The Ergs!

The Ergs! are a three-piece punk band from New Brunswick, New Jersey that began in 2000 comprised of vocalist/drummer Mikey Erg, guitarist/vocalist Jeff Erg and bassist Joey Erg. They were insanely prolific throughout the 2000's, self-releasing two CD-Rs in their first year as a band, with consistent EPs, splits, and compilation appearances coming in the following years. They first called it a day in 2008, when they played their last show. Even after that, they did complete the handful of projects already planned to be released. They played a few reunion shows in 2010, and then came back in full swing in 2016 and 2017, with more shows and new recorded material for the first time in years. Fast forward to 2022, and we've got not one but two new EP's (both fantastic, by the way) already, the first releases since 2016. Their members have also been active in a ton of other bands over the years, most notably Mikey Erg, including Dirt Bike Annie, For Science, Psyched To Die, House Boat, Star Fucking Hipsters, and most recently, Worriers.

Sonically, The Ergs! are a pop punk band at their core. They've penned some of the most fast-paced. fun-loving, energetic, and hopelessly catchy songs the genre has to offer, while staying true to its punk roots. As loose comparisons, they take cues from classics such as Lifetime, The Descendents, The Replacements, and Hüsker Dü, most of which they have covered or paid homage to in some capacity. Having said that, The Ergs! are also an insanely versatile band, with three very talented musicians at the helm. Just running through of either full-length album or Hindsight Is 20/20, My Friend is evidence alone that the band had multiple tricks up their sleeves, and a wide palette of musical stylings to pull from. 

If you're new to this band, here's quick rundown of their discography here, as a lot of the material featured here is also available on 2 easy-to-grab compilations. To start off, f'n and Digital Endpoints are the aforementioned self-released CD-Rs, and are only available on there own. Past that, The Ben Kweller EP is also only available on its own, and is a 2nd-tier essential listen for them, so be sure to grab that. Dorkrockcorkrod is their debut album, and (in my humble opinion) one of the best pop punk albums ever released, and could be my personal favourite of all time. 2005's Jersey's Best Prancers blurs the line between EP and album due to its short run-time, but in my head canon I always consider it an album, so we're going with that. Upstairs/Downstairs is their third full-length, and completes the holy trifecta of albums that this band has to offer. If nothing else, this is what you need to hear. In 2008, they released the fantastic (and much-needed) compilation Hindsight Is 20/20, My Friend which includes all previously released material on compilations, splits, EPs, etc since their incarnation until that point. This does not include anything previously mentioned, or Insubordination Fest 2007. Just behind the albums, this compilation contains some of the band's best work. The follow-up to this compilation was released in 2016, containing all material between the two comps. Goddamn Death Dedication, Time and the Season, and Renovations are all new material exclusive to those releases. 

On a personal note, we are now at 999 posts on this blog, and a few weeks away from it being 10 years old. I've said it before, but it's crazy to think about how much has changed in that time, and to try and revisit the beginnings of this blog and what I was listening to at the time. I had a hell of a time trying to pick post #1000, and what to preface it with. Along with the release of new material this year, I recently revisited The Ergs!, a band I had loved dearly for years before this blog even started, but hadn't listened to in recent years. Going back to dorkrockcorkrod, Upstairs/Downstairs, and all their incredible material made me realize just how much I fucking love them, and how much I still fucking love them. Listening and screaming along to every song feels like no time has passed at all, and without a doubt the aforementioned albums are stored in the closest and deepest recesses of my heart. It's an atrocity I haven't shared them yet, but am happy to cross that off the bucket list before we hit this milestone. This is the kind of music that holds up forever, and I cannot express (as corny as that is) what this band means to me. Please do enjoy, and thank you for letting us even get this far that a retrospective like this could be so enjoyed.

f'n (2000)

1. Thinking With My Heart

2. Stan Hooper's Lament

3. If You Don't

4. Fall Back

5. Blue

6. Sounds Like You Wanted To Hang Up, But I Was More In The Mind Of Hanging Out

7. More Vocal In The Monitor

Digital Endpoints (2000)

