The Assistant

The Assistant were a four-piece (initially five-piece) screamo/emo band from Plainview/Highland Park, New Jersey that were active from 1999 to 2003. In that time, they released two full-lengths and a handful of splits. I don't even know where to begin with this band, because they were truly something else. They lean on the metallic side of things in heavier moments with distorted, crunching guitars, but could just as easily deliver something melodic or off-kilter, making use of their multiple vocalists (especially on their self-titled). They were chaotic, technical, political, and personal, unwavering in their execution and unencumbered by formality. Whatever you want to say, they've got a little something for everyone. If you're new to this band I'd suggest starting with their self-titled, though We'll Make The Roads By Walking is worth your time as well. Enjoy.

Forstella Ford/The Assistant (2000)

1. The Assistant - Shaggy Dog Always Eats Spoiled Kitty

2. Forstella Ford - Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Bestower

The Assistant (2000)

1. Humyn Capital

2. People Vs. The State

3. I Don't Believe

4. Sequel

5. Five Your Old Mentality

6. Route 18

7. Training Wheels Or No Hands

8. Isabelle Hates Charlie

9. 3-5363A

10. F.orever A.ngry At M.y I.nner L.ove For Y.ou

11. Cyclic

12. 93,800 Hours

The Assistant/The Scarlet Letter (2001)

1. The Assistant - Bubblegum Cigars

2. The Scarlet Letter - Fifteen Greasy Tubes Of Ribs & The Leather Wallet Conspiracy

3. The Scarlet Letter - A Hollow Threat

4. The Scarlet Letter - How Is That Fat Muffin-Assed Bastard?

5. The Scarlet Letter - Debacle Sound

6. The Scarlet Letter - Footprints In The Sand

The Assistant/A Days Refrain (2001)

1. The Assistant - Four Years In Five Lives

2. The Assistant - Cry. Blame. Scream. Repeat

3. A Days Refrain - We Grow Numb

4. A Days Refrain - Statistic

We'll Make The Roads By Walking (2003)

1. Be Nice To Me, I Had A Ruff Day

2. We Are All Collateral Damage

3. Too Bad Spiderman Doesn't Exist Because There Really Is A Green Goblin

4. Tom Hanks Has A Huge Beard

5. Watchoodid

6. Four Years In Five Lives

7. An Afternoon At The Badlands

8. My Last Potential Self Destruction

The Assistant/This Ship Will Sink/Takaru (2004)

1. The Assistant - I Have A Name

2. This Ship Will Sink - George Bush Could Fuck Up A Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich

3. Takaru - Attack Of The Drones

4. Takaru - Chronophobia

5. Takaru - Why Don't You Ask Me? Motherfucker??

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Ogbert The Nerd

Ogbert The Nerd are a four-piece punk/emo band from New Brunswick, New Jersey that formed in 2018. They dropped an EP the following year, their debut full-length in 2020, and their sophomore effort, What You Want back in July of this year, which is what first caught my attention. This is the good shit right here. The band plays a punchier, more frenetic version of emo revival, with doubled vocals that demand every line be shouted along with. These songs are catchy, their lyrics poignant, and the energy unbridled, all telltale signs of a solid emo/punk release. If you're a fan of bands such as Snowing, Algernon Cadwallader, Glocca Morra, and Spraynard, with Joyce Manor and Jeff Rosenstock leanings, this is the band you've been waiting for. Enjoy.

EP (2019)

1. Rats! It Didn't Work!

2. Enter: Mungus Borgar

3. It's Fine (I'm Fine)

I Don't Hate You (2020)

1. Get In The Robot

2. Do It For Elio

3. Buddies Lite Lime

4. Really, It's Fine

5. You Like The Raiders

6. Matthew Renzo vs The Hoboken Parking Authority

7. Mungus Borgar Rides Again

8. Snail

9. Rats! It Didn't Work!

10. Malkmus

11. Twenty-Four

Bric-à-brac Edition

A New Kind Of Borkulator (2022)

1. A New Kind Of Borkulator

What You Want (2024)

1. Don't Quit, Get Fired

2. For Posterity

3. Brunson Lied

4. Bike Cops

5. Just Like Always

6. Purple Roses

7. Raspberries

8. Twelve Dollar Snickers

9. Dragon Song

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The Banner

The Banner are a five-piece hardcore band from Bloomfield, New Jersey that formed in 1999. Over the course of full-lengths and a few EP's and splits, the band have evolved a ton sonically, all while being one of the most consistent and perhaps even underappreciated hardcore acts of the past two decades or so. They've got an affinity for the macabre, which comes across in their lyrics and visuals. That darker sensibility makes this perfect for some colder-weather listening. 

