key vs. locket

I haven't been coming up with new releases this year as much as I'd like to, but this is one of the few that have really stood out to me. key vs. locket is a new solo project created by twikipedia (I don't know her actual name I apologize), who recorded, performed, and released this fantastic new album titled i felt like a sketch. Pulling the mathy, midwest emo guitars into tracks that both punch and shimmer, what really sets this apart is in the indelible songwriting, with fantastic hooks and melodies (some of which are in Portuguese) across its entirety. These tracks are dynamic, with the lo-fi only adding to its scrappy charm. The instrumentation is even varied, with acoustic guitars, pianos, and what sounds like digital percussion/synths, all of which comes together beautifully at the end of "symptom". It's 50 minutes but there's a plethora of variety amongst most of these tracks, with frenetic guitar work and unique hooks, tones, and structures within each that make it the whole album a breezy listen. If you're into Car Seat Headrest, Parannoul, Marietta, or Oso Oso, maybe give this a listen. And if there are any other albums from this year that have stuck with you, please let me know as I need to catch up! Enjoy.

i felt like a sketch (2025)

1. tackle

2. half enough

3. mundo

4. rifle

5. hourglass memory

6. symptom

7. conjoined (interlude)

8. nothing for a moment

9. only human / anywhere at all

10. snowman, snowman

11. a play

12. medicine

13. promise

14. carpe diem avem

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

Instagram

The Cable Car Theory

The Cable Car Theory were a four-piece post-hardcore/emo/screamo band from Staten Island, New York that were active from 1997 to 2003. They only released one album, 2001's The Deconstruction, but recorded a good chunk of material that appeared across an array of splits, EP's, and compilations. Most of their material was compiled in 2020, but it is missing a few things (most notably a track from The Deconstruction and Something New respectively), but it's also the best entry way to get into them as it covers the full length of their tenure and evolution. Sonically, they encompass all the great hardcore offshoots you'd expect to find on this blog really; the winding and syncopated rhythms of post-hardcore, melodic, arpeggiated melancholy of emo, with driving energy and throttling vocals. They're versatile, vitalized, and will appeal to fans of bands as disparate as Hot Water Music, Split Lip, Avail, Gray Matter, Falling Forward, By A Thread, or Twelve Hour Turn. Definitely give them a listen if you haven't, they will more than likely be up your alley. Enjoy.

 

Something New (1999)

1. Something New

2. 700

3. Mediocre

4. A Song For Alexie

Whispers In The Wind (2000)

1. Tears For Broken Toys

2. 2000 Years

3. Fire Away/If You Only Knew

4. Something New

5. 22 (feat. Matt "Baby Jesus" Grande)

6. Thought, Feeling, Action

7. Whispers

8. Fingerpaint

Note: Previously unreleased material recorded between 1997-1999

Realign/The Cable Car Theory (2000)

1. Second Guessing

2. Analysis

3. Fatal Flaw

Note: Cable Car Theory tracks only

The Cable Car Theory/I, Robot (2001)

1. I, Robot - The Answer

2. I, Robot - Call Me "Killer"

3. The Cable Car Theory - Touch The Sky

4. The Cable Car Theory - Without Armor

The Deconstruction (2001)

1. Nakama

2. I Left My Heart In New Brunswick

3. Redress of Grievances

4. Analysis (feat. Nick Gambacorta)

5. Caffeine Battle Cry

6. Spit Happens

7. Fix The Pipe Or Hide The Puddle (feat. Todd Currier)

8. Without Armor

9. Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy

10. 10 Minute Wrinkle Release Program (feat. Bricks Avalon

11. Eyes Of The Ibad

12. Whispers (feat. Christian Lopez)

13.  Tears For Broken Toys (feat. Tommy Schlatter)

Fables And Fictions Of The Human Condition (2003)

1. Green Eyed Aphrodite

2. The Mahdi And The Masses

3. Threads (feat. Cynthia Acerra)

4. The Litany

5. How To Break Orbit And Thwart A Muse

6. The Sayyadina

An Incomplete Retrospective (2020)