1. Digital Endpoints

2. The Ergs' Corporate Philosophy

3. Wreck My Car

4. Black Lady Statue

5. Up With Miniskirts

6. Cloning Machine, Killing Machine

7. Xerox Your Genitals, Not The Ramones

8. Herpes Multipex

9. Jackhammer

10. I Hate Girls

11. The Todd Killings

12. Checkout

13. Hands

14. She's A Pretentious Asshole

3 Guys, 12 Eyes (2001)

1. If You Don't

2. Feeling Minneapolis

3. Bought A Copy

4. 1000 Letters

5. Honolulu Hornrims

Naked Lady Firehouse (2001)

1. Nasty Ho

2. Steering Clear In The New Year

3. Beautiful

4. August 19th

The Ben Kweller EP (2002)

1. Ben Kweller

2. A Million Perfect Days

3. Ashley Sugarnotch

4. When You're Squeeze

5. Pool Pass

6. Obligatory Song About Killing One's Boyfriend (Or Girl, What If I Killed Your New Dead Boyfriend)

7. NAMBLA Grey Area

8. I'll Call You When You Think Of Me

Cotton Pickin' Minute (2003)

1. Country Skronk

2. Warm & Sharp

3. Out On The Interstate

dorkrockcorkrod (2004)

1. First Song Side One

2. A Very Pretty Song For A Very Special Young Lady, Pt. 2

3. Extra Medium

4. Fishbulb

5. Most Violent Rap Group

6. Pray For Rain

7. Saturday Night Crap-O-Rama

8. Running, Jumping, Standing Still

9. It's Never Going To The Be The Same Again

10. August 19th

11. Maybe I'm The New Messiah

12. Rod Argent

13. Everything Falls Apart (And More)

14. Vampire Party

15. I Feel Better Tonight

16. 180 Emotional Ollie

Jersey's Best Prancers (2005)

1. Kind Of Like Smitten

2. Short Stories

3. Aja

4. Fin

5. Bridge

6. Man Of Infirmity

7. Radio K

The Ergs!/Modern Machines (2005)

1. Modern Machines - Bus Stop

2. Modern Machines - She Doesn't Know That She's Alone

3. The Ergs! - More Vox In The Monitor

4. The Ergs! - Not A Second Time

Art Of The Underground Singles Series Volume 8 (2006)

1. Jazz Is Like The New Coke

2. Out There

Upstairs/Downstairs (2007)

1. Your Cheated Heart

2. 2nd Foundation

3. Boston, Mass

4. The Clocks, The Clocks

5. It'll Be OK

6. Bike Shoppe

7. Flourescent Stars

8. See Him Again

9. Things I Could Never Find A Way To Say

10. Hysterical Fiction

11. Stinking Of Whiskey Blues

12. Girls Of The Market Squares

13. Trouble In River City

14. Books About Miles Davis

15. Upstairs/Downstairs

The Ergs!/Lemuria (2007)

1. The Ergs! - Introducing Morrissey

2. The Ergs! - Hey Jealousy (Gin Blossoms cover)

3. Lemuria - Little Silver Children

4. Lemuria - Clean

Books About Miles Davis (2007)

1. Books About Miles Davis

2. Only Babies Cry (Paul Baribeau cover)

The Ergs!/Grabass Charlestons (2007)

1. The Ergs! - Every Romance Language

2. The Ergs! - It's Like Say Y'Know

3. Grabass Charlestons - I Like Cats

4. Grabass Charlestons - Double Ding-Dong-King-Kong-Sing-Song... The Official Hamburger Of The Soviettes/Grabass Tour Summer 2005

Blue (2007)

1. Blue

2. Blew (Nirvana cover)

Insubordination Fest 2007 (2007)

1. Things I Could Never Find A Way To Say

2. Kind Of Like Smitten

3. Jazz Is Like The New Coke

4. Bike Shopee

5. First Song, Side One

6. A Very Pretty Song For A Very Special Young Lady Part 2

7. Most Violent Rap Group

8. Pray For Rain

9. Saturday Night Crap-O-Rama

10. Books About Miles Davis

Hindsight Is 20/20, My Friend (2008)

