Ratboys

Ratboys are a four-piece indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois that formed in 2010. Initially comprised of Julia Steiner and David Sagan, they began in South Bend, Indiana before relocating to Chicago and rounding out their line-up as a full band. They've released five full-length albums, all through Topshelf Records. Before we get to the end-of-year stuff, I thought I should finally include this band, who put out one of my favourite albums of last year, and one I continually returned to throughout this year. 

It's criminal that it took so long to get to, especially since they're a Topshelf band whose name continually came up for years. The Window did not disappoint, with its country-tinged, jangly slacker rock sound, fuzzy lead guitars, and impeccable songwriting with monstrous hooks. From the loose jam of "Black Earth, WI", to the racous garage rock of "Crossed That Line", to the soaring vocals of the title track, this album is incredible. Exploring their back catalogue has also been a joy, as they've been incredibly consistent since the get-go, but I'm still mostly partial to The Window. So if you're like me and have been pushing checking this out off, don't. Enjoy.

Ratboy (2011)

1. The Stanza

2. Down The River

3. Intense Judgement

4. Key

5. A 39 Is Annie The Oldest Cat

6. Have A Heart

AOID (2015)

1. AOID

2. Tixis

3. MCMXIV

4. Charles BErnstein

5. Folk Song For JAzz

6. Postman Song

7. Our Mortician's Daughter

8. Bugs!

9. Pivotal Dates

10. And

Dowsing/Ratboys (2016)

1. Dowsing - Hold

2. Dowsing - Pass

3. Ratboys - Not Again

4. Ratboys - Light Pollution

GN (2017)

1. Molly

2. Elvis Is In The Freezer

3. Westside

4. Control

5. Crying About The Planets

6. Dangerous Visions

7. Wandered

8. GM

9. The Record

10. Peter The Wild Boy

GL (2018)

1. GL

2. You've Changed

3. Figure

4. After School

Printer's Devil (2020)
1. Alien With A Sleep Mask On

2. Look To

3. My Hands Grow

4. A Vision

5. Anj

6. I Go Out At Night

7. Victoriam Slumhouse

8. Clever Hans

9. Listening

10. Printer's Devil

Happy Birthday, Ratboy (2021)

1. The Stanza

2. Down The River

3. Intense Judgment

4. Key

5. At 39 Is Annie The Oldest Cat?

6. Space Blows

7. Collected

8. Cacao To Cacao

9. Have A Heart

10. 88 Fingers Edward

11. Go Outside

The Window (2023)

1. Making Noise For The Ones You Love

2. Morning Zoo

3. Crossed That Line

4. It's Alive!

5. No Way

6. The Window

7. Empty

8. Break

9. Black Earth, WI

10. I Want You (Fall 2010)

11. Bad Reaction

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Phoenix Bodies

Phoenix Bodies were a five-piece screamo/grindcore band from Southport, Indiana that were active from 2001 to 2011. In that time, they were insanely prolific with a plethora of releases coming out, but only one full-length album. 2006's Raise The Bullshit Flag sets the bar for insanity on record. Its panicked, convulsive delivery and lyrical relevance still hold up to this day as one of grind-influenced screamo's finest offerings. It's discordant and downtuned, with chaotic blastbeats and breakneck tempo changes scattered throughout its 16-minute runtime. I think its safe to say that its earn its merit as an "essential" for fans of this sound. They have a ton of other material that's also worth more than your attention, and luckily most of it can be found on 2007's Too Much Information. Alongside 2008's Mutton Dagger, you essentially have their full discography aside from the LP. One quick note, I am missing their split with The Dream Is Dead, though their tracks from that can be found on Too Much Information and 2004's Discography cassette. Enjoy.

Demo (2003)
1. Demo 1
2. Demo 2
3. Demo 3
4. Demo 4
5. Demo 5
6. Demo 6
7. Demo 7

Phoenix Bodies/Enkephalin (2003)

1. Enkephalin - Full Access Bubblegum Machine

2. Enkephalin - Biff Can Take A Beating

3. Enkephalin - Calling To Confirm

4. Enkephalin - The Technician

5. Enkephalin - One Punch Machine Gun

6. Enkephalin - Iceman Vs. The Tiger

7. Phoenix Bodies - Half Billion Ants: A Force

8. Phoenix Bodies - Spin: A Rendezvous

9. Phoenix Bodies - Lawn of Decadence

10. Phoenix Bodies - Get It, Rabbit

11. Phoenix Bodies - Full Frontal Fragrance

12. Phoenix Bodies - Cock Ocean: A Timeless Destination

Shikari/Phoenix Bodies (2004)

