Jabberjaw

Jabberjaw were a three-piece punk/emo band from Oakland, California that were active around 1992. The band is notable for giving way to Indian Summer, which singer/guitarist Adam Nanaa formed as he moved away from the pop punk direction of this band. Sonically, they're somewhere between Jawbreaker, Screeching Weasel, and Crimpshrine, a little rough around the edges but melodically inclined. The band only put out one EP and one split (with The Bloodhound Gang, but not the one you're thinking of), both of which were put out by Nanaa's own Homestead Records. Naturally this doesn't compare to the monumental work of Indian Summer (who I returned to recently and still astounded by). But as for as scrappy, melodic punk that sounds like a young band still carving out their sound, it's decent, with added historical signifigance to boot. 

Novelty EP (1992)

1. Two Days

2. Wonder

3. Looking Down

4. Ending

Jabberjaw/The Bloodhound Gang (1992)

1. Jabberjaw - Dividing

2. Jabberjaw - Sometimes

3. The Bloodhound Gang - Past The Fence

Elle

Elle are a four-piece screamo band from Oakland, California that began in 2015. They share members with other Bay Area legends Beau Navire, Loma Prieta, and Yearbooks. With such an incredible lineup, there's bound to be high standards for this new project, and holy shit do they deliver. It's a little difficult from their other projects; most notably they've pulled back on the chaotic, shrieking nature of it and let a little melancholic light in it. They have a bit more in common with bands like Raein or Suis La Lune than their past work. The guitars incorporate a lot of shimmering tones and melodic chords, while the vocals are shouted with a desperate exuberance and emotional exhaustion. Both their self-titled EP and recently released She are absolutely incredible, and definitely recent screamo highlights. Enjoy.

Elle (2016)

1. The Clear

2. Mockingbirds

3. Pulse

4. Parts & Parcels

5. Cold Hands

She (2018)

1. Frame By Frame

2. X

3. Crossed Out

4. Wonder

5. Lost, Not Found

6. Grey Things

7. Floral

8. Crush

9. Colorless

... (2019)

1. Terrene

2. Wound

3. Dust

4. Binding

5. Throes

6. All Bets Are Off

7. Shimmer

8. Daggers

9. Draw The Curtain

Cube (2022)

1. Hawak - Reliving

2. Hawak - Old Wounds

3. Joliette - Segundero

4. Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow - Deforestation Feeds My Family and Fucks Your Future

5. Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow - Banana Republicans

6. Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow - Haven't You Done Well

7. Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow - Ice Kewb (the uncontrol)

8. Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow - The Anthem We Deserve

9. Eyelet - Couldn't Bury Hurt

10. Eyelet - Jocasta As A Verb

11. Elle - Hekate

12. Elle - Thane's Box

13. Burial Etiquette - Promise

14. Burial Etiquette - Sword In Sanctuary

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John Cota

John Cota were a four-piece hardcore/screamo band from Oakland, California that were around from 2009 to 2013. They played a really heavy, almost sludgy sounding brand of hardcore at breakneck speeds with shrieked vocals. They put out a fantastic split with Ten Thousand Leagues, who I just finished a post on, so I figured I'd throw these guys on here too. Enjoy.

2009 (2010)

1. 1

2. 2

3. 3

4. 4

5. 5

John Cota/Ten Thousand Leagues (2011)

1. John Cota - Curtains

2. John Cota - Dissemble

3. John Cota - Our Vacation, Ruined

4. Ten Thousand Leagues - Burning Victim

5. Ten Thousand Leagues - Home Along The Tracks

6. Ten Thousand Leagues - Loose Ties

III (2013)

1. Stevejobs

2. Housefire

3. Ballpit

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Happy Diving

Happy Diving are a four-piece alternative rock band from Oakland, California that formed in 2013. They started out on Father/Daughter Records, but are currently signed to Topshelf, which is very fitting for them. This band has got some 90's alt rock worship going on like no other. Their guitars fuzzier than a Furby and their vocal melodies are sweeter than sugar. They blend heavy distortion with pop sensibilities, like alt. rock staples Superchunk or Nirvana. Their songs are catchy as hell, and though their influence is clearly set 20 years back, Happy Diving still manage to sound distinctly modern. Enjoy.

