Wednesday, 30 September 2020

Jenny Piccolo

 Jenny Piccolo were a three-piece powerviolence band from Santa Cruz, California that were around from approximately 1996 to 2001 (though I could be wrong on that). They were formed by former members of Mohinder, and played an intense style of emoviolence that the California scene defined in the mid-90s. They were almost exclusively a Three-One-G band, even releasing a split with label staples The Locust. Their sole LP, Information Battle To Denounce The Genocide was released in 1996. That album, along with all other recorded material was compiled on a discography release in 2006. This contains all 52 songs by the band, with a run-time that extends just past the half-hour mark. Enjoy.

1. Joined At The Brain
2. Six
3. Wood Breaking Manifesto
4. One Wat
5. Punky Brewster
6. Product Of Power
7. Purity Control
8. Suicide Cliche
9. Jade
10. Traction Reaction
11. Hand That Feeds
12. East Reed
13. Dim Bulb
14. Heavy Metal Weekend
15. Bipolar on Lithium
16. Severe Battery
17. Bore Dome
18. Tank OM Jag Vore en Dods Maskin, Bara Ga Omkring och Slosa Liv (A.K.A.: Have You Seen My Tanks?)
19. Total Alienation
20. Blunt Still Burns
21. Amber Gambler
22. Red Dead
23. Purity Control
24. High School Handgun Fever
25. Cyanide Inhaler
26. True 'til Death
27. Left Behind
28. Bearing Holes
29. State Legal Lynching
30. God's Gym
31. We Are All Illegal
32. Donation To The Deaf
33. Patented Genes
34. Preschool
35. El Salvador's Radio Problems
36. I AM
37. Remembrance
38. Shutdown
39. Freshly Grown Warheads
40. Liberty Machines
41. Followhead
42. Pure
43. Face Extinction
44. Acceptance of Meanings
45. Pain Culture
46. Sink or Swim
47. Forgotten
48. Labor Day
49. Six
50. Hand That Feeds
51. One Year
52. __!

Thursday, 27 August 2020

Floorpunch

Floorpunch are a four-piece hardcore/punk band from New Jersey that began in 1995. This is quintessential listening for fans of the straight edge/youth crew movement in hardcore circa the mid 90's. With one demo, one EP, and one LP, the band solidified their legacy for over two decades to come. Below is the majority of their recorded material, so grab it ASAP. I didn't include the popular Twin Killing compilation, as it just includes the Goal Line Stand demo and Division One Champs, both of which are already included here. Enjoy.

1. Intro/Changes
2. Keep It Clear
3. My Path
4. Tolerate
5. Persevere
6. Gonna Get Yours

1. Not For Me
2. Changes
3. Stick Together
4. No Exceptions
5. Persevere
6. Deep Inside

1. Washed Up At 18
2. Holding On
3. Not For Me
4. Shottsie
5. Time To Heal
6. No Exceptions
7. What's Right?
8. Change Of Heart
9. True Colors
10. Always
11. The Answer
12. Gaining Ground
13. From The Outside
14. Turn Away
15. Point Of View
16. Let It Ride

Inkwell

Inkwell were a four-piece screamo/emo/hardcore band from Atlanta, Georgia that were around in the mid 90's, but I can only confirm they were active in 1995 and 1996 before they broke up. As expectedly short-lived as they were, they managed to put out a handful of incredible tracks in that timespan. Taking their cues from bands such as Heroin and Indian Summer, they perfected the loud/quiet dynamic and vocal shredding of early emo/screamo that would define bands such as Saetia not too much later on. Luckily they uploaded their discography to Bandcamp in 2017 so it is readily available, but I also included links here for the hell of it. Enjoy!

1. Instrumental/Hands Like Mine
2. By Design
3. Right Side

1. Messenger
2. Savior

Note: Songs are originally from their split with Hal Al Shedad

1. Shine So Bright
2. Portrait

Wash
Angry Son (Not an Indian Summer cover unfortunately)
Has Been
Remembrance (Last Live Song)

Note: "Wash" was originally released on the Placebo Compilation featuring Reversal Of Man among others, just included in this for convenience

Tuesday, 18 August 2020

Majority Rule

Majority Rule are a three-piece screamo/hardcore band from Northern Virginia that began in 1996 and broke up in 2004. They have since reunited for shows in 2017 and 2019. I figured for my first post in a while I had to share a band this blog has been severely lacking for years. Majority Rule are quinessential Virginia hardcore, and defined the screamo scene there to do this day. Along with pg.99 and City of Caterpillar (bands that had close associations with), Majority Rule is a must-listen. Interviews With David Frost and the pg.99 split are probably the best jumping off points, but it's all solid stuff. I'm also missing a few things, mainly the Half The Battle album, as well as splits with Positive State and Turbine, so if anyone has those please let me know. Enjoy!

1. I Need More
2. Second Chair Baritone

1. At 3am
2. Progress of Elimination
3. Xoxo
4. Now Breathe

1. The Blackout Terror - Ted Nugent Is A Fucking Dickhead/For Pat
2. Majority Rule - Untitled

1. The Sin In Grey
2. At 3 A.M.
3. Burial Suit
4. XOXO
5. Progress Of Elimination
6. Endings
7. Kill The Cheat

1. pg.99 - Friendship
2. pg. 99 - Tantrum
3. pg.99 - Richmond Is A Hole 
4. pg.99 - Faces Sunken By Letting Go
5. pg.99 - Virginia
6. Majority Rule - Not In My Name
7. Majority Rule - These Hands
8. Majority Rule - My Version Of Paris
9. Majority Rule - Packaged Poison

1. A Prescription
2. Too Late
3. American Feature
4. Are Forever (Instrumental)
5. 49 Words
6. Boeing

Sunday, 31 May 2020

Taking Meds


Taking Meds are a four-piece post-hardcore band from Rochester, New York that began in 2012. They were formed by members of Such Gold, and though the pop punk influence does peak through in their sound, they are far more rooted in the 90's throwback amalgamation of post-hardcore, math rock, and straight up hardcore punk. Their most notable release, I Hate Me was released in 2019, and features a wide array of sounds the band experiments, which can perhaps best be surmised by the phrase "catchy dissonance", though that doesn't quite capture the record's diverse offerings. Enjoy.

1. Summer Of Down
2. Jim Jones
3. The Biesel Blues

1. Roller Coaster (blink-182 cover)

1. Taking Meds
2. I Only Want To Listen To My Own Band
3. Hole In Hand
4. Crash In My Place
5. Blue Shirt Boogie
6. Comfort In Poor Planning
7. Busy Schedule
8. County Border Bars

1. My Moon Is Always Full
2. Discount Furniture
3. Summer Of Down (Acoustic Version)
4. I Miss You (Blink-182 Cover?)

1. There's No Way
2. Stealing Is Healing

1. Big Fish
2. I Hate Me
3. Stranger Who Stares
4. The Problem
5. There's No Way
6. I Hate You
7. Lifer
8. Tough Guy
9. Somebody's Gotta Hold Me
10. Inseverable

Saturday, 23 May 2020

Current


Current were a post-hardcore/emo band from Dearborn, Michigan that were around from 1992 to 1994. I have very little info on this band, to be honest. Aside from their years active, they put out a discography LP on Council Records, a label run by one of its band members posthumously. Current are best remembered for their sole seminal LP, Coliseum, as well as their split with the legendary Indian Summer pre-legendary status. Members of Current were also active in another band called Ottawa. If you're looking for an early marriage of hardcore and emo that pre-dates screamo as we know it, you're in the right place. Enjoy.

