Grandview

Grandview were a four-piece emo/indie/post-hardcore band from Burlington, Massachusetts that began in 2012 and broke up in 2018. They only put out one full-length, along with an EP and a split. Their sole album came out in 2013, and has been very overlooked ever since. I'll admit I didn't hear of this band (aside from the Free Throw split) until years later, which is insane because this would have been up this blog's alley when it first came out. The band utilizes melancholic, shimmering arpeggios that crescendo into a monument of catharsis, with deeply personal lyrics and an impassioned vocal delivery. This could be used to describe a lot of bands, but Grandview stand out due to the heavy emotional impact they made. It's no surprise that their song "To The Sun" has built a life of its own on this basis. Fans of bands including Manchester Orchestra, Have Mercy, Seahaven, Balance And Composure and Microwave absolutely need to check this out. Enjoy.

Absolutely Nothing (2012)

1. Alabaster Skin

2. Pillars

3. Recall, Recede

4. Absolutely Nothing

Grandview/Free Throw (2013)

1. Free Throw - Pallet Town (Acoustic)

2. Grandview - Concrete

Everything Between Paint And Wall (2013)

1. Paint

2. Seeking Out Gold (The Former)

3. The Only Constant

4. In Good Company

5. To The Sun

6. 7

7. Saw The Sky

8. Say Nothing

9. Sharper

10. Sitting On Gold (The Latter)

11. Wall

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Drowningman

Drowningman are a five-piece metalcore/mathcore band from Burlington, Vermont that were around from 1995 to 2002. They reunited between 2004 and 2005 for a tour and new album before breaking up again. They played a few reunion shows in 2014, and offically reformed in 2021, with their first new material in over 15 years being released this year. Throughout their tenure, they've gone through quite a few lineup changes, with vocalist Simon Brody being the one constant member. They've also worked with a ton of great labels, including Hydra Head, Revelation and Equal Vision. 

Sonically, Drowningman came off the heels of metalcore pioneers like Unbroken and Deadguy, with heavy, dissonant riffs, agile rhythms, and throat-shredding vocals. They often paired with this with a keen sense of melody, even early on at their heaviest. It wouldn't be surprising to find out they were big on post-hardcore acts like Unwound or Refused, as those angular, melodic aspects do encroach in their sound quite a bit. If you're looking for a place to start, I think their debut Busy Signal At The Suicide Hotline is probably their best, though I do also have an affinity for the EP's How They Light Cigarettes In Prison and Still Loves You. Highly recommended stuff, they are an absolute classic of their respective genre. Enjoy.

Weighted And Weighed Down (1997)

1. Weighted And Weighed Down

2. Static Mouth

Busy Signal At The Suicide Hotline (1998)

1. Condoning The Use Of Inhalants

2. High School Slow Dance

3. Busy Signal At The Suicide Hotline

4. Sadder Than Saturday

5. Mail Order Kidney

6. Trouble Breathing

7. Supermarket Riot

8. Clothesline

The Dillinger Escape Plan/Drowningman (1999)

1. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Jim Fear

2. Drowningman - My First Restraining Order

How They Light Cigarettes In Prison (2000)

1. Black-Tie Knife-Fight

2. Radio Turned To The Sounds Of Hearts Breaking

3. A Quick Prayer To The Patron Saint Of Dirty Rest Area Bathrooms And Clean Getaways

4. How They Light Cigarettes In Prison

Rock And Roll Killing Machine (2000)

1. When People Become Numbers

2. Last Weeks Minutes From The Meeting Of The Secret Society Of Your Friends Who Actually Hate You

3. The Truly Dangerous Nature Of A Man Who Doesn't Care If He Lives Or Dies

4. Rock And Roll Killing Machine

5. Code Breaking Hearts

6. My First Restraining Order

7. This Years Most Fashionable Sense Of Weakness

8. If God Loves A Winner He's Going To Want To Fuck Me In A Minute (Born To Break Even)

9. Angels And Defenses

Still Loves You (2001)

1. The More I Get To Know You Less I Like You

2. The Unbearable Burden Of Always Being Right

3. Weighted And Weighed Down

4. Living With The Awful Truth That We're Not As Cool As We'd Like Other People To Think We Are

5. Surveillance Footage Highlights

Learn To Let It Go (The Demos) (2004)

1. Weighted And Weighed Down

2. Dial

3. Static Mouth

4. Your Eyes Look Like Candy

5. Red

6. Kiss The Canvas

7. Where The Heart Is

8. Wellwisher

9. Contagious

10. Open Book Test

11. Kerosene

12. Burning Buildings

Don't Push Us When We're Hot (2005)

1. Yeah, You're Pretty But Do You Think You'll Really Get Away With It?

2. John Cougar Mellancamp Is The White Devil

3. Dude Status; Revoked

4. Today's Special: Still Beating Hearts

5. White People Are Stupid

6. Drowningman Dance Party, Bring Your Own Bodybag

7. "Dear God, Life Is Hell"