Happy Diving (2014)

1. As You Were

2. Sincere

3. Complacent

4. Never Been

Big World (2014)

1. Small World

2. Space Ooze

3. Weird Dream

4. Big World

5. Sad Planet

6. Mikey's Rules

7. Whenever

8. Always Noon

9. Explorer

10. 10

So Bunted (2015)

1. So Bunted

2. My Zone

Electric Soul Unity (2016)

1. Bigger World

2. Don't Be Afraid Of Love

3. Holy Ground

4. Electric Soul Unity

5. Head Spell

6. Fantasy

7. Shed Light

8. Lost My Way

9. The Call, It Thunders

10. Pain Country

11. Unknown Feeling

12. River Will Flow

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Topshelf Records

Camera Shy

Camera Shy are a two-piece dream pop/indie rock band from Oakland, California that formed in 2014. They got started by Nick Bassett, who was already known as being a member of Whirr, Nothing, Death of Lovers, and a former member of Deafheaven. The other half of Camera Shy is Alexandra Morte, who used to sing in Whirr.

Their songs are, as you could probably guess by the phrase "dream pop", very light and dreamy. The heavy shoegaze influence of Whirr isn't really notable here. Instead, most songs are just an acoustic guitar, quiet vocals, and a hell of a lot of reverb. Their debut full-length expands on that basic structure to include drums, piano, and electric guitar that has a Smiths-esque jangly sound to it.

Music aside, I have to mention that they used to work with Run For Cover (as do Whirr), but were disowned by the label after Bassett posted a few negative comments were made towards the band G.L.O.S.S., which you can look into if you want. They were already notorious for sayings stupid shit online, but that was the breaking point. I'm not supporting this by sharing this band, just providing a way for people who want to hear their music to listen to it. They're a decent band, so if subtle indie pop songs are your thing, then give 'er a listen. Enjoy.

Jack-O-Lantern (2014)

1. Secret Word

2. Come Around

3. Spin Me

4. Over And Over

5. After Hours

Crystal Clear (2015)

1. Crystal Clear

2. Deep Blue

3. She (Misfits cover)

Camera Shy (2015)

1. Remember

2. Your Only One

3. Colors Radiate

4. Glowing

5. New Something

6. Underwater Days

7. Take Your Time

8. Seemingly Ill

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Super Unison

Super Unison are a four-piece post-hardcore band from Oakland, California that began in 2014. They're fronted by Meghan from Punch and Justin from Snowing is their drummer. They put out their debut EP this year through Deathwish. Super Unison takes their name from a Drive Like Jehu song, which makes sense when listening to them. Off-kilter rhythms and riffs drive this EP, along with shouted vocals that sound like a Sleater-Kinney melody turned up to 11. The band hammers out 4 solid songs in under 8 minutes, making this EP a must for any fans of modern hardcore or 90's Bay Area post-hardcore. Enjoy.

Super Unison (2015)

1. Walk Away

2. Recognize You

3. Close Your Eyes

4. On Repeat

Auto (2016)

1. Prove Yourself

2. Keeper

3. Losing You

4. You Don't Tell Me

5. Luxury

6. Time & Distance

7. Muted

8. Broken

9. What Are You Going To Do

10. Don't Look Up

11. Everything

12. Auto

Stella (2018)

1. Unconditional

2. The Snake

3. Parts Unknown

4. The Birthday Gift

5. Comfort

6. Falcon

7. Nev

8. Virus

9. Quiet Again

10. Scars

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Whirr

Whirr (originally Whirl) are a five-piece shoegaze band from San Francisco, California, that formed in 2010. Since they began, they've been getting a lot of attention, for numerous reasons. They attract attention from the Run For Cover-and-affiliates section of modern music because of their work with that label and their shows with other associated bands. They've also garnered some attention from the more indie-oriented camp because of their genre and social media presence (for better or for worse). But aside from all that, the main focus is the music itself. Whirr blend shoegaze, post-rock, and dream pop into one, and have put out numerous releases that perfect this sound. The obvious influence derivatives are My Bloody Valentine, Ride, and Slowdive, but a ton of others could also be in that mix, such as Hum, Black Tambourine, and alternative rock greats Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth. Whirr's sound is never tiring, since they employ numerous techniques that continue to make their music as dynamic as possible. They drench their songs and instruments in reverb and chorus, and make their way from slow, delayed, quiet echoes, to hard-hitting, fast-paced bouts of distortion and soft, melodic vocals. They feature a heavy bass sound, courtesy of Nick Bassett (formerly of Deafheaven). Whirr are a band that needs to be on everyone's radar, and seem to already be judging by the amount of requests they get, so enjoy!