1. Green Eyed Aphrodite

2. The Mahdi and the Masses

3. Threads (feat. Cynthia Acerra)

4. The Litany

5. How To Break Orbit And Thwart A Muse

6. The Sayyadina

7. Nakama

8. I Left My Heart In New Brunswick

9. Redress Of Grievance

10. Analysis (feat. Nick Gambacorta)

11. Caffeine Battle Cry

12. Spit Happens

13. Fix The Pipe Or Hide The Puddle (feat. Todd Currier)

14. Without Armor

15. Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy

16. 10 Minute Wrinkle Release Program (feat. Bricks Avalon)

17. Whispers (feat. Christian Lopez)

18. Tears For Broken Toys (feat. Tommy Schlatter

19. Tears For Broken Toys (Demo)

20. 2000 Years

21. Fire Away/If You Only Knew

22. Something New

23. 22 (feat. Matt "Baby Jesus" Grande)

24. Thought, Feeling, Action

25. Whispers

26. Fingerpaint

27. 700

28. Mediocre

29. A Song For Alexis (feat. Frank Stapes)

30. Touch The Sky

31. Without Armor (Demo)

32. Second Guessing

33. Analysis

34. A Fatal Flaw

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I Never Knew You

I Never Knew You were a two-piece screamo band from Orange County, California that were around from 2010 to 2013. They only put out one release, which came out in December 2010 which is why it's sometimes listed as a 2011 release online. There's possibly also a demo floating around, but I unfortunately don't have that. End Of Seasons is absolutely fantastic and I wish I found it sooner. Impassioned and cathartic, the band melds melancholic arpeggios and crushing metalcore-ish chords and riffs into something seethingly chaotic, cleanly melodic, and remorseful. For a loose comparison, if you're into Funeral Diner, Sed Non Satiata, You And I, We Were Skeletons, L'Antietam, Xerxes, check this out. Enjoy.

 End Of Seasons (2010)

1. Beads

2. Null

3. A Frown For You

4. A Void In Hearts

5. Far

6. This Shadow Needs Me

7. Seasons Come To An End

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Facebook

Jabberjaw

Jabberjaw were a three-piece punk/emo band from Oakland, California that were active around 1992. The band is notable for giving way to Indian Summer, which singer/guitarist Adam Nanaa formed as he moved away from the pop punk direction of this band. Sonically, they're somewhere between Jawbreaker, Screeching Weasel, and Crimpshrine, a little rough around the edges but melodically inclined. The band only put out one EP and one split (with The Bloodhound Gang, but not the one you're thinking of), both of which were put out by Nanaa's own Homestead Records. Naturally this doesn't compare to the monumental work of Indian Summer (who I returned to recently and still astounded by). But as for as scrappy, melodic punk that sounds like a young band still carving out their sound, it's decent, with added historical signifigance to boot. 

Novelty EP (1992)

1. Two Days

2. Wonder

3. Looking Down

4. Ending

Jabberjaw/The Bloodhound Gang (1992)

1. Jabberjaw - Dividing

2. Jabberjaw - Sometimes

3. The Bloodhound Gang - Past The Fence

Versera

"The perfect ending to this piece of shit story" For the unininitiated, since 2013 this is a day to celebrate forlorn discontment, a day where yearning gives way to utter despondence. Every living creature dies alone, and you're no different. There's links to previous entries at the end of all this if you choose to deepen that wound while turning your tears into lube. Cry alone, die alone. Happy Valentine's Day.

Versera was a four-piece screamo band from Southern California that formed in 2022, played a final show in Deecember 2023 and then a "reunion" show in December 2024, who can keep up with any of it anymore. Anyway, this is another band whose name has been floating around for a while, but took me until recently to finally give them a listen (thanks again Jack for the rec). Especially since after All the poems I wrote about you ended, I knew I had my next V-Day entry selection. This is cathartic and dynamic, with highly distorted melancholic frenzies giving way to clean and lean arpeggios. Their LP from last year is also fantastic, amping up the lo-fi chaotic qualities of their debut EP. I still prefer said EP, but really both are worth your time, as is the split with the also-great onewaymirror. For a point of reference, if you're into iwrotehaikus..., Beau Navire, The Spirit Of Versailles, Orchid, or мища, check this out. You'll still be and feel alone, but maybe slightly less so. Don't enjoy.

