Northstar

 

Northstar were a four-piece emo/pop punk band from Huntsville, Alabama that formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2005. In that time, they evolved quite a bit. While starting off as a melodic hardcore band with chunky, metallic riffs, throughout their run of early demos you can gradually hear the Jawbreaker, Sunny Day Real Estate, Knapsack, and The Get Up Kids influence seep in, right up to the release of their debut LP. Is This Thing Loaded? is a rambunctious effort with driving, distorted guitars, while their sophomore album Pollyanna is a little cleaner, more reserved, and effortlessly catchy in its overlayed vocals, dual guitars, and melodic embrace. Both albums were put via Triple Crown Records before they broke up, with only a compilation release coming posthumously of various demos and acoustic stuff (including a damn good cover of Jawbreaker's "Chesterfield King"). Though contemporaneous with a little of similitude to the likes of Taking Back Sunday, Further Seems Forever, The Early November, and Hot Rod Circuit, Northstar never quite got the recognition they deserved, and if you're into the aforementioned bands, you are going to undoubtedly love this. Enjoy.

Hardcore Demo (1997)

1. Torn Between

2. What Happened?

3. Falling Stars From Your Eyes

4. Still With You

5. Realizing Tonight

6. Hope That Hurts

6 Song Demo (1999)

1. Blindcrush

2. Dying Slowly

3. Rocket City

4. Unraveled (80's Rocker)

5. For Anyone But You

6. Arrows

There's More Where This Came From Demo (2000)

1. There's No Train Hopping In Dixieland

2. Black Heart Valentine

3. My Wishing Well Disease

4. Cinderella

5. Daybreak

Is This Thing Loaded? (2002)

1. Rigged & Ready

2. Is This Thing Loaded?

3. Broken Parachute

4. My Ricochet

5. My Wishing Well Disease

6. Taker Not A Giver

7. Daybreak

8. Train Hopping in Dixieland

9. Cinderella

10. Black Heart Valentine

Pollyanna (2004)

1. For Members Only

2. Pollyanna

3. American Living

4. The Pornographer's Daughter

5. Like A.M. Radio

6. The Accident Underwater

7. Two Zero Two

8. To My Better Angel

9. Between Horns and Halos

10. Digital Me

11. Rocket City

Broken Parachute (2008)

1. Broken Parachute (Alternate Version)

2. My Ricochet (Acoustic)

3. For Members Only (Acoustic)

4. Chesterfield King (Jawbreaker cover)

5. Piano Jam

6. Taker Not a Giver (Demo)

7. Is This Thing Loaded? (Demo)

8. Broken Parachute (Demo)

9. Black Heart Valentine (Piano Version)

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Hot Rod Circuit

Hot Rod Circuit are a four-piece emo/indie band from Auburn, Alabama that formed in 1997. They initially went by the name Antidote and released one album before changing the name and becoming the iteration of the band we know today. They quickly released two full-lengths in 1999 and 2000 respectively, both via Triple Crown Records. They switched to Vagrant Records for their following full-length, Sorry About Tomorrow. This included some of their most well-known tracks, particularly its opener "The Pharmacist". After another two albusm, the band broke up in 2007 after a solid ten years of activity. They weren't gone for long, as they reformed briefly in 2011, and then came back in semi-full force in 2014. Since then, they have played shows sporadically, with a few coming in January 2024.

I'll fully admit that this is one band I have not given nearly enough time to. They've been requested for years, and sit comfortably amongst the likes of Piebald, Braid, The Anniversary, The Get Up Kids, and Jimmy Eat World. I really haven't delved any deeper than cursory listens beyond If I Knew Now What I Knew Then and Sorry About Tomorrow. Both of those are solid, though didn't quite click the same way some of the aforementioned bands did. I still like and have an immense respect for them, and consider them one of the handful of major emo acts I have yet to cover here. So here they are, in all their glory. Enjoy!

Hot Rod Circuit (1999)

1. Very Best Friend

2. Slacker

3. Blurry 17

4. Hi-Tech Lipgloss

5. Richard Simmons

If I Knew Now What I Knew Then (1999)

1. Weak Warm

2. Irish Car Bomb

3. Slacker

4. Remover

5. Chemistry

6. Medicated Lungs

7. Achy Breaky Hockey Hair

8. Good Intentions

9. Chinese Cuts

10. Low

If It's Cool With You, It's Cool With Me (2000)

1. Radio Song

2. Supersad

3. Two Hand Touch

4. The Power Of The Vitamins

5. Cool With Me

6. Versatility

7. This Is Not The Time Or Place

8. Smithsonian Lover

9. Flight 89 (North American)

10. You Kill Me

11. What's Left Standing

The Anniversary/Hot Rod Circuit (2000)

1. The Anniversary - To Never Die Young

2. Hot Rod Circuit - This One's For Randy

Sorry About Tomorrow (2002)

1. The Pharmacist

2. At Natures Mercy

3. Radiation Suit

4. Safely

5. Now Or Never

6. Cool For One Night

7. Knees

8. Let's Go Home

9. Consumed By Laziness

10. Get What You Get

11. The Night They Blew Up The Moon 

Been There, Smoked That (2002)

1. Very Best Friend

2. Slacker

3. Blurry 17

4. Hi-Tech Lipgloss

5. Richard Simmons

6. Sadie Hawkins

7. Understood

8. Grocery Store

9. The Greatest Disappointment

10. Master Control Program

11. Power Of Vitamins (Live)

12. This One's For Randy (Live)

13. Hi-Tech Lip Gloss (Live)

14. Patty Hearst Machine Gun (Fudge cover)

15. Sin City (AC/DC cover)

Reality's Coming Through (2004)

1. Inhabit

2. Save You

3. Fear The Sound

4. Cheap Trick

5. Failure

6. Tell The Truth

7. Unfaithful

8. The Best You Ever Knew

9. Crossbow

10. Riding The Low

11. Moonlight Sunlight

A Santa Clause: It's A Punk Rock Christmas 2 (2006)

9. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (John Lennon cover)

The Underground Is A Dying Breed (2007)

1. Stateside

2. Vampire

3. Battleship

4. What We Believe In

5. 45's

6. Holding On To Nothing

7. US Royalty

8. Ventricle

9. Spit You Out

10. Cali

11. 6-8

The Underground Is A Dying Breed Acoustic EP (2007)

1. 45's

2. Battleship

3. Camo

4. Stateside

5. U.S. Royalty

Punk Goes Crunk (2008)

13. Gin & Juice (Snoop Dogg cover)

Hot Rod Circuit (2011)

1. Forgive Me

2. Into The Sun

3. Sucked Out

Default Setting (2017)

1. Default Setting

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Camping In Alaska

Camping In Alaska are an indie/emo/punk band from Huntsville, Alabama that have been around since 2012. Someone recently pointed out to me that I hadn't posted this band yet, which is absolutely insane and figured I'd get them up here as soon as possible. So, voila. I'm sure a lot of you are already familiar with this band, particularly please be nice which seems to get the most attention, but Bathe and Welcome Home Son are both certainly worth your time. They also might have a new album out soon, so be sure to look out for that. If you haven't heard them, they play a gruff, raw take on twinkly midwestern emo with lyrics meant to be shouted on drunken summer nights. Or something like that. Enjoy.

fuck shit up (2012)

1. burger king (what is this, democracy or uhhh... the other thing)

2. ...and now it's perfect for yoga!

3. lakeshore

4. turnover

5. green

6. why can't i be snowing?

7. frankie thinks she's punk rock but she's just a POSER!!!

8. intro

please be nice (2013)

1. insight

2. why can't i be snowing?

3. there's no "brain" in team

4. justin farmer

5. i just want to kickflip into the sunset and disappear

6. c u in da ballpit

7. dragon ball z budokai tenkaichi 4

Bathe (2014)

1. Bathe

2. Coptalks

3. Homestead

4. Jonathan's Lantern

5. Chinaski

6. Tuesday

7. Wednesday

8. Fourtwenty

9. Yoga

10. Backwards

Welcome Home Son (2016)

1. Bacon

2. Freight Train

3. DIY Karma Kit

4. Black Blood Feeds The Machine

5. Christ Is Resin

6. Roses

7. Horror

8. Wherewolvf

9. Angel

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P.S. Eliot

Hey guys, sorry it's been a while, I've just been busy again. It's kind of become a September tradition here for me to disappear for a bit, haha. But I'm back now, and you can expect regular posts again soon.