1. Shikari - Nieuwe Politiek #1

2. Shikari - Tijd Was Ons Niet Zo Goed Gezind

3. Phoenix Bodies - Old Balls

4. Phoenix Bodies - Pardon My Emoticon

5. Phoenix Bodies - Toxic Shock Value Meal

Phoenix Bodies/Raein (2004)

1. Phoenix Bodies - The Future Is Eating

2. Phoenix Bodies - Sense Is Out Of Style

3. Raein - Endless Tourlife

Tyranny Of Shaw/Phoenix Bodies (2004)

1. Tryanny Of Shaw - Routing Her Convulsions

2. Tyranny Of Shaw - Spinetheft

3. Phoenix Bodies - Goddamn Pyramid Building Aliens

4. Phoenix Bodies - Fix Me (Black Flag cover)

Discography (2004)

1. Sense Is Out Of Style

2. The Future Of Eating

3. Old Balls

4. Pardon My Emoticon

5. Toxic Shock Value Meal

6. Fix Me (Black Flag cover)

7. Enlarge Your Penis

8. Goddamn Pyramid Building Aliens

9. Half A Billion Ants

10. Spin: A Rendez-vous

11. Lawn Of Decadence

12. Get It Rabbit

13. Full Frontal Fragrance

14. Cock Ocean: A Timeless Destination

Raise Your Bullshit Flag (2006)

1. Raise The Bullshit Flag

2. Resonance Of The Strom Thurmond Death Rattle

3. Hard On For A Hummer

4. You've Been Hamburgled

5. Striving For Autism

6. I Guarantee You're A Pile Of Shit

7. Test Of Faith At The Trinity Broadcasting Network

8. If Money Is Power...

9. Intelligent Designer Sunglasses

10. The War On Entropy

Too Much Information (2007)

1. Half-A-Billion Ants

2. Spin: A Rendez-Vous

3. Lawn of Decadence

4. Get It Rabbit

5. Full Frontal Fragrance

6. Cock Ocean: A Timeless Destination

7. Enlarge Your Penis

8. Toxic Shock Value Meal

9. Old Balls

10. Pardon My Emoticon

11. Sense Is Out Of Style

12. Future Of Eating

13. Goddamn Pyramid Building Aliens

14. Fix Me (Black Flag cover)

15. Striving For Autism

16. Hard-On For A Hummer

17. You've Been Hamburgled

18. Does Anyone Have A Boom Stand?

19. Lawn of Decadence (Live)

20. Sense Is Out Of Style (Live)

21. Spin: A Rendez-Vous (Live)

22. Half-A-Billion Ants (Live)

23. Cock Ocean: A Timeless Destination (Live)

24. Striving For Autism (Live)

25. Old Balls (Live)

26. Future Of Eating (Live)

27. Enlarge Your Penis (Live)

28. Toxic Shock Value Meal  (Live)

29. Goddamn Pyramid Building Aliens V.I (Live)

30. Goddamn Pyramid Building Aliens V.II (Live)

31. Demo 1

32. Demo 2

33. Demo 3

34. Demo 4

35. Demo 5

36. Demo 6

37. Demo 7

Phoenix Bodies/La Quiete (2008)

1. Phoenix Bodies - Get A Job

2. La Quiete - Animali De Fede E Di Memoria

Cobra Commander (2008)

1. Apathy Is Chemistry

2. White People Do This

3. Cobra Commander 2008

4. No Need For Earplugs

Mutton Dagger (2008)

1. Get A Job

2. Apathy Is Chemistry

3. White People Do This

4. Cobra Commander 2008

5. No Need For Earplugs

6. Young Dumb And Full Of Guns

7. Surf's Up, Surf City

8. This Place Is A Fucking Dump / Health Control

Hewhocorrupts/Phoenix Bodies (2009)

1. Hewhocorrupts - Mike Muir On Wall Street

2. Hewhocorrupts - Derek Black's Body Karate

3. Hewhocorrupts - Smoke'n In The Boys Room

4. Hewhocorrupts - Jesus Luncheon

5. Hewhocorrupts - Sonofdog

6. Hewhocorrupts - Tommy Camaro's True Story

7. Phoenix Bodies - This Place Is A Fucking Dump

8. Phoenix Bodies - Health Control

9. Phoenix Bodies - Surf's Up, Surf City!

10. Phoenix Bodies - Young, Dumb, And Full Of Guns

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Mock Orange

Mock Orange are a four-piece emo/indie/punk band from Evansville, Indiana that formed in 1993 and are still active today. They're kind of like the unsung heroes of the genre, having been consistently active and prolific throughout three (and going into four) different decades, releasing solid album after solid album. Sonically, they lean towards the slightly poppier, alt rock-centric side of the genre. They make great use of vocal harmonies, with melodic guitars that seamlessly jangle and distort throughout big chords and leads that are unmistakenbly emo a la midwest. Fans of bands including Braid, Hey Mercedes, The Jazz June, and The Casket Lottery will definitely find something to love here. If you're new to them, I'd suggest starting with Nines & Sixes or Mind Is Not Brain, though there's really no bad place to start. Enjoy.

