Sophie's Floorboard: Shoulder

Shoulder were a four-piece emo/post-hardcore band from London, Ontario that formed in 1994 and ended in 1997. They only released one LP, 1995's Touch, which is an underrated classic in the world of 90's emo. Sonically, they bridged the gap between the intensive angularity of Dischord bands such as Jawbox, Hoover, and Rites of Spring with the emerging melody of the midwest emo scene pioneered by bands like Split Lip and Endpoint. It's passionate, vulnerable, and energetic, while being dynamic enough to remain engaging. What more could you want from a band? The LP also features multiple interludes of fingerpicked acoustic guitar, which provides a unique flow not found on any other record of its time. Following the band's end, three of its four member regrouped in 1999 to form Constantines, a very well-known and well-renowned band in Canadian indie rock.

I highly recommend checking out this post on Abridged Pause. It delves deeper into their history, with changing members, release information, and more. It's also what provided a ton of the downloads here, as they also shared a ton of the band's discography, which was sparing before (songs from some sessions only ended up being released sporadically across various compilations). So full credit to them, and enjoy!

Demo (1995)

1. Burning The Day

2. Surrounding

3. Positions

4. Outlive

Basement Recordings (1995)

1. Funny Shit

2. The Woods

3. Twenty-One