P.S. Eliot are a four-piece indie/punk band from Birmingham, Alabama that formed in 2007 and broke up in 2011. Just recently, they reunited for a tour and to release a complete discography album, the aptly titled 2007-2011. Besides putting out their own incredible music, P.S. Eliot are also pretty well known for their members, which included sisters Katie and Allison Crutchfield. They would form Waxahatchee and Swearin' respectively post-P.S. Eliot.

P.S. Eliot wrote some incredibly catchy and energetic indie tunes that spawned two fantastic albums, and, a near-perfect EP. (in my opinion). It's no secret that the Crutchfield's are superb songwriters, and this band was their very first major display of it. Their lyrics are personal and autobiographical, with a slight feminist agenda (being a female punk band in a male-dominated punk scene). Though their very simple and straight-forward songs, they capture the exact ingredient to make perfect pop songs with catchy melodies and personable stories in their lyrics. Enjoy.

The Bike Wreck Demo (2008)

1. Bike Wreck!!!!!!

2. Broken Record

3. Entendre

4. Like How You Are

5. Tonight

6. Troubled Medium

7. Untitled

Introverted Romance In Our Troubled Minds (2009)

1. Tennessee

2. We'd Never Agree

3. Hail Mary

4. Incoherent Love Songs

5. Augustus

6. Like How You Are

7. Tangible Romance

8. Tonight

9. The Cyborg

10. Zoroaster

11. Sore Subject

12. Troubled Medium

Living In Squalor (2010)

1. Broken Record

2. Cry Uncle

3. Acid Flashbacks

4. Dark

5. Bear Named Otis

Sadie (2011)

1. Talk

2. Crosseyed

3. Sadie

4. Asphalt

5. Pink Sheets

6. Untitled

7. Shitty & Tragic

8. Jesus Christ

9. Peach

10. Diana

11. Dead Letter

12. Mood Ring

13. Watch On Mute

Demonstrations (2012)

1. Hail Mary

2. Cry Uncle

3. Incoherent Love Songs

4. Untitled

5. The Cyborg

6. Sore Subject

7. Asphalt

8. Watch On Mute

9. Diana

10. Crosseyed

11. Jesus Christ

12. Tangible Romance

13. Mood Ring

14. Bear Named Otis

15. Zoroaster

2007-2011 (2016)

Disc 1

1. Tennessee

2. We'd Never Agree

3. Hail Mary

4. Incoherent Love Songs

5. Augustus

6. Like How You Are

7. Tangible Romance

8. Tonight

9. The Cyborg

10. Zoroaster

11. Sore Subject

12. Troubled Medium

13. Talk

14. Crosseyed

15. Sadie

16. Asphalt

17. Pink Sheets

18. Untitled

19. Shitty & Tragic

20. Jesus Christ

21. Peach

22. Diana

23. Dead Letter

24. Mood Ring

25. Watch On Mute

Disc 2

1. Broken Record

2. Cry Uncle

3. Acid Flashbacks

4. Dark

5. Bear Named Otis

6. Broken Record

7. Entendre

8. Like How You Are

9. Tonight

10. Troubled Medium

11. Crosseyed (Demo)

12. Incoherent Love Songs (Demo)

13. Asphalt (Demo)

14. Hail Mary (Demo)

15. Cry Uncle (Demo)

16. The Cyborg (Demo)

17. Tangible Romance (Demo)

18. Jesus Christ (Demo)

19. Dead Letters (Demo)

20. Bear Named Otis (Demo)

21. Untitled (Demo)

22. Diana (Demo)

23. Watch On Mute (Demo)

24. Sore Subject (Demo)

25. Zoroaster (Demo)