Sleep Kit by Sleep Kit (2013)

Kind of Like: Pride and Ego Down, whenskiesaregray, continent.
Genres: Post-hardcore, Emo, Screamo
Preview: 

Holy shit, it's been a minute, right?  I decided I needed to update my music library and I figured I would give this a post as well.  I want to give a proper post for being gone for so long, but my laptop is about to die and my power cord is all the way in the other room, so this is going to be short for now.

These guys are part of what is becoming a very american-friendly screamo/emo movement in Germany.  The first track starts kind of slow and didn't really hook me in right away.  Once you get through the second song, you will probably will want to finish it because it just gets better from there.  There are some pretty fun riffs in this and you would be wise to give it a try.

Forgettingism by Lions (2013)

Kind of Like: Damiera, Look Mexico, Pennines

Genres: Math Rock, Pop Punk, Indie, Post-hardcore

Preview:

So, I have a bit of time waiting for my NHL 14 - Early Access to download, and I just caught wind of these guys from Tennessee.  I have never really heard of them up until now, but they sound incredibly tight butthole.  Everything sounds nice and mixed/mastered well and there are some really great riffs going on that just makes me like them right off the bat.  Check these guys out!

Listen Here:

New Forest Floors by Rookie Town (2013)

Kind of Like: Living with Lions, Free Throw, Tiny Moving Parts

Genres: Pop punk, Emo, Post-hardcore
Buy: Driftwood Records
Preview: 

I have to hand it last.fm's "my mix" station; they know how to string together a great mix of favorites with bands I ought to be listening to.  The song "Valley Lily" popped up while I was studying, and I took a quick break to see what these guys were all about.  This band has a pretty great mix of all the genres listed.  With this being the debut album from these Washingtonians, it will be interesting to see what they come out with next.

Listen Here:

Orthodox by Native (2013)

Kind of Like: So Many Dynamos, Kidcrash, Caravels
Genres: Post-Hardcore, Punk, Math Rock, Post-rock
Buy: Sargent House
Preview: 

As soon as I heard rumblings of Native's next endeavor, I was beyond excited.  It has been almost 4 years since Wrestling Moves!  These guys have always been overall a really solid band in my eyes.  They seem to take a few steps forward with each release and they absolutely kill live shows, which are all I really ask for in a band.  I feel like the biggest biggest jump forward on this release so far is how the vocals have evolved.  From the standard baseline yell throughout this to softer, haunting coos/chants, there just seems to be much more variety in the vocal department.  They have seemingly altogether ditched the high-pitched single-toned scream/yell from Wrestling Moves to something that is much more chromatic/vibrant.  The music really just picks up right where Wrestling Moves left off, and there is definitely nothing wrong with that.  I have only listened to this guy one time through and I can already tell there are going to be many more listens of this in the near future.  As excited as I am right now after the initial reaction, I just know how great it is going to be to digest this.

Oh yeah, also stoked to catch them this Saturday, check them out on tour.

Tainted by Atalanta (2013)

Kind of Like: Adaje, Lizards Have Personalities, Vowel

Genres: Screamo, Post-hardcore, Doom

Preview:

With the abrupt ending of Adaje last year after their full US tour and release of Yore Veils, I was left wanting more bands with a sound like theirs.  It was screamo, but it was also concentrated chaos dripping with influences of doom metal and post-rock.  After listening to this album by Chicago's Atalanta, I think I found a band with a striking similarity to that.  Instead of ending however, it seems like this band is just beginning.  If you are in Chicago, you can catch these guys with Droughts and William Bonney (second to last show ever) on July 19.

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Shirokuma EP by Shirokuma (2013)

Kind of Like: Mahria, Disembarked, No Omega
Genres: Emo, Screamo, Post-hardcore
Preview:

The best part about doing this label and more specifically putting out international samplers now and then, is the fucking amazing talent I would've never heard from all around the world.  These swedes absolutely kill it for me.  This is the kind of emo/screamo that tends to hook me right away with disjunctive, dissonant, math-y riffs, but ones that tend to be more catchy than technical.  Fuck this pretentious jargon.  Just listen.

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At Aulis by Coalspur (2012)

Kind of Like: Mahria, Animal Face, Vowel

Genres: Post-hardcore, Screamo, Emo

Preview:

This three piece from Edmonton has jams that remind me a lot of fellow Edmontonians, Mahria.  The vocalist reminds me a bit of Jacob Bannon where he yells instead of screams (Like in Hanging Moon).  And there ain't nothing wrong with that.

This is their EP from 2012, but they also have live demos of new material that will give you an idea of what their full length is going to have on it.