If you're looking for a starting point, Each Breath Haunted is quintessential mid-2000's melodic hardcore listening, akin to bands like American Nightmare or Blacklisted. Its follow-up, Frailty is arguably their best, with a much heavier, almost hellish quality to it. Greying and the split with Old Wounds takes that metalcore sound and descends a step further into despair by incorporating elements of black metal. Whatever your poison may be, these are three incredible albums perfect for this time of year. I can't speak much on their earlier stuff as I'm not too familiar with it, but it's all here in all its glory if you're interested. Enjoy.

Posthumous (2003)

1. Outgunned

2. Rattlesnakes

3. The Screaming

4. Marked For Life

5. Trial By Fire

Your Murder Mixtape (2003)

1. Zombie Onslaught

2. Skies Go Black

3. Sometimes They Come Back

4. Die Fighting

5. Apocalypse

6. I Found Your Diary

7. Black Duct Tape

8. Red Devil

9. Night Of The Rope

10. September Song

11. Bloodlust (Ink & Dagger cover)

Dead Wrong Vs. The Banner (2004)

1. Dead Wrong - 8:46

2. Dead Wrong - Silent Screams

3. Dead Wrong - No Love

4. The Banner - No Surrender

5. The Banner - Black And Blue

6. The Banner - Sometimes They Come Back

Each Breath Haunted (2005)

1. Devilhawks

2. Venom And Hope

3. I'll Be Happy When You're Fucking Dead

4. An Allergy To Sun

5. Soverign Of The Black Pit

6. Black Hood

7. An Allergy To Silver

8. Hell On A Horse

9. Interlude

10. Muddweller

11. Coffin Nails

12. Tragedy

13. I Am Legend

Frailty (2008)

1. Welcome Fuckers

2. The Wolf

3. Leechbath

4. The Hellbound Heart

5. On Hooks

6. IWIWD

7. Sphrenia

8. Funerals

9. Dusk

10. I Am Legion

11. Ratflesh

12. The Father And The Wayward Son

Born To Ruin I: The Way Is Shut (2013)

1. Wolvesblood

2. Lilth

3. Negative Zone

4. Night (Zola Jesus cover)

Greying (2014)

1. The Dying Of The Light

2. Circle Of Salt

3. Crippling Despair

4. Sunlight

5. Unbaptized

6. A Quiet Corner

7. Send Me Down

8. VIII

9. She Upon The Black Wolf

10. Bones To Dust

11. Sunset

Only The Dead Know Jersey (2015)

1. The Banner - Witchburner

2. The Banner - Rat King

3. Old Wounds - The Secret Song At The Center Of The World

4. Old Wounds - It Can't Rain All The Time

Love Like Blood (2016)

1. Love Like Blood (Killing Joke cover)

2. Send Me Down (Heretics In The Lab Remix)

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The Early November

The Early November are a five-piece emo/post-hardcore band from Hammonton, New Jersey that formed in 2001. Shortly after forming, they ended up getting signed to Drive-Thru Records, releasing two EP's and a full-length with them between 2002 and 2003 alone. This was followed up with the ambitious The Mother, The Mechanic, And The Path, a three-disc concept album. In the year following its release, the band went on hiatus. They reunited in 2011, and have been steadily active ever since, putting out new material via Rise and Pure Noise Records. 

Admittedly, I don't know a ton about this band or listen to them all too often, though their first full-length and EP are solid, and "Ever So Sweet" is an absolute standout, whether it be the album, acoustic, or live version. I know this band gets a ton of requests, so figured there is no better time to get this post done then now, in early November. If you are completely new to them, fans of bands including Saves The Day, The Starting Line, The Get Up Kids, Taking Back Sunday or Jets To Brazil might take interest in here. Think driving guitars with melodic yet melancholic intonations, and a heavy emphasis on singer/guitarist Ace Enders' songwriting. He's also been active with a solo project, I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business, which has been concurrent with The Early November for nearly their entire career. Enjoy.

