...Who Calls So Loud

...Who Calls So Loud were a screamo/emotional hardcore band from the Bay Area that were around from 2007 to 2008. They share members with a ton of other phenomenal bands, including Portraits Of Past, Funeral Diner, iwrotehaikus..., and Beau Navire. So naturally it's expected that ...Who Calls So Loud are at that same caliber. Their sole LP is amazing, featuring lengthy, post-rock influenced skramz sessions that burgeon without falter. It's a need-to-listen for people into Portraits Of Past and City of Caterpillar. Their EP is also solid, though not quite on par with the LP. Still worth the listen though. Enjoy.

...Who Calls So Loud (2008)

1. Sleeplike

2. I Need To Experience The Ultimate

3. 4.4.4.4.

4. Assume The Power Focus

5. What I Learned In The C.O.U.M.

6. Any Color I Want

7. Coming Together Over A Black Sun

8. Slip Step

...Who Calls So Loud EP (2008)

1. Hey, I'm Outside

2. M'ed Palms

3. Resonant Grain Silo

4. Lark Vs. Rascal

Career Suicide

I've been meaning to do a post on Career Suicide forever, so here it finally is.

Career Suicide are a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that do punk right. They've been kicking since 2001, and have dropped nothing but solid material since then. They take influence from 80's hardcore, and without any knowledge of the years on their records, you'd probably think they were from straight out of that era too. Which is perhaps the greatest thing about Career Suicide: the honesty. There's no throwback gimmick, no need for nostalgia, just raw music made by a bunch of people listening to nothing but The Germs, The F.U.'s, Void, etc., etc., etc. They've got the sound down, and have no issue pulling it off. There isn't much better than straight-up hardcore punk, and Career Suicide are easily one of the best names to note. Their members have been involved in a ton of other bands, most notably Fucked Up. Enjoy.

Demo Tape 1 (2001)

1. Dicta-Flag

2. Shut Up

3. Metal Threat

4. Doom Ryder

5. Spleengenerate

6. That Other Song

7. Todd Killings (Angry Samoans)

8. Leftover Bonus Crap

Demo Tape 2 (2002)

1. Closed Eyes

2. Too Much

3. Moron

4. Shut Up

Career Suicide EP (2002)

1. Fall-Out

2. Hapless

3. Brought To The Brink

4. Out Of Hope, Out Of Rope And Out Of Time

5. Bend At The Crease

6. Stay Right Here

7. Jonzo's Leaking Radiation

Career Suicide LP (2002)

1. Punitive Damages

2. Let It Go

3. Look The Other Way

4. Day By Day

5. You Call This Life

6. Catch Up

7. Ruin And Wreck

8. Who's Walking Who

9. Another Sign, Another Year

10. Moron

11. Closed Eyes

12. Affectations

13. Shut Up!

14. Career Suicide

15. Urban Slobs

16. Stay Away

17. Social Circle

18. The Last Word

19. Like All The Rest

20. Square One

21. Bloodtype X (Chronic Sick)

SARS (2003)

1. Quarantined

2. Sucker

3. Part And Parcel

4. Lost On You

Anthology of Releases, 2001-2003 (2004)

1. Quarantined

2. Sucker

3. Part And Parcel

4. While You're Ahead

5. Fall-Out

6. Hapless

7. Brought To The Brink

8. Out Of Hope. Out Of Rope. And Out Of Time.

9. Bend At The Crease

10. Stay Right Here

11. Jonzo's Leaking Radiation

12. Punitive Damages

13. Let It Go

14. Look The Other Way

15. Day By Day

16. You Call This A Life

17. Catch Up

18. Ruin And Wreck

19. Who's Walking Who

20. Another Sigh, Another Year

21. Moron

22. Closed Eyes

23. Affecttations

24. Shut Up

25. Career Suicide

26. Urban Slobs

27. Stay Away

28. Social Circle

29. The Last Word

30. Like All The Rest

31. Square One

32. Bloodtype X (Chronic Sick)

33. Dicta-Flag

34. Shut Up

35. Metal Threat

36. Doom Ryder

37. Spleengenerate

38. That Other Song

39. Todd Killings (Angry Samoans)

40. Leftover Bonus Crap

41. Closed Eyes

42. Too Much

43. Moron

44. Shut Up

Signals (2005)

1. Left With Nothing

2. Walk The Line

3. Signals

4. Lost On You

Career Suicide/Jed Whitey (2004)

1. Career Suicide - The One That Got Away

2. Career Suicide - Borrowed Time

3. Career Suicide - On The Run

4. Career Suicide - Disguise

5. Career Suicide - It Takes One To Know

6. Career Suicide - Rearranged

7. Career Suicide - There's Something Wrong With You

8. Career Suicide - Caption

9. Jed Whitey - Kill Radio

10. Jed Whitey - Hey Whitey

11. Jed Whitey - Hands Up If You Think I'm Cool

12. Jed Whitey - State Violence, State Control

13. Jed Whitey - Bad Taste Antidote

Anthology Of Releases Vol. 2, 2003–2005 (2007)

1. The Last Say

2. Stones You Throw

3. There's Something Wrong With You

4. Borrowed Time

5. The One That Got Away

6. On The Run

7. Disguise

8. It Takes One To Know

9. Rearranged

10. Caption

11. Left With Nothing

12. Walk The Line

13. Signals

14. Lost On You

15. No Bullshit

16. Watching You

17. Turnaround

18. Bored Bored Bored

19. Reason To Doubt

20. Disconnect

21. The Shot

22. Bad Girl

23. Quarantined (Live)

Attempted Suicide (2006)

1. Play The Part

2. Saving Face

3. Realities

4. Recipe For Disaster

5. The Last Say

6. Impact

7. Fan The Flame

8. Attempted Suicide

9. From The Start

10. Blink

11. You Got Caught

12. Out Of The Fray

13. Keep To Yourself

Cherry Beach (2008)

1. Cherry Beach

2. Double Life

3. Your Body, Not Your Soul (Cuby And The Blizzards)

Machine Response (2017)

1. Cut And Run

2. Break Away

3. Borrowed Time

4. Tighten The Screws

5. Total Neglect

6. Blank Expression

7. Distractions

8. No Walls, No Curtains

9. Suffocate

10. Taking You With Me

11. Point Of No Return

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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Heroin

Heroin were a four-piece hardcore/screamo band from San Diego, California during 1989-1993. Here's a band that predicted "The Shape of Punk To Come" years before that phrase even came into existence. Heroin kind of bridged the gap between the melodic punk sound coming out of DC/Maryland in the late 80's (Rites Of Spring, Embrace, Dag Nasty, Moss Icon, etc.) and the post-hardcore/screamo bands that would dominate the California/San Diego scene in the 90's (Antioch Arrow, Portraits Of Past, Angel Hair, Indian Summer, etc.) Heroin take the basic "emotional hardcore" essentials (the fast pace, personal lyricism, intense music) and push the levels on those in a darker direction to pave the way for what bands after would do. They were vicious, cathartic, and broke down what might have been melodic songs initially into all-out emotional torture fests. From the first few seconds of "Head Cold", they pulsate with a ferocity that's been caged up too long.

When I first heard them, I thought they were around in the later 90's, because the year their discography album was released was 1997. Even for that era this was exceptional stuff, but when I found out these recordings were from 1991, and 1993 at the latest, I was blown away. They are incredibly underrated, and even Geoff Rickly, the figurehead of post-hardcore for the last 10 years, cites them as a major influence. They were the first band to put out a 7" on Gravity Records, which is another sign of what that label and that sound would carry on to do. Their members also went on to other major projects, such as Antioch Arrow and Battalion Of Saints. Heroin's first 7" was called All About Heroin, and it came out in 1991. They put out another 7" in 1992, which was self-titled, and a 12" in 1993, which was also self-titled. Posthumously, a discography album was released in 1997, which compiled all their material. That is what's posted below, and I definitely suggest giving this a listen, since it is a staple classic in post-hardcore/screamo. Enjoy.

Heroin (1997)

1. Head Cold

2. Undertaking

3. Indecision

4. I've Got Mine

5. This Time

6. Never Ever

7. Has Been

8. Leave

9. Wander

10. Blindly

11. With No Name

12. Meaning Less

13. A Portion

14. The Obvious

15. In General

16. Moving Parts

17. Another

18. Destination

19. [Untitled Track]

American Football

So, here's a band that everybody should hear. American Football are one of the best bands who put out one of the best albums ever, and that's a fact.

They formed in 1997 in Champaign, Illinois and disbanded in 2000. They were a three-piece made up of Mike Kinsella (formerly of Cap'n Jazz, The One Up Downstairs, Joan Of Arc, and future member of Owls and his solo project, Owen, among others), Steve Lamos (formerly of The One Up Downstairs and others), and Steve Holmes. The three-piece rarely played shows during the existence, and only released one LP and one EP.

American Football have got to be one of the most replicated and influential bands ever. They experimented with alternate tunings, odd time signatures, and technical playing. Essentially, they fused elements of emo, indie, and math rock to create a completely original sound. The playing is very delicate, gentle, and melodic, which the layered guitars carry perfectly. They occasionally make use of a trumpet, which fits right into the band's dynamic. The drums are incredibly tight and rhythmic, and flow perfectly, even with the odd time signatures. The overall tone is very somber, somewhat nostalgic, and absolutely heart shattering. This is the kind of stuff you listen to when you're lying awake and thinking too much. This is all reinforced by Mike's soft croon, which pours out into these songs, with his heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics completely clear for all to hear. Countless bands after them would be inspired to use the same model (call it "twinkly", "midwest emo", whatever) they do, and though many amazing bands were spurred from that, I don't think any of them could quite touch the level of beauty that American Football did.

UPDATE: In 2014, the band reunited to release a deluxe edition of their self-titled album plus demos and live songs. They are also playing a handful of reunion shows and put out a video for the greatest song ever, "Never Meant".

UPDATE: It's 2016, and they've released another self-titled full-length, again on Polyvinyl.

American Football EP (1998)

1. The One With The Tambourine

2. Letters And Packages

3. Five Silent Miles 

American Football (1999)

1. Never Meant

2. The Summer Ends

3. Honestly?

4. For Sure

5. You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon

6. But The Regrets Are Killing Me

7. I'll See You When We're Both Not So Emotional

8. Stay Home

9. The One With The Wurlitzer

American Football (Deluxe Edition) (2014)

1. Never Meant

2. The Summer Ends

3. Honestly?

4. For Sure

5. You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon

6. But The Regrets Are Killing Me

7. I'll See You When We're Both Not So Emotional

8. Stay Home

9. The One With The Wurlitzer
10. Intro [Live at the Blind Pig, Champaign, IL, 1997]

11. Five Silent Miles [Live at the Blind Pig, Champaign, IL, 1997]

12. Untitled #1 (The One With the Trumpet) [Boombox Practice Session, 1998]

13. Untitled #2 [Boombox Practice Session, 1998]

14. Stay Home [Boombox Practice Session, 1998]

15. Untitled #3 [Boombox Practice Session, 1999]

16. Never Meant [4-Track Album Prep, 1999]

17. But the Regrets Are Killing Me [4-Track Album Prep, 1999]

18. I'll See You When We're Both Not So Emotional [4-Track Album Prep, 1999]

19. The 7's [Live at the Blind Pig, Champaign, IL, 1997]

American Football (LP2) (2016)

1. Where Are We Now?

2. My Instincts Are The Enemy

3. Home Is Where The Haunt Is

4. Born To Lose

5. I've Been So Lost For So Long

6. Give Me The Gun

7. I Need A Drink (Or Two Or Three)

8. Desire Gets In The Way

9. Everyone Is Dressed Up

Note: Removed for copyright infringement

American Football (LP3)

1. Silhouettes

2. Every Wave To Ever Rise (feat. Elizabeth Powell)

3. Uncomfortably Numb (feat. Hayley Williams)

4. Heir Apparent

5. Doom In Full Bloom

6. I Can't Feel You (feat. Rachel Goswell)

7. Mine To Miss

8. Life Support

Rare Symmetry / Fade Into You (2021)

1. Rare Symmetry

2. Fade Into You (Mazzy Star cover)

Polyvinyl