Mock Orange (1997)

1. Walk Away

2. Bad Things

3. We Are Mock Orange

4. Don't Feel A Thing

5. She Turns Around

6. The Hives

7. Slow

8. Here Anymore

9. Good Enough

10. Holly

Nines & Sixes (1998)

1. Growing Crooked

2. We Work

3. Does It Show

4. Window Shopping

5. Paper

6. All You Have

7. Poster Child

8. Dictionary

9. Drinking Song

10. Goodnight Reddick

Mock Orange/The Borgo Pass (1999)

1. Mock Orange - The Same Thing You Want To

2. The Borgo Pass - Staring Out The Window

The Record Play (2000)

1. Brake Lights On

2. She Runs The Ride

3. Slow Song

4. In Even Time

5. Twelve O'Clock Call

6. Nothing To Write

7. One Way Letters

8. 3 O'Clock

9. The City Call

10. Touch Tone Bell

First EP (2002)

1. Stuck In

2. Crash And Die

3. Doubledown

4. The Free Ride

5. Driving Day

Mind Is Not Brain (2004)

1. Payroll

2. I Keep Saying So Long

3. Mind Is Not Brain

4. East Side Song

5. Make Friends

6. Old Man

7. Instrumental

8. Oh My God

9. Hawks Can Go

10. Birds

11. Do You Want Out

12. I Can't Seem To Think

13. This Nation

Daniels E.P. (2006)

1. the band apart - Led

2. the band apart - The Noise

3. Mock Orange - Til The Morning

4. Mock Orange - Beauty Of A Scar

5. the band apart - Evansville Anthem

6. Mock Orange - Coral Reef

Captain Love (2008)

1. Captain Love

2. Song In D

3. Smile On

4. World Of Machines

5. Lila

6. Ms. Brown's Morning Cup

7. Supergang

8. Motel Man

9. Relax And Degrade

10. Majestic Raincoat

11. Old Movies

Live In Brooklyn (2009)

1. Song In D

2. Captain Love

3. World of Machines

4. Smile On

5. Driving Day

6. Mind Is Not Brain

7. Old Man

8. Til The Morning

9. Lila

10. Supergang

11. Beauty Of A Scar

12. Majestic Rain

13. Birds

14. Payroll

Disguised As Ghosts (2011)

1. Grow Your Soul Away

2. Silent Motion

3. My Car

4. Sidewalk

5. I Can Sing

6. Feel It Now

7. End Of The World

8. Going Away

9. Roll Your Eyes

10. Stop And Go

Daniels E.P. 2 (2016)

1. the band apart - KIDS

2. the band apart - Night Walker

3. Mock Orange - This Is Your Life

4. Mock Orange - The River's Bed

Put The Kid On The Sleepy Horse (2016)

1. I'm Leaving

2. High Octane Punk Mode

3. Nine Times

4. Window Of The World

5. Be Gone

6. Some Say

7. Chrome Alligator

8. Too Good Your Dreams Don't Come True

9. Intake

10. Tell Me Your Story

The Bridge (2020)

1. So Maybe

2. Moving On

3. All Stacked Up

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Endive

Endive were a five-piece emo/indie band from Indianapolis, Indiana that were around from approximately 1994 to 1997. Sonically, they played melancholic yet energetic midwest emo with big, distorted guitars, twee pop-esque vocals, and some astounding bass work, often driving with a melody of its own. Fans of bands such as Eldritch Anisette and Ribbon Fix should definitely check this out. 

Their released material is incredibly minimal, with a grand total of 4 songs spread across three releases here. Luckily, a CD of demos was uncovered and made available to listen or download here. The tracks were remastered along with their released material. The audio quality isn't amazing, though it is cool to hear something that could have potentially been lost to time, and certainly is still listenable. I'll link to it below again, because I encourage checking that out instead of the links below. There's a download link in the description box of this discography, full credit to the user you uploaded it. Enjoy.

DISCOGRAPHY

A Benefit Compilation Brought To You By Mayfly (1995)

3. Sunc

Endive (1996)

1. Under Lies

2. Christening Days

Endive/Ice Nine (1996)

1. Endive - Voice Without A Face

2. Ice Nine - 45 Times A Night

Good Luck

Good Luck were a three-piece pop punk/indie band from Bloomington, Indiana that were around from 2008 to 2012. They put out two full-lengths and one EP in that time. Sonically, the band are in the middle of the indie/emo/pop punk/folk punk venn diagram, in a way that fans of bands like RVIVR, P.S. Eliot, Lemuria, and Spraynard will definitely appreciate. Melodic bass lines, sharp noodly guitars, and big choruses are the main courses here, with a late-night caution-to-the-wind suburban energy to top it off. Members have been active in various projects since Good Luck ended, which they often update on their social media. Enjoy.

Into Lake Griffy (2008)

1. How To Live Here

2. Pajammin'

3. Stars Were Exploding

4. Man On Fire

5. Hey Matt

6. Come Home

7. Public Radio

8. West Wind Ride

9. Same Stories

10. Sleep With No Bad Dreams

11. Stone Cathedral Hill

12. Bringing Them Back To Life

13. 1001 Open Hands

Demonstration 2010 (2010)

1. Novel Figure

2. Contact

3. Decider

4. When You Were Mine

Without Hesitation (2011)

1. All Good People

2. Our Mess, Our Mark

3. The Others

4. Novel Figure

5. Decider

6. A Song To Comfort The Sick

7. Contact

8. The Story, Rewritten

9. Impossible

10. It Gets Harder

11. Significant Day

Big Dreams, Mister (2025)

1. Into The Void

2. Heed My Call

3. No T-Shirts

4. Hold On We're On The Way

5. Timelapse

6. Innumerable Sea

7. What Young Me Wanted

8. Pin Me Down

9. Bobbing / Idling

10.  Make A Road

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Split Lip

Split Lip were a five-piece post-hardcore/emo band from Indianapolis, Indiana that began in 1990 and "ended" in 1996. They've got an interesting history, with some major evolution occurring in the span of just a few years. Their early work had hardcore as its roots, but the chunky, aggressive riffs and political, straight edge ethos were counterbalanced with melodic, technical flourishes and more personal, introspective subject matter. The latter influence can be traced back to bands like Dag Nasty, Gray Matter and Three. Vocalist David Moore also played an integral role in their sound, with a quavering delivery that quickly become a staple of the emo genre. Following a handful of EP's and compilation trackks, their debut full-length, For The Love Of The Wounded was released in 1993, and is their crowning achivement of this early sound.

The follow-up, 1995's Fate's Got A Driver is where this band's history gets interesting. It marked a change in sound from their previous album, toning down the heaviness to utilize guitar arpeggios and melodic bass lines, further championing them as one of the most influential and underrated bands in emo. Not long after its release, the band decided to overhaul themselves entirely by changing their name to Chamberlain. They remixed and re-recorded the vocals on Fate's Got A Driver, which was then released again under the Chamberlain moniker. Following their debut, they took their sound into a country and roots-rock direction, far from the post-hardcore of their early days. Chamberlain broke up in 2000, and reunited in 2008. In 2009, they played a few shows as Split Lip (as the line-up is virtually the same in both bands) and are still active today as Chamberlain. They're worth a listen as well, but the Split Lip stuff is absolutely essential. Enjoy.

Split Lip (1992)

1. Cry Wolf

2. Unsolid Ground

3. Crest Fallen

4. Soul Kill

For The Love Of The Wounded (1993)

1. Anthem Boy

2. Sleep

3. Interlude

4. Crestfallen

5. For The Love Of A Wounded Woman

6. Vintage

7. Upright Motive Nine

8. Show And Tell

9. Divison Street

10. Box

11. Bonus Track

Union Town Demo Version (1994)

1. Union Town (Demo)

Archived Music For Stubborn People (1995)

1. Cry Wolf

2. Unsolid Ground

3. Crest Fallen

4. Soul Kill

5. Evolution

6. Unity (Operation Ivy cover)

7. Beds Are Burning (Midnight Oil cover)

8. Swan Street (Three cover)

9. For The Love (Live)

10. Anthem Boy (Live)

11. Sleep (Live)

12. Box

Fate's Got A Driver (1995)

1. Her Side Of Sundown

2. Drums And Shotguns

3. Yellow Like Gold

4. Chamberlain (Five Year Diary)

5. Uniontown

6. Surrendering The Ghost

7. Street Singer

8. The Simple Life

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Chamberlain