All the poems I wrote about you (2023)

1. Je Déteste Ton Abscence

2. We Met At A Place We Both Hate

3. Rome Wasn't Built In A Day, But Maybe If They Had Cofee

4. Just Wait Till Summer

5. We Were Oblivious

onewaymirror/Versera (2023)

1. onewaymirror - Pirate Songs/Milo Joins The Army

2. onewaymirror - Frontlines: And The Stories I'll Take To My Grave

3. onewaymirror - Love Is All That Their Weary Hands Could Hold

4. onewaymirror - (Bonus Track) Feels Like A Change

5. Versera - Anakin vs Fogel

6. Versera - Yea Yea Whatever

7. Versera - How's Life In Oaxaca

8. Versera - Shirtless

Calliope (2024)

1. S.F.Y.R.J.E.C.H.E.D

2. Dried Up Flower Bouquets

3. Interlude

4. Full Circle Moments Will Lead Us Back Into Each Other's Lives Sooner Or Later

5. "Chiavlry is not dead..." Prince Rios Remarks

6. Skip To 0:33 If You Hate The Blues

7. Sorry Lincoln

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Apple Music

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Previous Installments

 

2013: The Saddest Landscape

2014: iwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook

2015: You And I

2016: Love Lost But Not Forgotten

2017: In Loving Memory

2018: Kite Flying Society

2019: The Khayembii Communiqué

2020: Harrison Bergeron

2021: The Last Forty Seconds

2022: The Apoplexy Twist Orchestra

2023: Vowel

2024: Toru Okada

onewaymirror

onewaymirror are a four-piece screamo/emoviolence band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 2022. This band's name has been cropping up a lot over the past few years, which is unsurprising given how prolific they've been. I finally took the time to give them a listen and they did not disappoint. At their most ferocious this is dark, chaotic, surging, and abrasive stuff, the kind of music that always sounds on the brink of collapse, with enough breathing room to allow for more melodic, dynamic moments. To give you a loose idea, if you're into Jeromes Dream, Love Lost But Not Forgotten, Reversal Of Man, Letters To Catalonia, or In/Humanity, this might be up your alley. I'd suggest starting with the self-titled album, but their most recent EP (released via the ever-reliable Zegema Beach) is also incredibly solid. They've gained an insane amount of traction as frontrunners of the genre this decade, and I look forward to what they have in store for 2025. Enjoy. 

Retrospect (Demo) (2023)

1. Retrospect (Demo)

Demo EP (2023)

1. But Once The Snow

2. For Those We Scream

3. you could try...

4. See You Soon

onewaymirror/Versera (2023)

1. onewaymirror - Pirate Songs/Milo Joins The Army

2. onewaymirror - Frontlines: And The Stories I'll Take To My Grave

3. onewaymirror - Love Is All That Their Weary Hands Could Hold

4. onewaymirror - (Bonus Track) Feels Like A Change

5. Versera - Anakin vs Fogel

6. Versera - Yea Yea Whatever

7. Versera - How's Life In Oaxaca

8. Versera - Shirtless

A Tale Of Two Cities (2023)

1. Burial Etiquette - Hyperviolent Ballet

2. Burial Etiquette - Safe Haven

3. onewaymirror - As I Lay Dying

 4. onewaymirror - Forever Fell Short

onewaymirror (2023)

1. Rock Bottom Has A Basement

2. Better Read Than Dead

3. Biting The Hand That Feeds Me

4. Letters Write The Stories, Paper Sets The Stage

5. The People, The Internet

6. No I'm Not A Thief, I'm A Goddamn Minister!

7. If You're Me, Then Who's This Asshole?

8. There's Only Two Things Certain In Life, Death And Taxis?

Live Songs (2023)

1. Rock Bottom Has A Basement (10/7 at Back To The Grind Cafe)

2. Better Read Than Dead (10/13 at The Haven)

3. Biting The Hand That Feeds Me (8/11 at The Dogpark VFW)

4. Letters Write The Stories, Paper Sets The Stage (8/12 at M.O.M.S.)

5. The People, The Internet (10/7 at Back To The Grind Cafe)

6. No I'm Not A Thief, I'm A Goddamn Minister! (9/23 at The Eagle Rock Community Center)

7. If You're Me, Then Who's This Asshole? (10/13 at The Haven)

8. There's Only Two Things Certain In Life, Death And Taxis? (9/23 at The Eagle Rock Community Center)

onewaymirror/Gxllium (2024)

