Sophie's Floorboard: State Route 522

State Route 522 were a five-piece post-hardcore/emo band from Seattle, Washington that were active from 1995 to 1997. They released two EP's, a split, and appeared on a handful of compilations during that time, and are notable for being Jake Snider's first band, who later went on to form Sharks Keep Moving and Minus The Bear. Sonically, this scratches a few itches, as they bridge the gap between the tremolo-picked octaves and dynamic angularity of post-hardcore a la Lync or Fugazi with the melodic, noodley arpeggios that would come to define midwest emo, making them also reminiscent of early pioneers like Gauge, Dahlia Seed, and Braid. They've kind of flown under the radar, but this is some really solid stuff that is absolutely worth your time to check out.

This is one of those instances where your best bet is to just get the anthology release (Retrospective), as that contains all their recorded material with better audio quality than the individual releases (which are only useful if you want smaller doses or completionism). Everything below is included on it with the exception of the four tracks on the Forecast compilation. I'm also missing another compilation-exclusive song "Worse For The Wear" and a demo they apparently recorded in 1995, so if anyone has those let me know! Enjoy.