An Excellent Attempt At Next To Youism (2001)

1. Every Night's Another Story (Demo)

2. For The Road (Demo)

3. All We Ever Needed (Demo)

4. Come Back (Demo)

5. Just Enough (Demo)

6. Pretty Pretty (Demo)

7. Make Believe (Demo)

8. My Sleep Pattern Changed (Demo)

9. Ashala Rock (Demo)

10. Open Eyes (Demo)

11. Sunday Drive (Demo)

For All Of This (2002)

1. Every Night's Another Story

2. I Want To Hear You Sad

3. All We Ever Needed

4. Sunday Drive

5. Take Time And Find

6. Ashala Rock

7. Come Back

8. We Write The Wrong

The Acoustic EP (2003)

1. Ever So Sweet

2. I Want To Hear You Sad

3. All We Ever Needed

4. Sunday Drive

5. Come Back

6. Make It Happen

7. Every Night's Another Story

The Room's Too Cold (2003)

1. Ever So Sweet

2. Something That Produces Results

3. The Mountain Range In My Living Room

4. Sesame, Smeshame

5. Baby Blue

6. The Course Of Human Life

7. Dinner At The Money Table

8. Exchanging Two Hundred

9. My Sleep Pattern Changed

10. Fluxy

11. Everything's Too Cold... But You're So Hot

The Early November/I Am The Avalanche (2005)

1. The Early November - Outside (Demo)

2. The Early November - Ever So Sweet (Live)

3. I Am The Avalanche - New Disaster

4. I Am The Avalanche - I Took A Beating (Acoustic)

The Mother, The Mechanic, And The Path (2006)

Disc 1: The Mechanic

1. Money In His Hand

2. The Rest of My Life

3. Decoration

4. No Good At Saying Sorry (One More Chance)

5. This Wasn't In Our Plan

6. The One You Hated

7. Long Talks

8. Outside

9. Make A Decision

10. The Car In 20

11. Figure It Out

Disc 2: The Mother

1. My Lack of Skill

2. A Little More Time

3. Little Black Heart

4. Hair

5. Driving South

6. Scared To Lose

7. From Here To L.A.

8. Is It My Fault

9. I Don't Know How To Say This

10. The Truth Is

11. 1000 Times A Day

Disc 3: The Path

1. Intro

2. We Grew Up The Same

3. Runaway

4. Session 01

5. This Is Love

6. Session 02

7. We're Finding Something Out

8. Session 03

9. Decoration

10. Session 04

11. Uncle

12. Session 05

13. Never Coming Back

14. Guess What

15. Session 06

16. You Don't Know What It's Like

17. Session 07

18. Look At Me

19. Session 08

20. Session 08 Part II

21. Runaway II

22. Session 09

23. I Think This Is Love

24. A Bigger Meaning

In Currents (2012)

1. A Stain On The Carpet

2. Frayed In Doubt

3. In Currents

4. Digital Age

5. Tell Me Why

6. Close To You

7. Guilt & Swell

8. That's Not Your Real Name

9. Like A Kid

10. Smell Of This Place

11. Wearing The Tie

12. Call Off The Bells

Imbue (2015)

1. Narrow Mouth

2. Better This Way

3. Magnolia

4. The Negatives

5. Boxing Timelines

6. Circulation

7. Harmony

8. Cyanide

9. I Don't Care

10. Nothing Lasts Forever

11. Digital Age

Fifteen Years (2017)

1. Narrow Mouth

2. Outside

3. The Mountain Range In My Living Room

4. Boxing Timelines

5. Tell Me Why

6. A Little More Time

7. Decoration

8. Call Of The Bells

9. Frayed In Doubt

10. I Don't Care

11. In Currents

12. Figure It Out

13. Driving South

14. Sunday Drive

15. Ever So Sweet

Lilac (2019)

1. Perfect Sphere (Bubble)

2. My Weakness

3. Ave Maria

4. Hit By A Car (In Euphoria)

5. Comatose

6. Fame

7. You Own My Mind

8. I Dissolve

9. Make My Bed

10. Our Choice

11. The Lilac

Twenty (2022)

1. Trees

2. Make It Happen

3. Denent

4. Over My Shoulder

5. Five Years

6. The Sand

7. 5am On Sunday

8. My Own Dialogue

9. Pretty Pretty

10. Open Eyes

The Early November (2024)