1. Introducing Morrissey

2. Hey Jealousy

3. Jazz Is Like The New Coke

4. Out There

5. Every Romance Language I Know

6. It's Like I Say, Y'Know

7. Books About Miles Davis

8. Only Babies Cry

9. I'm In Trouble

10. It's OK To Hate Me

11. Linus & Lucy

12. Throttle Boy

13. You Bet We've Got Something Personal Against The Steinways

14. More Vocal In The Monitor

15. Not A Second Time

16. Country Skronk

17. Warm And Sharp

18. Out On The Interstate

19. Sneak Attack aka The Ergs Heartily Endorse Your High School Killing Spree

20. Million Perfect Dub

21. Blue

22. Blew

23. Saturday Night Crap-O-Rama

24. If You Don't

25. Feeling Minneapolis

26. Bought A Copy

27. 1000 Letters

28. Honolulu Hornrims

29. Nasty Ho

30. Steering Clear In The New Year

31. Beautiful

32. August 19th

33. Steven A. Hinckley Has The Following Items: A) DEVO Energy Dome, 2) Devo Radiation Suit, 3) Devo Traditionalist Pomp

That's It... Bye (2008)

1. Anthem For A New Amanda

2. ...And The True Believers

3. Piltdown Man

The Ergs!/The Measure [sa] (2009)

1. The Ergs! - Workage

2. The Ergs! - I'll Thrash You When You Think Of Me

3. The Measure [sa] - Dullards And Dreadful Prose

4. The Measure [sa] - Don't Fuck This Up

The Measure [sa]/The Ergs! (2009)

1. The Measure [sa] - Workage

2. The Measure [sa] - Get It Together

3. The Ergs! - Dullards and Dreadful Prose

4. The Ergs! - Encyclopedia Self-Destructica

Teenage Bottlerocket/The Ergs! (2009)

1. Teenage Bottlerocket - Having A Blast (Green Day cover)

2. The Ergs! - Blockhead (Devo cover)

Thrash Compactor (2010)

1. Johnny Rzeznik Needs His Ass Kicked

2. Sneak Attack

3. Society Hill

4. Throttle Boy

5. I Shot The Devil's Son

Hindsight Is 20/20, My Friend Vol. 2: Okay, Enough Reminiscing (2016)

1. First Song, Side One

2. Anthem For A New Amanda

3. ...And The True Believers

4. Pittdown Man

5. Blah Blah Blah, Fuck You, Blah Blah Blah

6. Blockhead (Devo cover)

7. Dullards & Dreadful Prose

8. I'll Thrash You When You Think Of Me

9. Encylopedia Self-Destructica

10. Workage (The Measure [sa] cover)

11. Johnny Rzeznik Needs His Ass Kicked

12. Society Hill

13. Throttle Boy

14. I Shot The Devil's Son

15. Bill Moon (Live)

16. What The Hell Was She Thinking?

17. Last Man On Earth

18. Fuckuturn (Kid Dyanmite cover)

19. Hangup (The Parasites cover)

20. Escalator (Sicko cover)

21. Themselves (Minutemen cover)

22. Tush (Live)

Goddamn Death Dedication (2016)

1. Depot Avenue

2. September/October

3. Walk Against The Parade

4. No Sharona

Time and the Season (2022)

1. Ultimate Falsetto Book

2. Say You're Sorry

3. Half Empty Strip Mall

4. Time Of The Season

Renovations (2022)

1. Tonight's The Night

2. Renovations

3. Penny In The Jukebox

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Snapcase

Snapcase are a five-piece straight edge hardcore band from Buffalo, New York that formed in 1991.

They originally began in 1989 under the name Solid State, before switching to the Snapcase moniker in 1991 after a number of line-up changes. Their line-up continued to be ever-changing in their early years, with the only constant member being Daryl Taberski, who originally played bass before taking over vocals in 1992. By 1993, their line-up had mostly solidified, with the only major change being the departure of long-time bassist Bob Whiteside in 1999, with Dustin Perry taking over as their bassist to this day. The band first broke up in 2005, playing a final show that featured almost all of its previous members. They reunited in 2007 for a few shows, and since 2010 have been playing shows sporadically.

They put out four studio albums in their initial run as a band, each with a noticeable progression in sound. Their debut, Lookinglasself is a raw offering of aggressive, metallic hardcore with heavy chugging riffs and the use of a phaser on some tracks, something they would continue to make great use of on subsequent releases. Along with Earth Crisis and Strife, two of the greatest bands of their era, they released the landmark live split The California Takeover in 1996. 24 years later, all three bands would return for it's follow-up on the aptly-titled The Return Of The California Takeover. To rewind a bit, Snapcase released their second album in 1997, Progression Through Unlearning. This is arguably their magnum opus, and for good reason. The band brought an unprecedented energy to this record, with great riffs that play off each other and Taberski's vocal delivery really coming in to its own. It features some of the band's best known songs, including "Caboose" and "Harrison Bergeron", and is probably the best starting point for new fans. Its follow-up came in early 2000, with Designs For Automotion. Though still in the realm of what they were doing on their previous record, they do come through with a slightly cleaner and more melodic sound (I use that word very loosely here). They also begin to introduce some post-hardcore influence, which would become very prevalent on their final album. 2002's End Transmission is a concept album revolving around an Orwellian dystopia. Sonically, it's a pretty major departure for the band, with sharp, angular riffs taking the place of the thick, chuggy ones, and effects-laden lead guitars coming to the forefront. The vocals take on a more sung-shouted sound compared to the previous scream-shouts, and influence from alt metal/post-hardcore bands like Quicksand or Deftones. The following year's Bright Flashes contained songs recorded during the End Transmission sessions, including a few covers. Snapcase are an insanely underrated band, who I cannot recommend enough and highly suggest checking out. When it came down to bands who had to be posted before we hit the 1000 mark, they were one of the bands at the top of the list. So, please do enjoy.

Snapcase (1991)

1. Break The Silence

2. The Voyage

3. Die Laughing

4. Undertow

Comatose (1992)

1. Comatose

2. Crown of Thorns

Lookinglasself (1993)

1. Drain Me / Filter

2. Incarnation

3. Deceived

4. Looking Glass Self

5. No Bridge

6. Covered

7. Another's Life

8. Fields Of Illusions

Steps (1995)

1. Cognition

2. Steps

3. Windows

4. Run And Fall

The California Takover... Live (1996)

1. Strife - To An End

2. Snapcase - Filter

3. Earth Crisis - Inherit The Wasteland

4. Snapcase - Windows

5. Earth Crisis - Ecocide

6. Strife - The Essence

7. Snapcase - Incarnation

8. Strife - Lift

9. Earth Crisis - Forced March

10. Snapcase - Steps

11. Strife - Calm The Fire

12. Earth Crisis - Firestorm

Progression Through Unlearning (1997)

1. Caboose

2. Guilty By Ignorance

3. Harrison Bergeron

4. Priceless

5. Zombie Prescription

6. Killing Yourself To Live

7. She Suffocates

8. Weak Tyrant

9. Vent

10. Breaking And Reaching

Violent World: A Tribute To The Misfits (1997)

Never Give In: A Tribute To Bad Brains (1999)

1. She (Misfits cover)

5. I (Bad Brains cover)

Note: Compilation tracks released separately, included in one demo

Snapcase Vs. BoySetsFire (1999)

1. Snapcase - Energy Dome

2. Snapcase - Truth Hits Everybody

3. Boysetsfire - Unspoken Request

4. Boysetsfire - Channel

Energy Dome (2000)

1. Energy Dome

2. Ambition Now

3. Bleeding Orange

Designs For Automotion (2000)

1. Target

2. Disconnector

3. Bleeding Orange

4. Typecast Modulator

5. Are You Tuned In?

6. Twentieth Nervous Breakdown

7. Energy Dome

8. Ambition Now

9. Break The Static

10. Blemish

11. Box Seat

End Transmission (2002)

1. Coagulate

2. Cadence

3. The Beat

4. Believe, Revolt

5. Ten A.M.

6. First Word

7. New Kata

8. A Syntehsis Of Classic Forms

9. Aperture

10. Exile Etiquette

11. Interrogation

12. Litmus Test

13. ID / Hindsight

Bright Flashes (2003)

1. Believe/Revolt (Relocation Blueprint)

2. Dress Rehearsal

3. Blacktop (Helmet cover)

4. Skeptic

5. Ten A.M. (Good Morning, Mr. Coelecanth)

6. New Academy

7. Mountain Song (Jane's Addiction cover)
8. Depth of Field

9. Freedom Of Choice (Devo cover)

10. Gates Of Steel (Devo cover)

11. Makeshift Tourniquet

12. Exile Etiquette (Only British People Can Fly)

The Return Of The California Takeover (2021)