8. The Last Honest Man Sells Out

9. Major Disappointment Reporting For Duty

10. Luck, Love, Life Time Guarantees And Other Things Assholes Believe In

Black On Black: A Tribute To Black Flag (2006)

6. Loose Nut (Black Flag cover)

Later Day Saints (2022)

1. Navigating Grief And Loss In A Pre-Apocalyptic Landscape

2. It Will End In Cops

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Grade

 

Grade are a five-piece hardcore/emo band from Burlington, Ontario that began in 1994 and initially broke up in 2002, before reuniting for shows in 2006, and ha,ve been fully reformed since 2009, though less active than in their formative years. They technically began in 1992 under the name Incision, but after a few line-up changes they finalized as Grade in 1994, with their debut LP coming out a year later. After three more albums, other assorted releases, and some relentless touring, they disbanded in 2002. They reunited in 2009 to record new material, as well as sporadically tour and play shows. 

Sonically, this band is often praised as being pioneers of the hardcore/emo blend that would become more widely popular in the 2000's. They developed a strong following, but never got any widespread recognition, thus why words like "underrated" and "influential" are often thrown their way. Rightly so, I might add. The band had the unique ability to blend metallic riffs of hardcore heavies like Chokehold with the more melodic, cathartic octave-chord crescendos of early emo bands like Evergreen or Sunny Day Real Estate. They were also one of the earliest bands to incorporate both screamed and cleanly sung vocals, a sound that again wouldn't become widespread until the next decade. If you're looking for a place to start with this band, Under The Radar is probably their most popular album, though I've always been partial to the rawer sound of And Such Is Progress. In regards to their discography, everything is below is near-complete, though there are a few minor things missing. Most notably some compilation tracks, as well as the early Afterthought single and Incision split, though all tracks from those two releases do appear elsewhere here. Enjoy!

Grade/Believe (1994)

1. Grade - Cripple

2. Grade - Choda

3. Grade - Impulse

4. Grade - Hairdie

5. Grade - Digga Digga Song

6. Grade - Classified

7. Grade - Melodic Song

8. Grade - Entangled

9. Believe - Pot O' Gold

10. Believe - Drowning

11. Believe - Last Chances

12. Believe - Second Coming

13. Believe - Joel's Song

14. Believe - Escape

15. Believe - Regret

And Such Is Progress (1995)

1. Weave

2. Miracle Ear

3. CFNY

4. Bedhead

5. Tearjerk

6. Hive

7. Pocket Rocket

8. And Such Is Progress

Grade (1996)

1. Chancre

2. Not Heroic

3. Abandon The Need

Separate The Magnets (1997)

1. Conceptualizing Theories In Motion

2. Symptoms Of Simplifying The Simplistic

3. The Adaption Of Means

4. Life Gets In The Way Of Living

5. To Illustrate And Design New Parameters

6. The Joy Of Stupidity

7. The Tie That Binds

Triumph & Tragedy (1999)

1. Triumph & Tragedy

2. Stolen Bikes Ride Faster

3. Panama (Van Halen cover)

Under The Radar (1999)

1. The Inefficiency Of Emotion

2. For The Memory Of Love

3. Seamless

4. The Tension Between Stillness And Motion

5. Victims Of Mathematics

6. A Year In The Past, Forever In The Future

7. The Worst Lies Are Told In Silence

8. Second Chance At First Place

9. Stolen Bikes Ride Faster

10. When Something Goes To Your Head

11. Triumph and Tragedy

The Embarrassing Beginning (2000)

1. Cripple

2. Punk Rock Song

3. Impulse

4. Hairdie

5. Digga Digga Song

6. Classified

7. Instrumental Song

8. Entangled

9. Afterthought (Demo)

10. The Tension Between Stillness & Motion (Demo)

11. Triumph & Tragedy (Acoustic)

12. Stolen Bikes Ride Faster

13. Panama (Van Halen cover)

14. A Year In The Past (Radio Version)

15. Seamless (Acoustic Version)

Note: Compilation including songs from the Grade/Believe split, Triumph & Tragedy

Headfirst Straight To Hell (2001)

1. Termites Hollow

2. Becoming Not Being

3. In The Wake Of Poseidon

4. Bleeding Warm & Newly Dead

5. Overthrowing Creation Itself

6. Little Satisfactions

7. Vertical Transmission

8. Will Bending

9. In Ashes We Lie

10. Sixth Chamber

11. The Empress

12. Twenty Moons

13. Winds Of Hell / The Glorious Dead

At Both Ends (2009)

1. Bane - Non-Negotiable

2. Bane - Struck Down By Me

3. Grade - These Eyes Are On The Exit

4. Grade - Optical Portions

5. Unrestrained - Immaculate Deception 

6. Unrestained - Anak Krakatau

7. Between Earth And Sky - Skin And Stone 

8. Between Earth And Sky - Flow

Collapsed Lungs (2014)

1. Collapsed Lungs

2. Unstoppable Force vs. Immovable Object

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