The Khayembii Communiqué

"I don't remember anything without you". Ya knew it was coming, it's been 7 years in the making; it's another installment of Sophie's Sad Times at Kinsella High, our Valentine's Day tradition here. Have things gotten better since we started this little tradition? No. Will today be spent coping with the dismal, lonely emptiness inside each and every one of us? Yes. This year the pickings were tough, since I've already used up a lot of the most fitting bands for today, but figured this band fits the profile close enough, and have to be posted on here at some point. I'll link to each other post in the comments, if you want to dive further into despair.

The Khayembii Communiqué were a three-piece screamo band from Minneapolis, Minnesota that were around mainly from 1999 to 2000. They poured a lot of passion into their limited material, releasing only one 7" and one split (with The Vidablue, who later become Ten Grand). Sonically, they are somewhat comparable to bands like Portraits Of Past or I Hate Myself, with chaotic, throat-shredding screaming, often mixed in with unorthodox rhythms and dissonant chords. They balanced this out nicely with some quieter dynamic moments, and the inclusion of a second vocalist, who often sung clean and melodically. You can read a lot more about their history here, which was written by vocalist/guitarist Mark Shaw. Keep it sad and loud today, here's to another year gone by, and I'll check in with ya in another 365 days to see if there's been a sliver of improvement. Don't enjoy.

The Khayembii Communiqué (1999)

1. The Thirtieth

2. AM1200

3. A Year And An Ocean

4. How To Change Addictions

The Khayembii Communiqué/The Vidablue (2000)

1. The Khayembii Communiqué - The Des Moines Tapes

2. The Khayembii Communiqué - Better Times Are Left Dead

3. The Khayembii Communiqué - Lacking

4. The Khayembii Communiqué - The Death Of An Aspiring Icon

5. The Vidablue - Engine Down

6. The Vidablue - Me And Spike Lee

7. The Vidablue - The Dukes Are Trying To Corner The Market

8. The Vidablue - I Survived The Chair

Kite Flying Society

"Please let me keep this memory. Just this one."

Year 6 of this lonely and despaired tradition. Another screamo soundtrack to wallow in. Valentrine's Day 2018, a day of romance and lovers. Not that you'd know anything about that. Thus you are left to scourge every sorrowful moment, every lonely Sunday morning, every pain in your half-burnt heart, and every reminder of when things were better. Might as well listen to some decent tunes while you do it. This year we've got the fantastic Kite Flying Society to do so, and I'll leave links to all previous years in the comments if you want to deepen the wound.

Kite Flying Society were a five-piece screamo band from Orlando, Florida that were around from at least 2000 to 2002 (any more info would be appreciated). They played an impassioned style of screamo akin to bands such as Saetia or You And I. In their chaos and dissonance, there are definite signs of melody here, albeit brief ones. Vocally, they are absolutely scorching, but also made heavy use of spoken word bits, which harken back to Moss Icon in the fragmented delivery atop arpeggiated guitars. Their discography, like many of their contemporaries, is fairly scattered. They released 2 EP's in their lifetime, and recorded a handful of other tracks that were never released. That is, until their full discography was compiled in 2006 by Init Records. Their discography is below, which includes all their EP material, some unreleased/demo tracks, as well as some live stuff. Doesn't get much better than this on days like today. All apologies and smiles, yours truly, ugly Valentine. Enjoy.

A Discography (2006)

1. Art of Conversation

2. Past Life Regression

3. Nothing

4. Art Of Conversation

5. Breathe

6. Blinded

7. Past Life Regression

8. On Stars Our Dreams Are Born

9. A Twisted Path

10. 10,000 Hands

11. This Picture Was My Heart

12. Untitled

13. We Dance At Night

14. Summer Solstice

15. A Twisted Path

16. Rocky IV

17. Hospital Bed

18. Winter Solstice

19. Stuck Like Chuck

20. Concrete Trees

21. End Of Time

22. Metal Mayhem

23. We Dance At Night (Live)

24. Breathe (Live)

25. Nothing (Live)

26. A Twisted Path (Live)

27. Art Of Conversation (Demo)

28. Winter Solstice (Demo)

Bandcamp

In Loving Memory

"What a loss to spend that much time with someone, only to find out that she's a stranger". Just like the endless supply of Eternal Sunshine quotes, there is no shortage of bands to commemorate today. Though skramz is for lovers, there is no happy here. Exactly four years ago today, this little tradition began, where each Valentine's Day a band is posted to sadgasm to. It started with The Saddest Landscape, then it was iwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook, then You And I, then Love Lost But Not Forgotten, and this year (as you probably already guessed), it's In Loving Memory. We started from the bottom, and have continued to sink lower into a pit of self-imposed loneliness, depression and despair.

