Morning Dew are a two-piece screamo/emo band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that formed in 2015. They've released two projects of raw, trebly, impassioned, and chaotically melodic skramz with fantastic dual vocals and self-effacing lyrics. If you're a fan of bands such as William Bonney, Innards, and Father Figure, this is for you. Enjoy.
Short Fictions are a four-piece emo/indie/punk band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that began in 2015. This is admittedly an entire new band for me, as I just got done listening to their latest LP, Fates Worse Than Death and felt an immediate post on them was obligatory. This was an incredible listen that features this energetic, melodic noodly midwest emo sound with the expansive catchy epics of early TWIABP. Plus you've got some fantastic vocal layerings and screamy undertones to boot. They change it up enough to keep it engaging, with each song hitting as hard as the last, with some strong lyric/songwriting and impressive musicianship to boot. This is guaranteed to be getting a lot more listens, followed by the inevitable delving into their back catalogue. Fates Worse Than Death is available on their Bandcamp for only $1, so if you are able to send some love their way, please do. Enjoy.
Shin Guard are a four-piece hardcore/screamo/emo band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that began in 2017. Their sound has progressed a lot since their inception. Beginning with the Five Songs EP, they play with a heavy influence from other PA natives, including Tigers Jaw and Balance & Composure, with hints of La Dispute in the heavier moments. Their following release, Cerebral, is a honeypot of sounds, melting screamo, emo, spoken word, post-rock, and pop punk sounds into a cohesive tracklist and emotional gut-punch. It takes a lot of sounds and influences you might have heard elsewhere, and blends it all into this one project, with the band's tightness coming through in how seamless and unique they pull it off.
This year's 2020 is their biggest departure to date, bringing in a much heavier sound with predominantly screamed vocals, and these dueling/shredding guitars and metal-esque riffs. There are still remnants of their past work, particularly in the more atmospheric instrumentals and spoken word parts, but they have more or less made the undeniable transition into hardcore territory.It's a cacophony of insanity, but they pull off this full-on direction flawlessly, creating a brutal yet engaging project along the way. I cannot recommend this band enough, since their whole catalog is so eclectic, and falls under virtually every banner this blog has ever featured on here. Enjoy.
Yes Yes A Thousand Times Yes are a four-piece indie/emo/math rock/punk band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that formed in 2013. They just put out their debut full-length band with Broken World Media, and it is an absolutely fantastic record. Great production, great songs, great musicianship, it's just a fucking great album all around. I'm enjoying the hell out of it and wanted to share it, because I'm sure a lot of people will definitely be able to get into this. Their Bandcamp had a few releases up this morning, but when I went back to snag them this evening, they had deleted them all. Talk about bad timing. Regardless, I have their full-length, which is a really fun album that I know will be on repeat for quite a while. Enjoy.
Adventures are a five-piece emo/indie/punk band from Pittsburgh, Pennyslvania. They formed early this year, and have just recently become real active (they just put a 7" out and are touring and such). Their line-up consists of three members from Code Orange Kids as well as Lilith (formerly Wifebeater, a really cool acoustic folk-y project. The link is to their bandcamp, check them out too if you havent't already). They've all done various other projects together before, but none that I can specifically note. You know what, here's a line-up rundown:
Reba Meyers - Guitar, Vocals (also in COK and Lilith, same instruments)
Jami Morgan - Drums (also in COK, though he sings as well)
Joe Goldman - Bass, Vocals (just bass in COK, both in Lilith)
Kimi Hanauer - Keyboard (vocals in Lilith as of this year, I think. She also the artwork for all three bands)
Dom - Guitar (don't know his last name or any other bands, so he gets to be just Dom - Guitar)
I'm not trying to put more emphasis on the people in the band than the band itself, it's just that that seems to be a point of interest with them. Whatever, anyways, they certainly don't sound anything like any of the other bands mentioned, with the exception of the beginning of "Like Seed" which I think is missing an "Ugh!", and at during few moments when Reba's voice is at its most guttural. But still, very different sounds. They're more comparable to bands such as Texas Is The Reason or Knapsack, your classic 90's emo bands. A couple more contemporary bands too, such as My Heart To Joy, or Tigers Jaw, perhaps. They put out a 4-song 7" on No Sleep Records, check it out. It's probably one of my favourite EP's of the year.
Code Orange Kids (now known as just Code Orange) play a unique brand of sludgy hardcore, though you could use numerous labels to attempt to describe their sound. In terms of band comparisons, maybe Converge, Blacklisted, Cursed, and Punch, or something. Regardless. Hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennyslvania, these guys have been taking the hardcore scene by storm. They're fresh out of high school, recently signed to Deathwish, and are currently touring with Defeater and Touché Amoré, to put things into perspective. All hype aside, you still have a fucking amazing band, regardless of any of that. They blew me away from the get-go. I saw this video last summer, and have been hooked ever since. They are easily one of the best bands around now (IMO), and easily one of the greatest live bands I've ever seen. Scratch all that other shit out on your bucket list, seeing them is priority. If they're in or around your area, I highly suggest you GO. And you know, buy shit as well.
Below is their discography to date, from their first demo to their recently released split with another great band called Full of Hell. I think I read somewhere that they have an even earlier demo, but I still haven't been able to track it down, or confirm that it is even in the vein of this sound.Found it, and it's definitely them, just with a heavier punk influence. Apparently they genre-hopped for a while. They'll also be released a full-length later this year. AOTY? Possibly.Yes. Here's their discography as of now:
