Swiss Army Wife

Swiss Army Wife are a four-piece punk/emo band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 2020. Following two early EP's, their debut full-length came out in January of this year. Medium Gnarly is a collection of noodly midwestern emo with gruff, often borderline screamed vocals Their indisputably fun energy paired with some personal yet relatable lyricism makes this the album equivalent of dying with a smile, or something like that. It harkens back to the revival heyday of bands like Free Throw, You Blew It!, Glocca Morra, and Gulfer, alongside the raw pop punk energy of Jeff Rosenstock. They still manage to things fresh, with the screamo-tinged "FLCL" or atmospheric latter half of "No More Drugs". If any of that sounds appealing to you, this should absolutely not be missed. Enjoy.

Dog Mom (2020)

1. Area Of Expertise

2. Heliocentric

3. Fake Blood

Brick House (2021)

1. Telecaster

2. Origami

3. One Hour Photo

4. Your Bathroom

hold ur hand (2022)

1. hold ur hand (The Beatles cover)

Medium Gnarly (2023)

1. This # Is No Longer In Service

2. FLCL

3. Halloween

4. New Best Friend

5. No More Drugs

6. CBS At 7:00

7. Your Bathroom

8. Aight, I'mma Head Out

Sisters, Not Twins (2024)

1. Swiss Army Wife - Idaho

2. Swiss Army Wife - Mosquito

3. Kerosene Heights - All Your Friends

4 Kerosene Heights - Salvador Dolly Parton

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Jade Dust

Jade Dust are a five-piece hardcore punk band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 2021. Following a demo, they put out two fantastic EP's last year, both of which I somehow managed to miss until now. This band is fantastic, and call back to one of my favourite eras in punk (as you probably can tell), the late 80's to early 90's DC scene including bands like Swiz, Ignition, Marginal Man, Shudder To Think and Dag Nasty. Though the influence there is apparent, Jade Dust manage to make that sound distinctly modern, while still emulating the energy of those legacy acts, making for melodic hardcore in its truest, most bare-bones definition. Their last EP was a co-release between Extinction Burst and the legendary Ebullition Records, which is just another example of this band being the best of both worlds. Enjoy.

Demo Winter 2021 (2021)

1. Jammaastyr

2. Stay

3. Signal Towers

4. Lie And Wait

5. Fucking Nightmare

Jade Dust (2022)

1. Signal Towers

2. Margin of Error

3. Embrace The Hours

4. Jammaastyr

5. Stay

6. Learn To Scream

Wild Geese (2022)

1. Wild Geese

2. Lie And Wait

3. Waking Nightmare

4. Phoenix

5. Empty Tomes

6. Levitate

7. Weightless

8. Absolution

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Life At These Speeds

Life At These Speeds were a four-piece post-hardcore/emo band from Portland, Oregeon that were around from 2003 to 2008. They put out two full-lengths and a handful of splits in that time. Like I seem to say so often now, this band has been soiely missed on this blog for years now. With their bright, urgent energy, and mix of cutting trebly octave chords with full-bodied dissonance, they're one of the more underrated post-hardcore bands of the 2000's, with both full-lengths being absolutely astounding efforts. They built upon what bands such as Fugazi, Hoover, Mohinder and Shotmaker helped establish in the decade prior, with jittery, urgent energy and mix of cutting trebly octave chords alongside full-bodied dissonance. Vocally, they pull out a scream/shout that perfectly pairs with the desperation of the instrumentals. Glad to finally have this band on here, especially since their stuff isn't available for streaming for whatever reason. Enjoy.

Life At These Speeds (2004)

1. You Know To Say Yes

2. Birds and Climates

3. Small Sparks

4. Knives

5. Untitled

6. Writing Love Letters To An Industrialized Nation

7. Submerge

8. Blindfold King

9. Ground Gives Out

Life At These Speeds/End On End (2005)

1. Life At Theses Speeds - Ice Thanks

2. End On End - Your Heritage Is No Longer Yours

Life At These Speeds/Sinaloa (2005)

1. Life At These Speeds - Land Filled

2. Sinaloa - Montgomery Express

Life At These Speeds/Science Of Yabra (2005)

1. Life At These Speeds - An Instrument For All

2. Life At These Speeds - Building

3. Life At These Speeds - Returned Questions

4. Life At These Speeds - Leaving What I Thought Was Always Left

5. Life At These Speeds - Interior, Motel

6. Science Of Yabra - Call Mom & Ask

7. Science Of Yabra - Bee Marrow

8. Science Of Yabra - Glass Ship

To Your Health (2006)