Demo (2010)

1. Leave

2. Meaningless

Distressor (2011)

1. Preface

2. Leave

3. Blue

4. Ghost

5. Meaningless

6. Child

7. Sandy

June (2011)

1. Junebouvier

2. Sundae

Pipe Dreams (2012)

1. Reverse

2. Junebouvier

3. Bogus

4. Flashback

5. Formulas And Frequencies

6. Home Is Where My Head Is

7. Toss

8. Hide

9. Wait

10. Reverie

Whirr/Anne (2012)

1. Whirr - Twist

2. Whirr - Between Asleep And Awake

3. Anne - Pet Names

4. Anne - Occasional Lovers

Whirr/Monster Movie (2012)

1. Whirr - Color Change

2. Monster Movie - Flatlining

Part Time Punks Session (2012)

1.  Blue

2. Flashback

3. Junebouvier

4. Twist

Around (2013)

1. Drain

2. Sweep

3. Keep

4. Around

In Utero, In Tribute, In Entirety (2014)

9. Pennyroyal Tea (Nirvana cover)

Note: Full comp here

Sway (2014)

1. Press

2. Mumble

3. Dry

4. Clear

5. Heavy

6. Sway

7. Lines

8. Feel

Whirr/Nothing (2014)

1. Whirr - Ease

2. Whirr - Lean

3. Nothing - Chloroform

4. Nothing - July the Fourth

Feels Like You (2019)

1. Mellow

2. Wavelength

3. Younger Than You

4. Rose Cold

5. Before You Head Off

6. How Time Stretches

7. Rental

8. Vividly

9. Play The Slow Ones

10. Under The Same Now

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Indian Summer

Thanks to Herryyadi for the request.

Indian Summer were a legendary post-hardcore band from Oakland, California, that were around from 1993-1994. They were pioneers of screamo, emo, and post-hardcore, and basically wrote the book and formula that would be used by countless bands to follow.

This band has got a bit of a blessing/curse thing going on. One particular song of theirs, "Woolworm/Angry Son" (depending on which name you use, I always think of it as being "Angry Son", but to each their own) has become THE song by them. With good reason, of course. The song is the perfect example of the dynamics that they and many bands after them would use. The song starts off quiet, with a gently arpeggiated guitar pattern, subtle bass line, and some light drumming in the background, while the vocals gently speak the lyrics. This builds up in a crescendo, and explodes in a cathartic climax of distorted octaves and pounding drums, and the vocals just fucking erupt in a shriek of release. This eventually breaks apart, and the band slowly recovers and enters back into a similar quiet part to the beginning, though as if the momentum from the climax was taking long, despaired breaths. They gradually build back up into another crescendo before hitting the song's true climax at the end, when everything sounds like its about to literally break, and the vocals just fucking erupt in a shriek of release  It's powerful to stuff, to say the least. Other songs did follow a semi-similar pattern, though they did experiment with structures quite a bit, as well as quite a bit of dissonance and syncopation not found in "Angry Son".  Their other songs are amazing pieces of music, I'm not trying to neglect them or anything. I know I'm kind of contradicting myself here by saying that all their other songs deserve just as much attention as "Angry Son" does, even though I just focused on that one song for the last paragraph. Just listen to them, I don't know what else to say. For me personally, they were integral in getting me into the stuff that would come after, and listening to them now is just as awe-inspiring as it was when I first heard them, they're that amazing of a band.

First off, very little is known about the actual band. They were around for a very short period of time, and were not very carefully documented. They didn't even have names for their songs (except for "Orchard"), all names given were assigned by fans, so sometimes songs end up having multiple names. Well they were around, they put out a 7", a few splits and made a few appearances on some legendary compilations. Most of these are very hard to come by now, making them quite rare. However, a compilation of their own was put out in 2002, which collected all of their studio recordings. In 2006, a live album was put out titled Hidden Arithmetic. It contains a live set they did at Pitzer College in 1993 (this only appeared on the CD version) and a live radio session they did. There's also a live set that did at 924 Gilman Street in 1994, but it was never officially released. I guess it was passed around by bootlegs or whatever. The discography and live album are what pretty much make up their discography at this point, since most other things aren't exactly floating around as freely. I suppose that's partially what makes them so intriguing. This band comes out of nowhere and completely reinvent an entire portion of underground music, and then disappear again. Even now, when their influence is being felt and appreciated, very little has come out about them, which I think has solidified their status as legends in this genre, thankfully. Indian Summer are probably one of the most essential bands you'll find on this blog, or at least I think so, so get to listening to the stuff below now. And enjoy, thoroughly.

Speed Kills (1994)

1. Ordination Of Aaron - Battle Of Tippecanoe

2. Indian Summer - Black/Touch The Wings Of An Angel... Doesn't Mean You Can Fly

3. Indian Summer - Truman

Live Gilman Street (1994)

1. Reflections On Milkweed

2. Aren't You An Angel

3. Sugar Pill

4. Truman

5. Touch the Wings of An Angel... Doesn't Mean You Can Fly

6. Waiting

7. Your Train Is Leaving

8. (Unknown)

9. Band Talking 

Science 1994 (2002)

1. Aren't You An Angel

2. Millimeter

3. Woolworm/Angry Son

4. Orchard

5. Reflections on Milkweed

6. Touch the Wings of An Angel... Doesn't Mean You Can Fly

7. Truman

8. I Think Your Train Is Leaving

9. Sugar Pill

Hidden Arithmetic (2006)

1. Aren't You An Angel

2. Reflections On Milkweed

3. Millimeter

4. Untitled 1

5. Woolworm/Angry Son

6. Intro

7. Sugar Pilll/Aren't You An Angel

8. Black/Touch The Wings Of An Angel...Doesn't Mean You Can Fly/Millimeter

9. Orchard

10. I Think Your Train Is Leaving/Truman

11. Untitled 2

12. Woolworm/Angry Son

Beau Navire

Beau Navire are a four-piece screamo band from Oakland, California that started in 2009. The band contains former members of the legendary iwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook as well as Spectres,   and shares members with the monster known as Loma Prieta. Beau Navire are like the amalgamation of every screamo band to ever exist, seaminglessly blending tons of various styles and sounds into their mix of awesome, intense passion. Seriously, this band is probably one of the most essential modern screamo/skramz/whatever bands around now. Enjoy.

Demo Cassette (2009)

1. Side A

2. Side B

Te Lloraría Un Puto Río/Carrion Spring/The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch/Beau Navire (2010)

1. Te Lloraría Un Puto Río - Canción De Amor Sin Título

2. Te Lloraría Un Puto Río - Perros Y Abejas

3. Carrion Spring - Red Beard Rides Again

4. The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch - La Deux Part Un

5. The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch - La Deux Part Deux

6. Beau Navire - These Waves

7. Beau Navire - Ship To Shore

8. Beau Navire - Instrumental

Adobe Homes/Beau Navire (2011)

1. Adobe Homes - I Don't Think I'm Glorybound, Bound, Bound

2. Beau Navire - Eyelids

Life Moves (2011)

1. March of 03

2. Technicolor, Technicolor

3. Whisper

4. Thumbbreaker

5. Crocosmia

6. Ceilings Revealing

7. Fitting Pieces

Suffix/Beau Navire (2011)

1. Suffix - Post-Rock Is For Lovers

2. Suffix - Get Pitted!

3. Beau Navire - Space Heaters

4. Beau Navire - Scattered Trails

5. Beau Navire - Sanctus Locus

Hours (2011)

1. Hours

2. The Looking Glass

3. A Book, A Mind

4. Reinventing The Veil

5. Respire (meta)

6. Cloud City

7. "It's Not an Art, It's a Myth"

8. Bare Trees

9. Lost And Leaving

10. Interlude

11. Solemn Moon

12. Remnants

13. Respire (sync)

Beau Navire/Republic Of Dreams (2012)

1. Beau Navire - Phalanx Of Lenses

2. Beau Navire - Ghostlike

3. Republic Of Dreams - Golden Parachutes For The Carpetbaggers

4. Republic Of Dreams - It's Still Fucking Personal

5. Republic Of Dreams - A Refuge Becoming Utopia

Lumens (2012)

1. Prisms

2. Communiqué

3. Dead End, Start Over

4. Podebrady

5. Disgust & Fate

6. Amongst Ashes

7. One So Illusive

8. Paper Lanterns

9. Epistolary

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