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Take Your Time by Letters Home (2012)

Kind of Like: Braid, Built To Spill, Superchunk

Genres: Emo, Punk, Post-hardcore

Preview:

This trio is from Tallahassee, Florida and features members from Send Away Stranger, Ex-Breathers, and former member of Look Mexico. If you live in the Florida area and like this EP, be on the look out because they don't play many shows.  So if you see they are playing, you won't want to miss it! Listen Here:

Cloud Moving Mind by Pride and Ego Down (2012)

Lookit these silly tourists

Kind of Like: Continents., Raein, Saetia

Genres: Screamo, Post-hardcore, Emo

Buy: Bandcamp

Preview: 

Crap, I wish I posted this before their U.S. tour started instead of now that it is halfway over.  However, you still have plenty of chances to catch this band from Germany, and better late than never.  They are playing a few of those dates with SRVVLST, and apparently both of those bands are going to be crashing at my place tonight.  I hope these germans like shitty american beer because I can't afford a keg of nice stuff right now.  Listen, download, and make it out to see these guys!  They came a long way!

Listen Here:

I Do Nothing But Regret The Fact That I Left by Disembarked (2013)

Kind of Like: Touche Amore, Suis La Lune, State Faults

Genres: Post-hardcore, Screamo

Buy: Dog Knights Productions

Preview:

These guys made it on our Best of List for 2012 with their self-titled EP, and we have been strong proponents of these guys since first hearing that EP.  It is very exciting to see these guys put out another really good EP in I Do Nothing But Regret The Fact That I Left.  It features the song "Bewildered" which was on our very first International Sampler last summer. Give these guys a good listen because I really think they are on the cusp of a break out in the states.

Listen here:

FUCK IT by 1994! (2013)

Kind of Like: Lightning Bolt, I Smell Blood
Genres: Punk, Noise Rock, Post-hardcore
Preview: 


This new release from 1994! is a deviation from FCKYRHEAD, and was recorded really DIY (if you count iphone recordings).  The result is a guttural experience that will rock your brain in it's skull if listened through decent speakers (not your laptop).  The description on their bandcamp does a sufficient job describing it.  Speaking of 1994, this is the first time since 1994 that Michigan has been in the Elite Eight.  Looking really good for the Final Four right now at the half, sorry You'll Live, we're laying the smackdown on Florida...

I Smell Blood (2012)

Kind of Like: Lightning Bolt, Young Widows

Genres: Post-hardcore, Punk, Noise Rock, Math Rock

Preview:

So, Friday night I ventured out to see Kenny's (The Armed) new band, Nice Hooves.  The kid is in like ten bands and all of them are pretty awesome.  The show was five bucks and at the fashionable Loving Touch in Ferndale, Michigan.  It's an old sketchy massage parlor converted into a really solid punk bar, complete with good drink prices, a jukebox decked out with classic punk rawk music, and a slew of some of the nicest pool tables in metro Detroit.

This band, I Smell Blood, is from that not-as-cool London located in within our northern Canadian neighbors' territory.  They played right before Nice Hooves, and they really ripped it open.  They are a bass and drum combo, but the bass player uses different pedals to get guitar tones and fill in the empty space.  After listening to pretty much emo bands for the past few months, it's a breath of fresh air to get into a good punk/noise rock band that can bring the house down with a wall of sound.

Then Nice Hooves played and they were great as usual, followed by local favorites, Child Bite.  Somewhere in there, I stumbled outside to check out a hot dog stand Kenny was raving about that had hot dogs with mac and cheese on them.  As I got closer, Randall (also from Nice Hooves) told me they also had one with pulled pork on it.  I decided to get the best of both worlds, and I ended the night with a gigantic heavenly weiner smothered in mac and cheese and pulled pork.  It was awesome.

So, check these fellas out, and if you Euro guys should look out for Child Bite.  They are a great Michigan band that are heading out there.

Listen Here:

Old Friends/Keyholder split (2013)

Kind of Like: No Omega, Bastions, Comadre
Genres: Screamo, Post-hardcore, Hardcore, Punk
Preview:

This split is pretty brutal, in a good way.  The Leyholder side reminds me a lot of No Omega's first little EP.  Speaking of which, I heard their new album just came out.  Maybe look for that in a little bit.  This is my first time checking out Old Friends (I think).  Their side is equally awesome for it's own reasons, it almost sounds like Chris from Snowing screaming in a hardcore band.  Also getting a little Comadre feel in there.  I would like to write more about this split, but the servers for Simcity are finally working. I'm a total nerd and need to get my fix.