1. Basis
2. Repetition
3. Continued Rantings
4. Overbearing
5. Leech
6. Bastille
7. Frayed Ends
8. Monument
9. Key
10. Representation
11. Dial
12. Pave
13. Bag Of Threads
14. Two And a Dime
15. Ruin
16. Outside Is Better
17. Coliseum
18. She Can't Write
19. Hark
20. Member
21. Could I
22. Silvered Lead
23. Come Down
24. Left At The Right

Note: 
Tracks 1 - 4 from Is 4 EP (1995)
Track 5 - 7 from various compilations (1995-1996)
Track 8 from Chino Horde split (1994)
Track 9 from Indian Summer split ((1993)
Track 10 - 20 from Coliseum LP (1993)
Tracks 21 - 24 from Could I EP (1992)

Friday, 22 May 2020

The Crownhate Ruin


The Crownhate Ruin were a short-lived post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., that were active from 1994 to 1996. The band consisted of ex-members of Hoover (immediately after that band's break-up) and 1.6 Band. Members later went on to play in June of 44. If you could place a sound between the two aforementioned bands, The Crownhate Ruin hit that fix. Their sole LP came out on Dischord Records, a discordant, off-beat affair with heavy emphasis on bass/drum riffage. It never quite hits the intensive highs of Hoover, but certainly deserves a repeat listen, as it is an undeniably underrated LP. Enjoy.

1. Lesson In Thread
2. Pioneers

1. Every Minute's Sucker
2. Better Still If They Don't Know

1. Present To President
2. Last Place In Triage
3. My Country Getaway

1. Ride Your Ride
2. Late Arriving Rock Dudes
3. Stretched Too Thin
4. In The Four Years To Come
5. Every Minute Sucker
6. Tornado Season Finale
7. Better Still If They Don't Know
8. Piss Alley
9. You Will Wish Me Dead
10. Blood Relative

Thursday, 21 May 2020

Infant Island


Infant Island are a five-piece screamo band from Fredericksburg, Virginia that began in 2016. You might be familiar with this band from the incredible track "Further" I premiered a few years back, and from the incredible self-titled LP that track came off. Without a doubt. Infant Island have cemented themselves as one of the most notable and formidable screamo acts kicking around the present tense, and they are revving up to unleash another LP very soon, titled Beneath, courtesy of the always-incredible Dog Knights Productions. Prior to that, I figured we'd take a trip down memory lane of their already-legendary discography, as a stark reminder the screamo is alive and well and why we all got into the genre in the first place. Enjoy.

Quick update: I had started this post a while back prior to Beneath coming out. It's out, and definitely one of the best releases I've ever heard this year, so check it out ASAP.

1. Infant Island - Diminish
2. Infant Island - Fall Into Their Hell (Demo)
3. smallhands - Coby's Piano (Demo)
4. smallhands - Plastic Sheets (Demo)

1. Where There Is Ruin

1. Small Differences
2. Replenish
3. Broken Pieces
4. Fall
5. Diminish
6. A Preoccupation
7. Further

1. Frail Body - Fixed
2. Infant Island - Death Portrait
3. Massa Nera - Nunca Seremos lo Mismo
4. Dianacrawls - Melancholia
5. Dianacrawls - Kinky Kills
6. Dianacrawls - Cycle of the Abused

1. Burrow
2. Unspoken
3. Phantom Wines
4. Awoken
5. Sepulcher

1. Here We Are
2. Signed In Blood
3. Content
4. The Garden
5. One Eyed
6. Death Portrait
7. Colossal Air
8. Stare Spells
9. Someplace Else

1. Another Cycle
2. Fulfilled
3. Found Hand
4. Clawing, Still
5. Veil
6. Amaranthine
7. With Shadow
8. Unrelenting
9. Kindling
10. Vestygian

Thursday, 23 April 2020

Ten Grand


Ten Grand were a four-piece post-hardcore/screamo band from Iowa City, Iowa that were around from 1998 to 2003. Up until 2001, they went by the name The Vidablue, until selling the rights to another band of the same name and changing theirs to Ten Grand. They were quite prolific in their time, releasing 3 LP's in 3 years, along with a slew of early material (some of which is included on the compilation What I Should Have Said Vol. 1) Unfortunately, the band came to a sudden end in 2003 with the death of their singer/guitarist Matt Davis. More info on the band can be found here if you're interested.