In Loving Memory was a six-piece screamo band from Des Moines, Iowa that lasted from 1998 to 2001. Though I usually like to give more background to a band, anything that needs to be said about them has already been documented to perfection in this blog post on Iowa Hardcore. It provides a full, detailed account of the band's members, history, and also includes links to their discography. I'm just going to touch upon their sound. The band played a frantic and frenzied form of hardcore/screamo that was influenced by all this genre's legends, including Saetia and Jeromes Dream. They also shared a guitarist with The Spirit Of Versailles, another classic band. They also had two vocalists providing dual male/female vocals, which was a major factor in this cathartic chaos that they created. Their lyrics were personal, albeit brief snippets of poetry that leave the listener to fill in the blanks with their own reflections.

 In Loving Memory's recorded output was very small, with only two splits and one full-length (titled As Years Pass And Feel Like Seconds) being put out, and one of those splits featured tracks also on the full-length. Those are available over at Iowa Hardcore, which is the blog link I provided earlier, so full credit where credit is due. What I have here is the proper release of their full discography, which was put out in 2012 by Init Records. These recordings have been remastered, so the quality's a lot better, and you can really hear the complete chaos this band had to offer. Keep this shit on repeat today, cry if you like, indulge in your lonely estate and just know by next year it won't get better. Happy V-Day. Enjoy.

A Discography (2012)

1. This Is Ours

2. Who You Enthrall

3. Moments Like These

4. Open The Door For Me

5. The Choice Has Always Been Yours

6. There's So Much To Say

7. I Burned It Down

8. Caught Up In The Most Simple Of Things

9. Remember

10. Tonight I Scream

11. Song #1

12. Song #2

13. Song #3

14. Song #4

A Gentler Sun (2023)

1. A Gentler Sun

2. Crawling To Falling

3. In My Name

4. Great Day That Dawns

Bandcamp

Love Lost But Not Forgotten

"Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders". Sadly, that's not the case for some. V-Day, 2016. Are the reeeeegrets still killing you? Did you think it was just never meant? Or was it destined to happen as sure as the summer ends? Another year lost, and we are now on our fourth installment of Sophie's sad jamz day. This year is a little on the angrier side, though just as good to air grievances to.

Love Lost But Not Forgotten were a screamo/emo violence band from St. Peter's, Missouri. They formed in 1997 but broke up in 2002, because nothing good lasts and everything ends, so what's the point of even starting?? Funnily enough, they were signed to a small label called Happy Couples Never Last, which is fitting for the season. If Love Lost But Not Forgotten was anything, it was intense. They emerged with a really dark, chaotic, almost violent sound that reflected the gruelling pain expressed in the lyrics. They hit hard, and fans of bands like Tristan Tzara, Usurp Synapse, and Joshua Fit For Battle would definitely take interest. They started out with a pg.99-esque line-up featuring three guitarists and two vocalists, though by their final album they had narrowed it down to two guitarists and one vocalist. Regardless of the line-up, they always displayed some impressive musicianship along with the painstaking passion they perfect. I hope you enjoy this band, and hope you can make it through another lonely day spent trying to forget how she loved the train but hated the station. Hopefully things will be better by next year, and enjoy.

Unfound EP (1999)

1. Swallowed

2. Unfound

3. Drown

4. Cutting Away The Flesh

Joshua Fit For Battle/Love Lost But Not Forgotten (1999)

1. Joshua Fit For Battle - Song One

2. Love Lost But Not Forgotten - Drowned

3. Love Lost But Not Forgotten - Unfound

4. Joshua Fit For Battle - Song Three

The Erudition Project (2000)

5. Metaphors of A Bleeding Heart

Love Lost But Not Forgotten (2000)

1. Intro

2. Means To No End

3. Loathing

4. Save Me From The Outside World

5. Believe

6. Supine

7. Push Past

8. Cutting Away

9. Drown

10. Unfound

11. Swallow

12. Outro

Demo (2002)

1. It Never Happened

2. Calm And Secure

3. Happy To Be Alive

Upon The Right, I Saw A New Misery (2002)

1. Intro

2. Typical Fashion

3. Perfectly Fucked

4. Headless, Sleeping Soundly

5. What's Left Of "Shitlife"

6. Happy To Be Alive

7. It Never Happened

8. Calm And Secure

9. Nobody's Watching Department 2