Listen Here:

Regenerative Landscape by the Cabs (2013)

Kind of Like: Climb the Mind, This Town Needs Guns
Genres: Emo, Screamo, Math Rock, Post-hardcore
Preview:


I know a couple people besides myself that are going to be absolutely stoked about this album.  I had no idea this band was still up to stuff, but I fell hard for their last little EP, Recur Breath (or whatever the proper translation is).  This is their debut LP, so after that little cock tease of an album last year, you are getting your brains fucked out by this one. I know a few people have been requesting a new link for Climb the Mind but I had a really hard time finding all of that so I am not sure when I will get around do that, so for now I think this will tie you over.  I just wish they sang in english, then it would be perfect because I could sing along along...

 This file is locked, so look in the comments before for the code to extract it.

Nagykanizsa by Aussitôt Mort (2012)

Kind of Like: Kidcrash, Birds in Row, Daitro, Baton Rouge
Genres: Post-hardcore, Screamo, Post-rock
Preview: 

This is the latest release from French screamo outfit Aussitot Mort (Eng: As Soon As Dead).  Think of the heaviness of Birds In Row but slowed down and more post-rock influences as well.  They just finished up a Russian tour and are currently touring around France.

Listen Here:

Family Ties/Labors of Love by Les Doux/Citycop (2013)

Kind of Like: Old Gray, Barrow, I really don't know
Genres: Hardcore, Post-hardcore, Screamo, Folk
Buy: Sea of Tranquility, Flannel Gurl Records
Preview: 


Evan from Les Doux is a pretty stand up guy, he wrote me a really nice sincere e-mail and that really goes a long way for me.  I know both of these bands from previous reviews, so I'm sure I would've gotten around to this eventually, but anyways...

If you're looking for something genuinely fresh (I tend to use this term on whim, but these bands really exhibit this to a more extreme degree), then this is the split for you.  If you are tired of what is becoming somewhat generic screamo, then by all means you need to do yourself a favor and listen to this twangy take and see how it makes you feel.  In all honesty, I listened to this maybe a month or so ago and it didn't really move me right off the bat, but I always try to give albums a second go which I did recently. It's visceral, good stuff and I am only listening to it more and more.

Now I need to get some errands done before my day saturated in hockey begins.  Oh, how I've missed it...

Listen Here:

Having Lost... by Gillian Carter (2011)

Kind of Like: La Quiete,pg. 99, Prawn

Genres: Screamo, Emo, Post-rock, Post-hardcore

Preview:

Fuck yeah, hockey is back.  Nothing to do with this album, but I just want you all to know that I am super happy this lockout bullshit is over.  Which did you hate more, the lockout or the fiscal cliff?  What load of melodramatic garbage we have been through.

Anyways, these guys put this out a couple years ago, but they are pitching it to labels for a vinyl release which is how I happened upon it.  I have had it in my possession for a month or so now, but I just recently sat down and gave it my undivided attention.  It is really great and I am glad these guys came out of hiatus to make it and that they are back to touring and what have you.

Listen Here:

Phantom Feelings by Shark Bait (2012)

Kind of Like: Disembarked, Old Gray, William Bonney
Genres: Screamo, Post-hardcore, Emo
Preview:

Over the past couple years, we have seen Shark Bait really come into their own.  I remember Still Growing getting posted around and thinking, these guys have potential but there is something I am not digging overall about it.  Then they came out with their split with Adaje later in the year that featured a couple of really good songs.  It even ended up slipping into our "Best Of" for last year.  Basically, it showed these guys were taking great steps in the right direction which is all you can really ask for in a band.  After almost a year of silence, they have come back with this EP.  I am listening to it for the first time right now, but I already know that this is even better still than their previous work.  There is still time that it could slip into the "Best Of" list for this year as well.  It has been really great watching these guys over the past couple years.  All there is left now is to see what they bring to the table with a full length release.  You boys ready?

Listen Here:

The Sleep of Reason by BATS (2012)

Kind of Like: Adebisi Shank, Enemies, &U&I
Genres: Math Rock, Post-hardcore, Experimental, Progressive
Preview:

This is sadly the last release for the Richter Collective, which was home to greats like And So I Watch You From Afar,  Enemies and Adebisi Shank.  BATS brings music to the table that is something of a mixture of the three previous listed band.  These guys write tunes that aren't just catchy, but smart.  Lots of alternating time signatures and riffs.  Fun stuff.

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The Summer I Joined the A Harlem Globetrotters Split EP by Alaska/Oranges (2012)

Kind of Like: Touche Amore, Pianos Become the Teeth, Moving Mountains

Genres: Post-hardcore, Screamo, Post-rock, Math Rock

Buy: Bandcamp

Preview:

Both of these bands bring a lot of different genres to the table,  and it's been a minute since I shared a couple of screamo band with you guys.  I don't have much time for a proper review though, sorry.  I will just say these are a solid couple of songs from two solid bands.

Listen Here: