Tuesday 28 June 2022

Senza

Senza are a three-piece hardcore/screamo band from Eugene, Oregon that began in 2014. Their debut album came out in 2019, though I admittedly slept on it until late last year, when I finally gave myself the chance to be blown away by it. Even A Worm Will Turn is a crushing listen from front to back, with a seamless flow from track to track. It pulls from a number of influences, with the spastic nature of screamo and heavy riffs of hardcore. Vocally, they're pretty reminiscent of Jeromes Dream circa Seeing Means More Than Safety. The rhythm section pummels through behind dark, angular guitars all with elements of black metal, courtesy of blast beats and string-shredding tremolo picking. It's a unique and impactful listen that conjures up feelings of unease and tension just to release them in cathartic explosions. I say it a lot and I'll say it again, I highly recommended giving this album a listen. Their previous material is also very solid, but the experience of their full-length in its entirety is definitely the highlight here. This is absolutely fantastic stuff, and I look work to whatever the band has coming next. Enjoy.

1. Kamchatka
2. That Belongs In A Museum
3. Mandatory Waiting Period
4. Empedocies... I Guess?

1. 3

13. How Staggering Is This Realization (Jeromes Dream cover)

Note: Full comp here

1. Senza - Dark Dive / Sentience
2. Senza - Garmonbozia
3. Akira - Evocation
4. Akira - Broken
5. Akira - Wet Dream Guillotine
6. Akira - Night Terrors
7. Akira - Another City On The Map

1. Senza - Provare
2. Senza - SHFFL // The Counterpick To Your Statement
3. Senza - Life After Debt
4. Antiphony - Entr'acte
5. Antiphony - Fletcher
6. Antiphony - Charmain
 7. Antiphony - Walt
8. Antiphony - Jonathan

1. Misornithist
2. Tunnel Vision II

1. Tunnel Vision I
2. Born Of Dirt
3. Misornithist
4. Tunnel Vision II
5. Constant Air Of Casual Indifference
6. American Robin
7. Imposter
8. Sentience
9. Swarm
10. Inner Immolation
11. Even A Worm Will Turn
12. Echoes

Zochor

Zochor are a three-piece post-hardcore/emo band from Nottingham, UK that began in 2019. They share members with Algae Bloom, The Sylvia North Story, What Price, Wonderland?, and Plaids. Zochor play an impassioned brand of hardcore that takes influence from Revolution Summer-era emo, such as Embrace, Ignition and Soulside, with melodic bass lines, cutting guitar leads, and a cathartic, breaking vocal delivery. Enjoy.

1. Another Bedroom Intervention
2. Big Rob Returns
3. Big Pete Enters
4. Probably Don't, I Reckon?

1. Un Regard l'enfant-Jésus
2. I've Got No Right To Sing The Blues
3. Around The Dinner Table The Conversation Is Lively
4. The Christmas Lights Are Up (but no one's turned them on yet)

1. Overo - Another Year In Hell
2. Overo - A Hole In The Earth
3. Punch On! - Gore-tex Aorta
4. Punch On! - Rokycany
5. Punch On! - Defensive About Being On Fire
6. Zochor - Have You Considered Going There?
7. Zochor - Syncopation
8. Coma Regalia - Uncoming
9. Coma Regalia - In Sentiment Only
10. Coma Regalia - Further Into You

Kara's Walk Home


Kara's Walk Home are a four-piece emo/indie from Los Angeles, California that began in 2014. They put out their debut full-length I Don't Want To Look At The Stars in 2015, and have finally followed it up this June with the release of Look! A Rainbow! The band craft dynamic, sprawling songs that balance energy and melancholy almost seamlessly. With track lengths regularly crossing the six-minute mark, they keep things interesting by including varied instrumentation, including strings, pianos, and trumpets. Amongst the rise-and-falls and clean noodly guitar work, the vocals cut through with a very unique and nervously charismatic delivery. To make a very loose comparison, fans of bands "long-form emo" such as The Brave Little Abacus or TWIABP should check this out. Enjoy.

1. June

1. American Soccer
2. Escape From The City
3. Stars Kids Home
4. 4am again... that's fine
5. Weekend! Party With Your Friends!
6. Dry
7. I'll Give It My All... Tomorrow
8. Summertime! Fun With Friends!
9. bad feelings ;^(

1. Goodbye, to This, and That and My Baseball Glove

1. Highway
2. Impressionism
3. Do You See The Thread Of Light?
4. June 2
5. Reintroduction Letter
6. Goodbye, to This, and That and My Baseball Glove
7. Spring & Movies
8. Ông Nội
9. Gauge Means Nothing in the Car
10. Dragon Bone Smasher

Monday 27 June 2022

American Beauty


American Beauty are a four-piece emo/indie band from New Jersey that began in 2017. They play a math-y version of midwest emo with some pop punk leanings. Fans of bands such as Perspective, A Lovely Hand To Hold or Macseal will definitely find something to love here. Their 2020 self-titled EP in particular is absolutely fantastic, and the beginning of "The Gang Gets Emo" just demands being cranked. Enjoy. 

1. Baseball Shame Cocaine
2. Breathing Patterns

1. Stage Fright
2. Thank God For Details
3. Dan, When Are You Coming Over To Shotgun More Beers Again?
4. Canadian Ugly
5. Trepanation
6. Fake Weddings

1. Carolina
2. Route 9
3. Soy Boy
4. "The Gang Gets Emo"

1. Innerlove. - Murder
2. Innerlove. - Walked On
3. American Beauty - Stage Fright
4. American Beauty - Dinner At Dorsia