Annabel

Annabel are a four-piece emo/indie/punk band from Akron, Ohio that formed in 2005. Since then, they've released three full-lengths, two EP's, and two fantastic splits with other essential emo revival bands. Speaking of which, this post is insanely overdue, as Annabel were one of the many noteworthy bands from that era. They put out albums with both Count Your Lucky Stars and Tiny Engines, if that's any indication of where they're coming from sonically. The band utilized bright, clean guitars kicking out chords and noodles over a pounding rhythm section and soaring vocals. If you're a fan of bands like You Blew It!, Dowsing, or Everyone Everywhere, you either already know them or absolutely need to. Enjoy.

Each And Everyone (2009)

1. Sleeping Lions

2. People And Places

3. Castles In The Air

4. Bouquet Mines

5. As It Happened

6. In Droves

7. Adventures

8. Parade Rest

9. You Started Thinking Again, Didn't You?

10. Widow Party

11. (As Yet) Untold Stories

Here We Are Tomorrow (2010)

1. The Forgetting Of Names And Faces

2. Repitition, etc.

3. We Came As Today

4. Summer Health

5. The Secrets Of Learning

Annabel/Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate)/Joie De Vivre/The Reptilian - Count Your Lucky Stars 4-Way Split (2011)

1. Annabel - Decisions, Decisions

2. Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) - The Horror of Riovanes

3.  Joie De Vivre - Vicodin Lite

4. The Reptilian - Eddie's Lane

Youth In Youth (2012)

1. Young American

2. The Age Of Possibilities

3. Anti-Decisions

4. Risk/Reward

5. Theme From "Home"

6. Home

7. The Dept. Of Mutual Attraction

8. At Least For Now

9. Rapids

10. You Could Be Living Better

11. Our Days Were Numbered

Now That We're Alive (2012)

1. Parade Rest

2. Castles In The Air

3. Bouquet Mines

4. ...And Elsewhere

5. If The Accident Will

Note: Reissue of 2007 self-released EP

Annabel/Dowsing (2014)

1. Annabel - Always

2. Annabel - Forever

3. Dowsing - Fistful of Hot Wheels

4. Dowsing - World’s Finest Chocolate (How Ya Doin’ Today)

Having It All (2015)

1. Another Day, Another Vitamin

2. The Fortunate Ones

3. If Only

4. Days In Between

5. Having It All

6. On The Importance Of Disappointment

7. Everything

8. Ex-Introvert

9. How To: A Self-Help Guide

10. For Years And Years

11. Nothing Goods Gets Away

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Ambassador 990

Ambassador 990 (sometimes written as Ambassador 9 Ninety) were a three-piece emo/hardcore band from Columbus, Ohio that were active around 1997 and 1998. They released an EP, split, and one LP in their short time together. Sonically, they played a dark, desperate offshoot of hardcore that incorporated frenzied octave chords, dissonance, and anxious rhythms, with wounded, howling vocals. They most likely took influences from bands such as Drive Like Jehu or Unwound, so if you're into that or bands like Shroomunion and Merel, this is a project that will definitely appeal to you. Enjoy.

Ambassador 990 7" (1997)

1. Serpentor

2. Marifold

3. Static

4. Frequency

Ambassador 990/The Makeshift Conquest (1997)

1. Ambassador 990 - Contour

2. Ambassador 990 - Foundry

3. The Makeshift Conquest - Take Over

Ambassador 990 (1998)

1. Dress Like Your Favorite Rockstar

2. Nothing in Return

3. Inner Circle And Circus

4. This Years Dedicated Sucker

5. The Artist Formerly Known As... "Good"

6. Pagan Love Song

7. Survey Says, You're A Dickhead

8. Ryan Stole My Girlfriend

9. Brainwashed At Birth

10. This Is The End

Vowel

"I can't see anything that I don't like about you." Another Valentine's Day, another excuse to revel in your sadness. This tradition has being going on for 10 years now; at this rate we're going to have the entire script of this movie written out. You know the drill with the longing, and the sorrow, and that cold abscence felt beside you in bed every night. It all coalesces in your self-imposed melodrama felt on this day, as it has 10 years before and will continue to 10 years after. If you want to sink lower, there's links for past installments at the bottom of this post for you to drown in.

Vowel are a five-piece screamo/post-hardcore band from Columbus, Ohio that formed in 2011. From the looks of things, they never officially disbanded, but haven't been active since 2015. They came right out the gate with the aptly-titled all the sad songs, their sole album. This band brings a ton to the table, with a variety of vocal stylings including desperately sung and painfully screamed, all with some fantastic confessional lyrics that really hit home. The guitars mesh midwest emo stylings into a bright but melancholic sound, with some pounding energy coming from the drums. One of the things that set this band apart is their use of a violin, whichbrings a somber, forlorn element to the catharsis and chaos surrounding it. This album is fantastic, as is their material after, particularly the Coma Regalia split and what may end up being their swan song, "we will melt the sun". Stay desperate, stay lonely, and stay waiting, find solace in the familiarity of the void. Till next year, don't enjoy.

all the sad songs (2012)

1. iciles

2. if wishes were coin

3. poppy seed

4. cowards

5. everyone needs to feel pretty sometimes

6. the eastern block

7. she was an air traffic controller

8. there's nothing for you here

vowel presents: zombie (2012)

1. Zombie (The Cranberries cover)

Coma Regalia/Vowel (2012)

1. Vowel - These Hands

2. Vowel - And Before You Know It, I'm Invisible

3. Coma Regalia - Blanket Observation Bingo

4. Coma Regalia - And Wake From The Dream Still Knowing

Things Fall Apart/Light Black/Vowel/City Of Ifa (2013)

1. Things Fall Apart - Pigeon Torge, TN

2. Things Fall Apart - All Your Friends Used To Be My Friends 

3. Light Black - Robot House

4. Light Black - Beeekman

5. Vowel - Big Buildings

6. Vowel - Small Trenches

7. City Of Ifa - Indian Bred

8. City Of Ifa - Philia

i'll tell you when i'm done (2014)

1. i'll tell you when i'm done

we will melt the sun (2015)

1. we will melt the sun

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Previous Installments

 

2013: The Saddest Landscape

2014: iwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook

2015: You And I

2016: Love Lost But Not Forgotten

2017: In Loving Memory

2018: Kite Flying Society

2019: The Khayembii Communiqué

2020: Harrison Bergeron

2021: The Last Forty Seconds

2022: The Apoplexy Twist Orchestra

Jazz Hands

Jazz Hands were a four-piece emo band from Northern Ohio (no idea what city) that were around in at least 2010. There's no much info out there about them, aside from their sole EP, which was put out by Messy Life Records. They played a twinkly style of midwestern emo that was just starting to break out at the time, complete with screamy gang vocals. For a loose comparison, they're like a mathy-er (mathier?) Cap'n Jazz or Algernon Cadwallader. Enjoy.

The Party EP (2010)

1. Balloon Boyz

2. I Don't Think I'm Into Toga Parties

3. Champions of Breakfast

4. Remember the Boat Times?

5. Tiny Hands

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CityCop - Nesh REVIEW

Very few bands in recent history have carved out a truly unique niche like Akron, Ohio's CityCop have. Since their inception in 2010, they have blended together a plethora of sounds and genres to create something that is completely their own. After a slew of solid releases, they are finally back with the follow-up to 2017's fantastic The Same Stories That Never Get Old with the five-track EP Nesh, which is out today on the newly-formed Little Elephant Records.

The title track opens the record up, with a flurry of intricate yet flowing rhythms, with their distinct acoustic guitar seamlessly switching between smooth jazz chords, arpeggios and furious noodling. Their forlorn vocals carve out melodic passages for the first half of the song, the kind that are just begging to be shouted along to. They pull in the heavy punches in the latter half, with a ton of hard-hitting syncopation, screamed vocals, and this harrowing bass tone that solidifies the emotional gut-punch. The band's blend of post-hardcore, math rock and emo influences mesh together in this duality of unique complexity and subtle familiarity, which is exactly what makes them stand out so much, and why this opener is a killer introduction to what's to follow.

"Get Well" is a brilliant tension-builder, starting off on a crescendo before falling in to an instrumental where every member is firing on all cylinders. The tightness through these passages is immensely impressive, and the vocals recall the best of Anthony Green's performances. The heavy acoustic strumming is heavenly, creating a harmonious space amidst the emotionally-driven chaos. The third track, "Hindsight" acts as an instrumental guitar interlude. It relies just as much on the space between notes as the notes themselves to provide a nice break and perfect segue into the next half of the album.

"2020" opens up with the guitar work duelling between melody and dissonance, before the whole band kicks in. The drum work flows effortlessly while the bass knocks out heavy hits of syncopation, providing a sinister tone to the choir of backing vocals. Speaking of vocals, one of the best things about this band/album are the shouts that break up the singing into a near-scream, but always pulling back before exploding full-throttle. This track exemplifies that fantastically, where the vocals assist in the rise-and-fall tension the instrumental emits.

Finally, to close it out we have "Flatline". This track is initially deceiving, because it sets itself up as the poppiest song here, and then immediately curbs that expectation with the most violent vocal eruption and first instance of blast beats on this entire record. We get the heaviest and most cathartic outburst to close off the album, with those earworm melodic vocals in the midst of the song to balance out the mix.

Overall, this could be CityCop's finest work to date (and that is saying a lot). Picking standout tracks is near-impossible, but if I absolutely had to, I would say "Nesh" and "Flatline" floored me the most, but every track offers something different yet equally solid. They're a band who continue to impress with a plethora of influences coming together to create one sound that can only be referred to as "CityCop". Nesh is available today from Little Elephant Records. You can check out the video for the lead single "Nesh" below, as well as pick up the 7".

Pick Up The 7" Here

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For Your Health

For Your Health are a four-piece screamo/hardcore band from Columbus, Ohio that began in 2018 and includes members of Arrows In Her. They blend the visceral shrieks and spasms of screamo with the noise and dissonance of bands like Some Girls and Blood Brothers, making for one hell of a destructive release. The chaos is really only broken up by a healthy use of film samples, as well as hints of unique, melodic sounds, particularly on standouts like "hell. maybe further" and "second aid kit". Not much else to say, this release absolutely rips, and is one of the most unique new bands to pop up this year. Enjoy.

Nosebleeds (2019)

1. my bedroom has been crushed by a fallen plane engine

2. birds ate my face

3. FUCK ICE

4. hell. maybe further.

5. haiku in blue

6. second aid kit

7. exit flesh

Death of Spring (2019)

1. For Your Health - charlie brown’s gotta be damn near public domain by now

2. For Your Health - keres

3. For Your Health - come in, i've hanged myself!

4. For Your Health - hey did you know that the drummer from saetia was in interpol?

5. For Your Health - enter flesh

6. Shin Guard - Grief Instilled

7. Shin Guard - Both Stricken

8. Shin Guard - Perfect Boy

9. Shin Guard - Apropos Mortality

In Spite Of (2021)

1. Birthday Candles In The Effigy

2. I Slept With Wes Eisold And All I Got Was An Out Of Court Settlement

3. Push The Fucking Rock, Sisy

4. Abscess Makes The Heart Grow

5. The Day Of Black Sun

6. Save Your Breath, You're Gonna Need It To Blow My Head Off

7. If Anybody Asks, We're Already Fucked

8. You're So United Ninety-Three, We're So Flight One Eighty

9. Like A Thirteenth Floor Elevator

10. Everyday At 13:12

11. Thank You For The Venmo

12. This City Will Crumble And Many People Will Die

Hymns For The Condemned (2022)

1. awakebutstillinbed - fear

2. awakebutstillinbed - ride

3. For Your Health - Disarmament

4. For Your Health - A Word Of Warning For The Pyrrh Of Heart

This Bitter Garden (2025)

1. Davenport (A Rotten Pear)

2. Flowers For The Worst Of Them

3. With Empty Promises & Loaded Guns

4. Gaia Wept

5. Clementine

6. The Radiant Apostasy

7. Heaven, Here

8. Longinus

9. The Rotting Pair

10. In The Valley Of Weeping

11. Lamb Without Fold

12. Your New Curse

13. Hostel Elysia

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Harriet The Spy

Harriet The Spy were a four-piece post-hardcore/emo band from Kent, Ohio that began in 1993 and broke up in 1998. Sonically, they played with very loud, sharp, and angular guitars that jut out in every direction, while an energetic rhythm section keeps these songs pummeling along. The vocals range from screamed to spoken, and always tend to be lower in the mix, which hits a very minor lo-fi appeal.  There's a definite influence from early Gravity bands such as Antioch Arrow and Heroin, in addition to the progressive hardcore rhythms of Universal Order of Armageddon, plus a touch of Sonic Youth and Big Black. They released a good chunk of material in their few years together, the most essential of which being their sole LP, Unfuckwithable, as well as Anthology of Selected Recordings, which includes most of their recorded material. Enjoy.

God Gave Us Music And The Courage To Sing (1994)

1. Retardo Y Retardo

2. I Hate America (But I Think I'll Stay)

3. Fucking Me Fucking You

4. Bloody Nose Please

5. Sneaking Peeks At The Will

6. The Jealous Wrath of Baby Jesus

7. Fluffed Up On Puff Balls

8. The Invasion Of The Rats

Harriet The Spy/Grain (1994)

1. Harriet The Spy - Credit Slips

2. Harriet The Spy - Sleeping Through The Money Shot

3. Grain - Nibble

4. Grain - Breathe

Thumbnail/Harriet The Spy (1996)

1. Thumbnail - Ambient Experiment 001

2. Thumbnail - Six Figures

3. Thumbnail - Letter To The Editor - That Gets Opened

4. Thumbnail - Discourse

5. Harriet The Spy - All The Strings

6. Harriet The Spy - Cold Cock A Dick

7. Harriet The Spy - Retarding Dimensionally

8. Harriet The Spy - Ninja Malfunction

9. Harriet The Spy - Enamel Fight

10. Harriet The Spy - We Don't Need The Glamorous Life

Three Studies For A Crucifixion/Harriet The Spy (1997)

1. Three Studies For A Crucifixion - No Refund Policy

2. Three Studies For A Crucifixion - Operation: Dandelion & Certificate Of Marathoid Behavior

3. Harriet The Spy - This Music Festival Sucks

4. Harriet The Spy - Bucky Beaver

Unfuckwithable (1997)

1. The Forgettable Fire

2. Untitled

3. Girls In Bikinis

4. Octohelpme

5. Paint My Atoms

6. Androidgeny

7. When The Shit Hits The Commodore 64

8. Cum Stomache

9. When We Saw Our Names Up In Lights...

Anthology Of Selected Recordings (1998)

1. Retardo Y Retardo

2. I Hate America (But I Think I'll Stay)

3. Fucking Me Fucking You

4. Bloody Nose Please

5. Sneaking Peeks At The Will

6. The Jealous Wrath of Baby Jesus

7. Fluffed Up On Puff Balls

8. Invasion Of The Cats

9. All The Strings

10. Cold Cock A Dick

11. Retarding Dimentionally

12. Untitled

13. Ninja Malfunction

14. Enamel Fight

15. We Don't Need The Glamorous Life

16. This Music Festival Sucks

17. Bucky Beaver

18. Laminant

19. Shitfire

20. Tenadic

21. Circle-A Indication

22. We Have the Codes We Can Tear Off Arms

23. $10,000

24. Exacto Life

25. Retarding Dimentionally

26. Enemal Life

27. Telescope

28. AE

29. Lights, Vomit, Sound, Action

30. Cum Stomache

31. Nopi

32. Excuse Me, Your Legs Are On Fire

33. Credit Slips

34. Sleeping Through The Money Shot

Harriet The Spy/Fat Day (1998)

1. Harriet The Spy - When Will Gentlemen Rule The World

2. Harriet The Spy - How We Got On Kill Rock Stars

3. Fat Day - Hip Hop!

4. Fat Day - Mod Rot!

5. Fat Day - Breakfast With Susan Graver!

6. Fat Day - Luh!

7. Fat Day - Quintland!

Synthetic Synthesis (1998)

1. Synthetic Synthesis

2. So Called Reality

Live 1998 (1998)

1. Harriet The Spy - The Forgettable Fire

2. Harriet The Spy - When Will Gentlemen Rule The World

3. The Party Of Helicopters - Reduced To Rubble

4. The Party Of Helicopters - Death Beckons With A Heavy Hammer

Homewrecker

Homewrecker are a five-piece hardcore band from Ashtabula, Ohio that formed in 2008. For the past few years, these guys have been killing it with one solid release after another. They play an intense, feedback-laden style of metallic hardcore with some thrash and grindcore influence thrown in the mix. They're an A389 band, so fans of bands associated with that label like Full of Hell or Young And In The Way should definitely take notice here. There's really not much else to say, if you want some kick-ass, heavy hardcore, it doesn't get much better than Homewrecker. Enjoy.

Portrait Of Nothing (2009)

1. Intro

2. Where You Stand

3. It Repeats

4. Forget

5. Bottom Of A Well

6. Gravedigger

7. Brain Biter

8. Portrait Of Nothing

9. Black Mud

Internal Morgue (2010)

1. Cemetery Man

2. Con Artist / Charlatan

3. Internal Morgue

4. Eyes of Anguish

The Love Below/Homewrecker (2011)

1. The Love Below - Uncomfortable

2. The Love Below - Rotten Fruit From A Shitty Tree

3. The Love Below - High Friends In Low Places

4. Homewrecker - Cemetery Man

5. Homewrecker - Internal Morgue

Worms & Dirt (2012)

1. Wreck

2. Worms & Dirt

3. Baseborn

4. Visions of Terror

5. Chained Hanged Victim

6. Pipe Dreams

7. Eyes Of Anguish

8. Charlatan

9. Beaten Freedom

Circle of Death (2014)

1. Forced Under

2. Circle Of Death

3. Born To Suffer

4. Illusions Of Peace

5. Authority Of The Mind

6. Skin The Pig

7. Punish The Ignorance

8. Silence The Weak

9. Unconscious

4-Way Split (2016)

1. Gatecreeper - Carved Into Stone

2. Homewrecker - Perpetrators Of Annihilation

3. Outer Heaven - Death Worship

4. Scorched - Autopsy Incomplete

Extinction By Design (2016)

1. Extinction By Design

2. Prophet Liar

3. Caged Existence

4. Path Of Terror

Hell Is Here Now (2018)

1. Burden of Self

2. One With Torment

3. Bound By Validation

4. Fade To Oblivion

5. Constant Eyes

6. Buried In Suffering

7. Land Of The Damned

8. Rope Of Skin

9. Growing From Nothing

10. Demons In Disguise

11. Final Rest

12. Perpetrators

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