1. The Empress

2. The Magician

3. About Me

4. What We Earn

5. We Hang On

6. The Fool

7. Tired Of Lying

8. The Dirtiest Things

9. The High Priestess

10. It Will Always Be

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The Progress

The Progress were a four-piece emo/indie/pop punk band from Cherry Hill, New Jersey that were around from 2000 to 2008. They put out one full-length in 2005, along with a handful of EP's and misceallounes releases throughout their years together. In 2020, their full discography was finally made widely available via a discography compilation, which can be found here or any streaming service. Sonically, they, alternated between the melancholic arpeggios of midwest emo and the chunky, distorted and energetic styllings of pop punk. Fans of bands such as The Promise Ring, Knapsack, The Get Up Kids, Piebald, or Hey Mercedes should definitely check this out if you've never heard them. A major point of note is that this is Evan Weiss' first major project. Post-The Progress, he began his solo and best-known project Into It. Over It., which are without a doubt one of the flagship acts of emo in the past decade or so. He's got the Kinsella fever, so he's also been in a ton of other projects, including Pet Symmetry, Their / They're / There, Stay Ahead Of The Weather, and more. Enjoy.

The Complete Discography: 2000 - 2008 (2020)

1. Nightlife: Tornado Alley

2. Backwards From Ten

3. For Edwards Wells

4. Paper & Ink

5. A Drug Called Tradition (Version 2.0)

6. Merit

7. Maybe, Maybe

8. Similar Haircuts

9. The Face Of Better Moods

10. This Thing Goes Forever

11. Straight Shot From St. Lou

12. We Could Have Done This All As Frinds

13. 676 / 76 (Version 2.0)

14. And Straight On Till Morning (Version 2.0)

15. U.S. Camera

16. And Straight On Till Morning (Version 1.0)

17. 676 / 76 (Version 1.0)

18. A Drug Called Tradition (Version 1.0)

19. Isla De Pascua

20. Christmas Eve

21. The Saddest Way

22. Every Breath Is Right

23. Second Star To The Right...

24. (Penny Lane Breaks Hearts)

25. The Eye's Aurora

26. Windbreaker

27. Half New Year

28. Jingle Bell Broke

29. Christmas In Rittenhouse Square

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Hundreds Of AU

Hundreds Of AU are a four-piece screamo/hardcore band from New Jersey that formed in 2017. The band includes members of You And I, Capacities, The Assistant, Pellinore, Hell Mary, What Of Us, The Banner, Estella and more. Admittedly I'm only familiar with the former three, but based on those alone, they've got an impressive resumé, and have certainly lived up to that expectation over the past few years. With releases being put by the always-fantastic Zegema Beach Records and Middle-Man Records, as well as self-releasing some of their material, Hundreds Of AU have established themselves as one of the most consistent bands in modern screamo. Sonically, they lean into the more post-hardcore aspects of the genre, with heavy, dissonant riffs and angular, off-kilter rhythms. Fans of bands including Ostraca, Slow Fire Pistol, Infant Island, and Frail Body should definitely check this out. It's a testament to how veterans of a genre can still come together to create something fresh and unique. Enjoy.

Demo 2017 (2017)

1. Runneth Full

2. Past Due

3. Out In The Streets

4. Interlude

5. Part Of The Club

6. Post Truth Days

Communications Link Re-Established (2018)

1. Deflection Arts

2. Sanctuary City

3. Tell Us

4. At The Intersection

5. Runneth Full Stage 2

6. Observer

7. Unsolicted

8. Sharing The Spotlight

9. Signature

Meditations In Affinity: BOND (2019)

1. Life In Vacuum - Nine To Five

2. Canyons - Storing Light

3. Crowning - Visceral Ghosts

4. Hundreds of AU- Out In The Streets / Elevator Music

Mission Priorities On Launch (2019)

1. The Outcome

2. Elevator Music

3. Viral

4. Thruway

5. No Sweet Home

6. The Least

7. Holy Immune

8. All Evil

9. The End Result

Blue Months / Beg The Question (2020)

1. Blue Months

2. Beg The Question

Acting From Remote Satellites (2021)

1. Symbolic

2. Down In Front

3. Keystone Species

4. Blue Months

5. Identity Theft

6. Bait

7. Beg The Question

8. Court Of Public Opinion

9. Recommended Viewing

10. Followers

Illuminate My Heart Compilation (2021)

1. Every November 

A Briefing On The Human Condition (2021)

1. 100 Year Test

2. Objective Party

3. Afloat

4. Ancestor Reality

5. Return

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