeks after spring graduation ceremonies, as Martinez submitted graduate-school applications and weighed leaving the band, Sharptone Records contacted him. The outfit then joined the roster and delivered its third studio album, Works of Progress, in 2017.