1. A New Design

2. Retina

3. Not So Long Ago

4. To Your Health

5. Going Out

6. Lights Please

7. Blocking Out The Stars

8. Weathered Days

9. Simple Math

10. Author's Name

11. Heavy Hand

Thank God/Life At These Speeds (2008)

1. Thank God - Ahh The Magical 90's

2. Thank God - Lay Down Lula

3. Life At These Speeds - Younger Monkey

4. Life At These Speeds - Older Eagle

Keep Singing! A Benefit Compilation For Compassion Over Killing (2008)

3. Waefae

Note: more info here

Floral Patterns - The Time It Takes To Get From Place To Place And How People Change REVIEW

Photo Credit: Matt Taylor

Floral Patterns are a four-piece screamo band from Portland, Oregon whose debut EP, The Time It Takes To Get From Place To Place And How People Change was released today. This four-track offering is an explosive breath of fresh air, blending the melodic aspects of emo and post-rock into their cathartic screamo foundation. Fans of bands such as Suis La Lune, Pianos Become The Teeth, State Faults, William Bonney, Old Gray and The Saddest Landscape will take an immediate interest in this. Without a doubt this is one of the best EP's I've heard this year, and an incredible start for a band sure to blow up in the near future.

Photo Credit: Thomas Mansanti

The EP opens up with "Decay (Alone)", introducing interpolated film dialogue, giving the listener an immediate emotional crisis before the song has even kicked in. What follows are heavy octave-chords contrasted with clean, gentle arpeggios, while the vocals shout over each other, before descending into an instrumental over more dialogue. This track makes fantastic use of dynamics, with full breaks in momentum with just a single sustained chord before charging back in again. It finally closes out with a monumental crescendo that breaks into disarray, and after just one track I was hooked on this band.

"That Scene In Fight Club Where Edward Norton Looks In The Mirror And Sees Brad Pitt Instead Of Himself" introduces a screamier Listener-esque spoken word segment at the beginning, with a low bass rumble and atmospheric guitar work below it. This builds into one of the most melodic tracks, with the guitars taking a heavy post-rock influence, and the track building and crescendoing instead of following any linear structure. The vocals stand out with one hell of a passionate performance, making the song's 6-minute runtime feel like 6 seconds.

"Before I Self Destruct" features the most broken vocals on this entire EP, which are absolutely heart-wrenching. They are really the main feature on this track, with an incredible performance to boot. The instrumental plays fairly straight-forward, with a descending chord pattern and reverb-washed guitar tones that compliment the song's honest simplicity.

The closing track, "We Can't Stop Here, This Is Marlboro Country" brings back new film excerpts, before erupting into the heaviest Floral Patterns have been thus far. Eventually it falls into a nice bass/drum-lead instrumental break, with sparse guitar work, but heavy reverb shimmer. The screamed vocals pull back in, alternating lines between them. A single breath is given before they fly into a heavy heaven-ward outro crescendo.

You can listen to The Time It Takes To Get From Place To Place And How People Change in full on Bandcamp below. They also have some tour dates coming up with the also-incredible Reveries. More info on those shows can be found below.

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Blowout

Blowout were a four-piece emo/indie/punk band from Portland, Oregon that got started in 2014 and broke up earlier this year. Last year, they put out their fantastic debut (and now sole) full-length, No Beer, No Dad. This is a fantastic album with some clear influences taken from the reverb-soaked melancholic, melodic guitar parts of Rainer Maria, along with the upbeat celebrate-in-the-face-of-distress pop punk of The Promise Ring. Blowout have a great energy, some fantastic lyrics, and put together a solid front-to-back album of indie/emo goodness. Enjoy.

We all float down here (2014)

1. Get Loud

2. Don't Wake Grandpa

3. Tune Out

4. Wet And Reckless

5. Tiny Boots

No Beer, No Dad (2016)

1. Intro

2. Cents Cents Money Money

3. Indiana

4. Interlude

5. Fuck Slang

6. Guts Grown Up

7. Thrashy

8. King PP

9. 1 I Want

10. Green Couch

11. Pound Pit

12. If-Else-If

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Tragedy

Tragedy are a four-piece hardcore/crust punk band that formed in 1995. Originally, they were based out of Memphis, Tennessee, but have since re-located to Portland, Oregon. Members of Tragedy were also in His Hero Is Gone and Deathreat, in addition to a ton of other bands. Since the turn of the century though, they've been killing it as Tragedy. With over a decade of experience, they've never failed to deliver some incredible hardcore with their crust punk roots showing. Their vocals are harshly guttural, while their instrumentals can only be described as intensely melodic, which makes sense if you give them a listen. The've also released almost all their albums through their own label, so they definitely get points for the full DIY. Enjoy.

Tragedy (2000)

1. Intro

2. The Point Of No Return

3. Not Fucking Fodder

4. Never Knowing Peace

5. Confessions Of A Suicide Advocate

6. Instrumental

7. Instrumental II

8. The Intolerable Weight

9. You Are an Experiment

10. Products Of A Cold War Depression

11. With Empty Hands Extended

12. Instrumental III

13. Tension Awaiting Imminent Collapse

14. Chemical Imbalance

Can We Call This Life? (2001)

1. The Ending Fight

2. Life

3. The Waiting

Vengeance (2002)

1. Conflicting Ideas

2. Call To Arms

3. Vengeance

4. Recurring Nightmare

5. Beginning Of The End

6. The Lure

7. Night Falls

8. The Day After

9. War Within Us

10. Revengeance

11. To The Dogs

12. No Words

Tragedy/Totalitär (2003)

1. Tragedy - No End In Sight

2. Tragedy - None Of Your Business

3. Totalitär - Krossa Elitsystemet 2

4. Totalitär - Förena Er 2

To The Dogs b/w The Lure (2004)

1. To The Dogs

2. The Lure

Nerve Damage (2006)

1. Eyes Of Madness

2. Force Of Law

3. Rabid Panic

4. Deaf And Disbelieving

5. The Hunger

6. Total Vision

7. In Formation

8. Incendiary

9. Crucifer

10. Under The Radar

11. Plan Of Execution

Darker Days Ahead (2012)

1. No Cemeteries Here

2. Close At Hand

3. The Grim Infinite

4. The Feeding Hour

5. Wail Of Sirens

6. Darker Days Ahead

7. Black Against Night

8. Power Fades

9. To Earth Like Dust

Cruel Hand

Cruel Hand are a five-piece hardcore band from Portland, Maine that formed in 2006. Since they began, they've been keeping very active and have certainly set themselves apart with their unique style of hardcore. Their last.fm page puts it best, describing them as "equal parts New York hardcore and west coast thrash". They do still stick to the classic chug of Madball, they go beyond that as they go further into their career. Their intelligible vocals, hard rock attitude, and inclusion of guitar solos are just part of what defines them and has helped them garner such a large fan base that goes beyond hardcore purists. They've worked with labels such as 6131, Triple B, Bridge 9, and Hopeless. Also, if anyone has their Sound and Fury set, please send it to me! Cruel Hand have been requested forever, so here they finally are, enjoy!

FFO: No Warning, Trash Talk, Expire, Backtrack, Bane

Without A Pulse (2007)

1. Without A Pulse

2. Trust Me

3. Fact or Fiction

4. Lack Thereof

5. Severe Character Flaw

6. Crashing Down

7. Nothing Between Us

8. Under The Ice

9. Never Fall

10. The Countdown

Prying Eyes (2008)

1. Above And Below

2. Dead Weight

3. Life In Shambles

4. Begin Descension

5. Motions That Lie

6. Hounds

7. Damaged Goods

8. Heart Failure

9. No Known Graves

10. Prying Eyes

11. House Arrest

12. Wisdom Pain

Life In Shambles (2008)

1. Life In Shambles

2. House Arrest

Cruel Hand (2010)

1. Cruel Hand

2. Still

Lock & Key (2010)

1. Lock & Key

2. Cruel Hand

3. Day Or Darkness

4. Broken Glass

5. Labyrinth

6. One Cold Face

7. Rotations Of Hurt

8. Dismissed

9. Two Fold

10. The Bottom (Of Munjoy Hill)

America's Hardcore (2010)

9. Intro/Face To Face

Vigilant Citizen (2010)

1. Vigilant Citizen

2. Cheap Life

Born Into A Debt, We All Owe A Death (2013)

1. Heat

2. 3's

3. In Time We Strike

The Negatives (2014)

1. Pissing - Spitting

2. Battery Steele

3. Why Would I

4. The Negatives

5. Scars For The Well-Behaved

6. Heat

7. Unhinged - Unraveled

8. Monument Square People

9. Vigilant Citizen

10. Gasoline

11. Still

12. Cheap Life

Your World Won't Listen (2016)

1. Nowhere, Nothing, Never

2. Decompose

3. King

4. Dead Eyes Watching

5. Too Far From That

6. Your World Won't Listen

7. Through With You

8. Deep Six Hole

9. In This Alone

10. Buried Inside

11. Liquid Paper

12. Threes

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