1. onewaymirror - Let's Make The Most Of This

2. onewaymirror - She's Only Yours For A Minute

3. Gxllium - Who Pooped?

4. Gxllium - If Hector Was  Beaver

5. Gxllium - The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs

Two Songs CD (2024)

1. Fendi "Fuck You" Glasses

2. Untitled

Everything Wants Me To Write In Cursive (2024)

1. Everything Wants Me To Write In Cursive

2. This Is My Way Of Saying Hello

3. Fourth Song

4. First Song

5. The Difference Between Said And Done

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

Instagram

Sinema

Sinema are a five-piece post-hardcore/screamo/emo band from Denton, Texas that formed in 2023. They've put out one EP, one split, and one album up to this point. I was recommended this band recently by Jack and wanted to thank him for that, because this is some fantastically eclectic stuff. Sonically, they're a seamless blend of influences, with vocals as stylistically disparate as clean, screamed, and growled; their heavy riffs chug out dissonance inflections, while the more melodic moments feature midwest emo arpeggios and even some post-rock elements. It's a throwback to the MySpace sounds of 20 years ago, but assimilated into something distinctly modern. I've find myself listening to this quite a bit lately, and they've quickly become one of the newer bands I'm most excited about, they're working with a unique energy here. Give them a try, After The Flatline is my personal favourite of theirs, as it leans towards the more emocore side of their sound, but the album and split are worth a shot as well. Take this with a grain of salt, but if you're into bands including Alexisonfire, You And I, Thursday, and Saosin, check this out. Enjoy.

After The Flatline (2023)

1. Stutter

2. ...And You Already Forgot

3. Hard To Get By

4. Speak Your Mind

5. I Can't See Through The Mirror

Consider It Your Fault (2024)

1. Sinema - The House Always Wins

2. XheartworksX - Oh, Gone From Me

Fear Of The Fall (2024)

1. 01

2. On A Broken Edge

3. Tears On The Moon

4. 02

5. Weather To Believe

6. Don't Just Stand There

7. I Hold On Twice

8. At Least, Be Human

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Apple Music

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She Died Real Pretty

She Died Real Pretty were a five-piece screamo/emoviolence band from Derry, New Hampshire that were around from 2005 to 2006. They only put one EP, which came with a bonus CD-R that consisted of demos, both of which are included separately below. They almost released a split with iwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook, which you can read more about a find a rip of over at This Endless Breath. Sonically, they played the kind of frantic and throat-scorching screamo that will appeal to fans of bands like Orchid and Usurp Synapse. Since they disbanded, one of their guitarists has remained active, going on to play in Alessa and New Forms. There was also renewed interest in this band last year, when their track "Industry Sets In" was prominently included as a sample on Don Toliver's "Tore Up". Enjoy.

Carpe Diem Is Dead (2006)

1. Can Your Mother Sew?

2. Nails, Get The Nails

3. Death Of A Modern Eden

4. Donny Moore Vs the Timberlane Superfan

5. Requested Anethesia

Fucking Dead (2006)

1. Never Again In The World

2. Industry Sets In (Original Cut)

3. Donny Moore Vs the Timerlane Superfan (demo)

4. Requested Anethesia (demo)

5. Nails, Get The Nails (demo)

6. Nails, Get The Nails (recroded at Rj's)

7. They Never Warned Us About the Robots

8. Nocture (Original Cut)

9. Industry Sets In (recorded at Rj's)

10. Nocture (recorded at Rj's)

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Friends Unseen

Friends Unseen were a five-piece emo/indie band from Umeå, Sweden that released a single two-song 7" in 1998 via Subjugation Records. Other than that what's included with this record, there's really no other information out there on them. One of their members was also in Separation and The International (Noise) Conspiracy, but those are far cries from the sound heard here. These two tracks are slightly overdriven, lo-fi and melancholic, with impeccable vocals. You guys are going to love this, that's all I have to say to implore you to give this a listen. Enjoy.

The Usual Dilemma / Drowning Act (1998)

1. The Usual Dilemma

2. Drowning Act