The Sidekicks

The Sidekicks are a four-piece indie/punk band from Ohio that formed in 2007. Since then they've evolved quite a bit, though always put out consistently good tunes. Their earliest material features chunky guitars and gruff vocals singing some of punk's catchiest melodies. They could draw comparisons to bands like Latterman or The Lawrence Arms. This stuff is great of course, but like any good band should, they progressed over the years. By the time Awkward Breeds was released, the band was already branching off into indie rock territory, particularly that of 90's greats such as Built To Spill. They fully transitioned into an indie rock band on their last album, Runners In The Nerved World, which is more Band Of Horses than it is Against Me!. Over the band's near-decade of existence, they've put out a slew of great music, all of which can be found below. Enjoy.

So Long, Soggy Dog (2007)

1. Panic! San Francisco

2. Wife Swap > Sled Riding

3. Team Volcano

4. Eye To Eye, Oh My!

5. "Chips Bring A Party Down"

6. Necktie

7. Slight Sting

8. Don't Open The Door, You Might Let In The Gusto

9. Go! Go! Go! Green! Green! Green!

10. Tomboioi

11. Steve Smith, Coal Miner Jr.

Sam (2008)

1. Hop On A Sea Cow And Manatee Up

2. I Burned The Crops

3. Bryant Gregst (Gets Nervous)

4. The Island

Weight Of Air (2009)

1. Let It Breathe

2. Looking

3. A Healthy Time

4. Almost The Same

5. Day-Staring

6. Small

7. Static Mouth

8. Plans

9. Like The Tides

10. Shading

11. Learn To Live Without

12. Weight Of Air

The Sidekicks/Tigers Jaw (2011)

1. The Sidekicks - Little James

2. The Sidekicks - (Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes

3. Tigers Jaw - Jimmy Piersall

4. Tigers Jaw - Boots 'n Hanks  

Awkward Breeds (2012)

1. DMT

2. Grace

3. Peacock

4. Incandescent Days

5. 1940's Fighter Jet

6. Diamond Eyes

7. The Whale And Joan

8. The 9th Piece

9. Looker

10. Baby, Baby

11. Daisy

Grace (2012)

1. Grace

2. The Wallflowers

3. The 9th Piece (Alternate Version)

4. Stay

Runners In The Nerved World (2015)

1. Hell Is Warm

2. Everything In Twos

3. Jesus Christ Supermalls

4. The Kid Who Broke His Wrist

5. Pet

6. Blissfield, MI

7. Deer

8. Summer Brings You Closer To Satan

9. Century Schoolbook Grown-Ups

10. Satellite Words And Me

11. Spinning Seat

12. All Things Run

Happiness Hours (2018)

1. Other People's Pets

2. Mix For Rainy Day

3. Twin's Test

4. Win Affection

5. A Short Dance

6. Don't Feel Like Dancing

7. Weed Tent

8. Summer And The Magic Trick

9. Serpent In A Sun Drought

10. Elegy For Tim

11. Medium In The Middle

12. Happiness Hours

Facebook

Bandcamp

Locktender

Label submission. Locktender are a four-piece hardcore/screamo/post-rock band from Cleveland, Ohio that was birthed from the remnants of another band called Men As Trees. Locktender recently released their debut full-length titled Kafka, after writer Franz Kafka, whose work inspired the lyrical content of this album (more information about this on their Bandcamp).

The band bangs out five beasts of songs which stylistically roam in a blend of hardcore and screamo, with many aspects of post-rock integrated in as well. The atmospheric, melodic, reverb-laden guitar parts particularly demonstrate that aspect, as well as the lengthy, dynamic song structures that feature many crescendos and climaxes. The vocals are very guttural for the most part, though often break into a clean, desperate, singing-style during more melodic interludes, which serves as a parallel to the emotional face punch of the aggressive moments. The first four songs on here are epic, in the truest sense of the word. Each song spans a large range of musical ideas which seaminglessly flow into each other, and give the listener a sense of adventure as they explore each eloquently-written asphorism-inspired song and the sound of giants backing them. This particular notion somewhat reminded me of bands such as Envy or Deafheaven, if those could be used as possible comparisons.  The album ends with the fifth and final track "Aphorism 103", which features a hauntingly vulnerable acoustic guitar-driven song, and one final crescendo to bring Kafka to a close.

This album absolutely blew me away from start to finish, I highly, highly recommend checking it out. They have their entire discography up for free download, which earns them some major respect, and more reason to try and support them. You can find it here.

Kafka (2013)

1. Aphorism #17

2. Aphorism #16

3. Aphorism #87

4. Aphorism #63

5. Aphorism #103

Facebook

Bandcamp

Wordpress

Storenvy