EYES UPON SEPARATION - I HOPE SHE'S HAVING NIGHTMARES; DIVIDER - AT TWILIGHT; OKTOBER SKYLINE - THAT'S HOW TRIPODS WORK

EYES UPON SEPARATION - I HOPE SHE'S HAVING NIGHTMARES

Believe it or not, JT Woodruff (Hawthorne Heights) used to play in this band. (So did some dudes from Zao, I hear.) Ten tracks of emotive technical metal, if you can fathom that. Plenty of breakdowns, but done with style and a hell of a lot better than the Devil Wears Prada or something.

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buy


DIVIDER - AT TWILIGHT

I think this band recently broke up after only releasing this "mini-LP." I got the chance to see them live and they absolutely floored me. This release did the same, which is even more impressive considering this was their first. Six great tracks that fall somewhere between Ed Gein and Converge without ripping off either.

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buy


OKTOBER SKYLINE - THAT'S HOW TRIPODS WORK

The only full-length from these five Pennsylvanians occasionally reminds me of Neutral Milk Hotel's best moments, with a pervasive Pavement sound throughout the whole disc that makes me want to get out my copy of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. Nah, just kidding: eleven sick tracks of experimental grind done in a way that's both self-indulgent and tasteful (imagine that!). The fact that I still dig this album hard four years after its release is a testament to its quality, that's for sure.

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buy
Oktober Skyline covers Danzig's "Mother"!

FIFTEEN - BUZZ; FROM ASHES RISE - "DISCOGRAPHY"; EMILYANNE - DEMOS

FIFTEEN - BUZZ

As I was posting this, Jack asked, "You don't like Mineral, but you like Fifteen?" The answer was "yes" -- I can't stand Mineral. I realize it's an apples-and-oranges comparison, but my hatred of Mineral had come up earlier. Moving on, Fifteen was a seminal Bay Area punk band formed after the breakup of Crimpshrine and fronted by Jeff Ott, one of the weirdest people in punk rock. I attended one of his performaces at a record store in 2005. He wheeled in a TV/VCR, dropped a basket of condoms (encouraging the showgoers to take as many as they wanted), turned on the TV, and started up a VHS of himself talking about some sort of rape/murder conspiracy. As the tape played, he sat next to me, rocking back and forth -- he reeked of body odor and weed, so it wasn't the most pleasant experience. That was the whole show; he didn't play any music, as the flyer had suggested he would. But it's exactly this sort of eccentricity that helped make Fifteen one of the best bands of the 90s, and it's exactly why they're better than Mineral.

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buy

FROM ASHES RISE - "DISCOGRAPHY"

Fast, brutal, crusty hardcore from Portland. Featuring current members of Tragedy and the infinitely boring Smoke or Fire. Quotes around "discography" because it doesn't include the Jade Tree-released Nightmares, but it's better stuff anyway.

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EMILYANNE - DEMO

One of my favorite bands from my hometown of Phoenix. They played passionate, Dischord-style emo with some serious musical sensibility (especially considering they were still in high school at the time). As far as I know, this was recorded sometime in mid- to late 2006. I'm pretty sure these four songs are the only ones from the session, but I could be wrong. All three members currently play in No Movement (formerly I Wish I) with a new vocalist.

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ON THE VERGE OF... - DISCOGRAPHY; LESS TALK - DEMO '06; DEADDEADDEATH - THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE TRIO OF DIO

ON THE VERGE OF... - DISCOGRAPHY

Sick of stale hardcore? Look no further. These dudes were doing it right in (mostly) high school. A lot of people seem to have beef with how simple the music is, but this remains one of my favorite bands ever. Features Patrick from End of a Year on vocals. Sorry for the mixed file format, but I had some difficulty tracking this shit down and am overjoyed that I managed to.

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LESS TALK - DEMO 2006

I was bummed that this band broke up after about six months. I saw them twice and they ruled, and this demo is a testament to the potential they had. Five tracks of politically-/socially-conscious hardcore from ex-members of Endicott and Once and For All. Yeah!

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DEADDEADDEATH- THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE TRIO OF DIO

I posted the first two things here and figured I should just get all my hometown-repping out of the way. These guys changed their style really frequently, but at this point they were a fairly technical skramz/grind band who brought it pretty hard.

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7 YEAR RABBIT CYCLE - ACHE HORNES; BLACK DICE - COLD HANDS; ENDICOTT - THE CASCADE

7 YEAR RABBIT CYCLE- ACHE HORNES

I heard "Pirate" off this album like two years ago and I was hooked. Thrashy post-rock/experimental stuff from ex-members of Deerhoof. Better than Deerhoof.

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buy?

BLACK DICE- COLD HANDS

This was the release that bridged the gap between the noisy thrash these dudes pumped out in their first three years and the epic soundscapes they've created ever since. Half noise, half hardcore. Out of print.

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ENDICOTT- THE CASCADE

Endicott gets a bad rap because the full-length they released on Equal Vision was really mediocre post-hardcore. A few listens to these five tracks should set the record straight. There was also a two-song demo that I'll try to post when I find it.

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buy "The Words In Ink Don't Lie" (PROCEED WITH CAUTION)

CROSSED OUT- DISCOGRAPHY THE ONE UP DOWNSTAIRS- EP

CROSSED OUT- DISCOGRAPHY

If you're getting into the "new" dark, fast and angry hardcore bands (Ceremony, Trash Talk) maybe you should pay homage to these dudes. Get stoked.

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buy?

THE ONE UP DOWNSTAIRS- EP

American Football is really good. So is Owen. Maybe not so much Make Believe. This is pretty good though too. Only thing they recorded but went onto bigger and better things.

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support their other stuff

ASSFACTOR 4 - SPORTS

ASSFACTOR 4 - SPORTS

Blisteringly fast, emotional, in-your-face punk with a nice touch of screamo. And sweet song titles like "Free Tibet and Pussy". Might post their other LP and miscellaneous comp tracks later.

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buy

CHARLIE BROWN GETS A VALENTINE - DISMISSED; DAUNTLESS ELITE - SECURITY?; MALADY - SELF TITLED

CHARLIE BROWN GETS A VALENTINE - DISMISSED

I've been hooked on this record for a solid three years now. Seriously well done pop-punk. Verging on sugary at times, but in the best way possible.

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buy

DAUNTLESS ELITE - SECURITY?

Gritty, melodic pop-punk from England. Insert tired Leatherface comparison here.

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buy

MALADY - SELF-TITLED

Somewhere between City of Caterpillar, Pg.99, and Pygmy Lush, which makes sense, considering Malady had members of all three. Dark, heavy, and epic.

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buy

GOSPEL - THE MOON IS A DEAD WORLD & TEENAGE COOL KIDS - DEMO TAPE

I guess Mike and I are starting a music blog. No need for a lengthy introduction. If you like the records we post, do everyone a favor and try to support the people who took the time to make them.

GOSPEL - THE MOON IS A DEAD WORLD

Technical screamo/post-hardcore with a keyboard. Pretty sure this was their only release, or at least their only full-length. Bummer.

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buy

TEENAGE COOL KIDS - DEMO TAPE

All the pop sensibility of The Exploding Hearts with the intensity of Marked Men. I've had a serious boner for this band since picking up their LP, Queer Salutations, earlier this year. Really catchy stuff.

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buy