1. Earth Crisis - Forged In The Flames

2. Earth Crisis - Constrict

3. Snapcase - Incarnation

4. Snapcase - Zombie Prescription

5. Strife - Waiting

6. Strife - Stand As One

7. Snapcase - Drain Me

8. Snapcase - Caboose

9. Strife - Lift

10. Strife - Force Of Change

11. Earth Crisis - To Ashes

12. Earth Crisis - Born From Pain

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The Number Twelve Looks Like You

The Number Twelve Looks Like You are a four-piece (formerly six-piece) mathcore band from Bergen County, New Jersey that began in 2002, broke up in 2010, and reunited in 2016. I know I've mentioned this band on here multiple times, so it's only fitting they finally get a full post on here. Trying to describe what this band sounds like is an incredibly daunting task, as they pull influence from a wide variety of sources, including screamo, grindcore, noise rock, progressive metal, and jazz fusion. To keep things simple though, they're often regarded as one of the best mathcore bands of the 2000's, along with contemporaries like Fear Before The March of Flames and Heavy Heavy Low Low. #12 played a ferociously technical style of music, with some pummelling drums, fiery dual guitar work and breakneck syncopation giving every song a sense of unpredictability. Their utilization of two vocalists pre-2010 added a whole other layer to their dynamic sound, which could go from clean jazz breaks to intense, guttural screams within the same second. This band has quickly become a classic and essential, and am glad to finally get them on here. If you're new to them, Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear. is usually the go-to starting point, though Mongrel is most definitely worth your time as well. Enjoy.

Put On Your Rosy Red Glasses (2003)

1. Don't Get Your Blood On My Prada Shoes

2. Jesus And Tori

3. Document: Grace Budd

4. Blue Dress

5. If These Bullets Could Talk

6. Bambi The Hooker And A Case Of Beer

7. Empty Calm

8. Civeta Dei

An Inch Of Gold For An Inch Of Time (2005)

1. Clarissa Explains Cuntainment

2. Don't Get Blood On My Prada Shoes

3. Like A Cat

4. Jesus And Tori

5. My Sharona (The Knack cover)

Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear. (2005)

1. The Devil's Dick Disaster

2. Texas Dolly

3. Clarissa Explains Cuntainment

4. Track Four

5. The Proud Parent's Convention Held In ER

6. An Aptly Fictional Description

7. Like A Cat

8. Remembrance Dialogue

9. An Exericse In Self Portraiture: Go Shoot Yourself

10. Operating On A Re-Run Episode

11. Track Eleven

12. Category

The Number Twelve Looks Like You (2007)

1. Car Commercial

2. Sleeping With The Fishes, See?
3. Clarissa Explains Cuntainment (Demo)

4. Like A Cat (Demo)

Mongrel (2007)

1. Imagine Nation Express

2. El Piñata De La Muerte

3. Jay Walking Backwards

4. Grandfather

5. Alright, I Admit It... It Was A Whore House

6. Paper Weight Pigs

7. Sleeping With the Fishes, See?

8. Cradle in the Crater

9. The Weekly Wars

10. The Try (Thank You)

The Remixes (2008)

1. Imagination Express -(Jesse Cannon Remix)

2. The Weekly Wars - (Endor Remix)

Here At The End Of All Things (2008)

1. Jay Walking Backwards

2. Don’t Get Blood On My Prada Shoes

3. The Weekly Wars

4. Texas Dolly

5. The Proud Parent’s Convention Held In The ER

6. Grandfather

7. Texas Dolly (J. Kale Gilgore Tribute)

8. The Weekly Wars (Endor Remix)

9. Imagine Nation Express (Jesse Cannon Remix)

10. Jesus & Tori / Civeta Dei / Sleeping With the Fishes, See?

Worse Than Alone (2009)

1. Glory Kingdom

2. Given Life

3. To Catch A Tiger...

4. Marvin's Jungle

5. The Garden's All Nighters

6. ...If They Holler, Don't Let Go

7. Retort, Rebuild, Remind

8. The League Of Endangered Oddities

9. Serpentine

10. I'll Make My Own Hours

Wild Gods (2019)

1. Gallery Of Thrills

2. Last Laugher

3. Ruin The Smile

4. Ease My Siamese

5. Sword Swallower

6. Raised And Erased

7. Tombo's Wound

8. Of Fear

9. Interspecies

10. Rise Up Mountain

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