Sonically, the band played a spastic and frenzied version of hardcore that played with dissonance, dynamics, and insane rhythms. Instrumentally, they perfected the duel-guitar clash, and knocked out songs that keep you on edge while giving some dynamic breathing. Essentially, if you took the Dischord and Gravity Records rosters and threw them together, this is the sound you'd get. Enjoy.

1. The Vidablue - What Difference Does It Make?
2. The Vidablue - Do Not Question Brain-O
3. The Vidablue - Midwinter

1. The Vidablue - Broken Jaw Factory
2. Quatro - Best Actor Award
3. Quatro - Slow Jammin' Earl

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

1. The Vidablue - What Difference Does It Make?
2. The Vidablue - Do Not Question The Great Brain-O
3. The Vidablue - Midwinter
4. The Vidablue - The Detective
5. The Vidablue - Before The Action Commences
6. The Vidablue - Drop Dead
7. The Vidablue - Miette
8. The Vidablue - East Dearborn
9. The Vidablue - The City Sucks Tonight
10. The Vidablue - A Broken Jaw Factory
11. The Vidablue - '87 Yankees
12. The Vidablue - Industry
13. The Vidablue - Industry (Remix)
14. The Vidablue - So The Pitate Says
15. The Vidablue - Engine Down
16. The Vidablue - I Survived The Chair
17. The Vidablue - X 7
18. The Vidablue - I Claim This Land In The Name Of Taz
19. The Vidablue - Grave? Shovel! Let's Go.
20. The Vidablue - Bike Dance (No Scrubs)

1. The Vidablue - I Know It Works
2. The Vidablue - Making A Building
3. The Vidablue - I Claim This Land In The Name Of Taz
4. The Vidablue - Monocle
5. The Vidablue - Typhoid Mary
6. The Vidablue - Industry
7. The Vidablue - 1-2-3 Pregnant
8. The Vidablue - My Heart Goes Out To Me
9. The Vidablue - Three Cheers For Cause And Effect
10. The Vidablue - Why Am I Bleeding?
11. The Vidablue - H-E-Double Hockey Sticks

1. The Beginning
2. The Face I Make While You're Crying
3. Never Let Your Girlfriend Go Camping With That Guy She Met In Pottery Class
4. Grave? Shovel! Let's Go.
5. It's Not A Party Unless You're Doing It With Someone Else In The Bathroom
6. Thank You Ma'am, May I Have Several Thousand More?
7. Billy Ray Valentine, Capricorn
8. The Payload Theme Song
9. To The Library And Step On It
10. Bikedance (No Scrubs)
11. Ending

Note: Originally released in 2001 under The Vidablue name, reissued in 2002 under Ten Grand

1. Mike Lust - Coke Fader
2. Ten Grand - Sometimes You Say The Wrong Thing... When You're Stupid (Scary Movie 3)

1. Hands Off The Merch
2. Wedding Song for Steve and Angie
3. R E S P E C T Me
4. Let's Wreck the Van
5. I Will Seriously Pay You to Shut Up
6. Scary Movie 4
7. Get Out Of My Dojo
8. This Isn't Heaven, This Sucks
9. Fuck You Guyses Teams
10. Now You Got What I Got

armywives


armywives are a five-piece screamo band from Brooklyn and Philadelphia that seemed to have begun 2010, but have been predominantly active since 2018 (or so it seems). After a discography of early material, they released a handful of singles throughout 2019, which leads us to their self-titled debut EP, released this month via Zegema Beach Records. This is 4 blistering tracks of post-hardcore leaning screamo, which fans of bands such as Kidcrash, Eyelet, We Were Skeletons, and Pianos Become The Teeth will revel in. Enjoy.

1. breathe
2. herald
3. see
4. choke
5. bygones

1. "thoughts + prayers"
2. unmarked
3. twenty-four karat

Note: Individually released tracks in 2019, included together for convenience

1. est cette vie?
2. est-ce la mort?
3. able
4. first you must die to be reborn

Cassette Available Here:

armywives