+ By Surprise – $600 Dollar Exorcism

I’ve been jamming this By Surprise song a lot lately.  Good stuff – insanely catchy emo – but it took a while to grow on me.  Which reminds me, you should go download the Topshelf Records sampler because that’s where I discovered this song.

+ Longform.org

Longform is a blog that “posts great new and classic non-fiction articles, curated from across the web.”  If you have to spend a lot of time in front of a computer, this site will keep you entertained.

A few articles I’ve enjoyed:

+  DISPATCH FROM ANGOLA: FAITH-BASED SLAVERY IN A LOUISIANA PRISON

+  ENTER THE CYBER-DRAGON

+ The Usual – Light Letters

My friend Matt’s band The Usual recently released a new album called Light Letters.  They play a controlled driving style of screamo that instantly brought L’antietam to mind.  Apparently they recorded most of the album themselves, with the exception of drums.  Cool stuff, check it out!

+ Sirs

Sirs is an upbeat emo/punk band – equal parts Acrobatic Tenement era At the Drive-in & Cap n’ Jazz (especially those vocals).  This band would fit really well on a bill with Street Smart Cyclist, Algernon & Chalk Talk.  They share that Pennsylvania emo sound and they do it really well.  I’m excited to hear new recordings from this band.

Sirs just released an EP entitled Vas Deferens which can be downloaded HERE.

+ The National Rifle

The National Rifle plays, according to their press release, “politically packed Philly-soul-infused rock” that will “get you shaking your ass and pogo-ing to your heart’s content.”  I guess the closest band in my musical lexicon that I can compare TNR to is The Strokes.  I bet a lot of people will take that as an insult but I don’t mean it to be.  I like what I hear I just don’t have a point of reference in the soul rock genre.  Their song Love Crack kind of sounds like a b-side off one of The Plot to Blow up the Eiffel Tower albums so that’s cool.

The National Rifle is playing Charm City Art Space Tonight @ 7 pm with We Were Skeletons, Slowpoke & Life in Vacuum.

+ Raindeer

Raindeer is an experimental synth-pop dance group from Baltimore.  This is completely out of my normal musical territory so my opinion of their music doesn’t really hold much weight but for what it’s worth their tracks had me nodding my head.  The only thing that bugs me about this band is their neon bordered Photoshop logo.  Though maybe that’s a normal synth-pop logo aesthetic like how black metal bands write their names in that extremely messy unreadable font.

You can download the Raindeer EP HERE.

The world is a beautiful place and I am no longer afraid to die (whew, long name) is a beautiful mash up of emo twinkly guitars, nasally lackadaisical vocals, poppy instrumental hooks and a penchant to go on atmospheric indulgences once in a while.  Great stuff.  The vocalist really does have the perfect voice to front this type of band.

Download their 4 song EP for free on their Bandcamp.

Tigers Jaw’s sound is reminiscent of bands like The Get Up Kids or early Taking Back Sunday – not so much musically as in the overall “feeling” of the album, which I know is a very generalized statement but just trust me – after you listen, you’ll know.

I catch myself listening to The Sun way too often and repeating “What about your friends? What about your friends?  Do they make you happy?”

p.s.  Their singer’s voice is the definition of melancholy.

Download: Tigers Jaw – Tigers Jaw

Read: A Full Review

The Saddest Landscape absolutely rips on this split.  Their singer has one of the most interesting voices in this genre of music.  He delivers his lyrics with a quivering yell that shakes and breaks up from how hard he’s pushing his vocal chords – it’s very reminiscent of the vocal styling that City of Caterpillar was known for.  Really good stuff.  I hope they’re hard at work on a full length.

As for the Trophy Scars song; upon first listen I wasn’t feeling it too much, but it has been growing on me.  If you like your emo slow, soft and sad then you should love it.

Download HERE.

We were lucky enough to play a stretch of shows with My Heart to Joy last summer near the tail end of our tour.  My Heart to Joy, who recently dropped ‘at the same tone’ from their name, play a mixture of emotional indie rock and 90′s Midwestern emo which they compliment with a dash of screamo that comes out every once in a while.  The first show that we played with them they played an awesome cover of Neutral Milk Hotel’s The King of Carrot Flower’s pt 2 & 3.  It ruled.  Solid dudes – I highly recommend checking out the album.

“Basically, they sound a bit like Algernon Cadwallader, but not as spazzy/jangly, and quite a bit heavier, kind of more upbeat and faster in places, with singing that sounds a little like it belongs in a post hardcore/emo band. Like I say, I’m not the best with coming up with comparisons, either way, it is BRILLIANT!”

(via Alter The Press)

“For the most part the songwriting deals more with harnessing energy and feeling than catchy choruses or anything from the “poppier” side of this niche, so they haven’t completely shed their more aggressive tendencies, they’ve simply reigned them in and streamlined their approach into a more cohesive and consistent whole. Keep in mind, though, that just because it’s not necessarily “catchy” certainly doesn’t mean it’s not memorable, because while I enjoy the band’s prior work, something about this minor shift in style really does hit you with much more immediacy right from the start. At 11 tracks in just over a half-hour I’m already left wanting more, so I really hope the band continues their productive output rate. The progression from their first recordings to this album are outstanding, and I firmly recommend this LP.”

(via Aversion Online)

Myspace HERE

Download Seasons in Verse HERE