Gouge Away

Gouge Away are a four-piece hardcore band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida that formed in 2012. Last month they put out this incredible album called , Dies that I cannot get enough of. It's a flat-out solid hardcore record from start to finish. They're loosely comparable to Punch, to give you some indication of their sound. I just wanted to quickly throw this out there because I am enjoying the hell out of it, and definitely recommend giving it a listen if you're interested. Enjoy the phenomenal full-length below. Note: The link was removed by request, but you can still purchase/stream it on their Bandcamp.

Disease (2014)

1. Disease

, Dies (2016)

1. Bleed

2. Calloused

3. Exhibit: Closed

4. Until Every Cage is Empty

5. Uproar

6. No White Flag

7. Enough.

8. Who Needs Language

9. When There's Eye Contact

10. Dirt Nap

11. Subtract & Divide

12. R.O.T.

13. Wildflowers

Burnt Sugar (2018)

1. Only Friend

2. Fed Up

3. Slow Drown

4. Hey Mercy

5. Subtle Thrill

6. Ghost

7. Dis s o c i a t i o n

8. Can't Relate

9. Stray/Burnt Sugar

10. Wilt (I Won't)

11. Raw Blood

Deep Sage (2024)

1. Stuck In A Dream

2. Maybe Blue

3. Idealized

4. Deep Sage

5. A Welcome Change

6. Overwatering

7. No Release

8. The Sharpening

9. Spaced Out

10. Newtau

11. Dallas

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Nation Of Ulysses

The Nation Of Ulysses were a five-piece punk/post-hardcore band from Washington, DC that began in 1988 and ended in 1992. They were a Dischord band, and easily one of the best things to ever come out of the label, and that's saying a lot. They were radical in every sense of the word. Their music is manic, managing to be both polarizing and playful. They took a lot of influence from jazz, which is clear in their off-kilter rhythms the use of a trumpet and saxophone, and the occasional free-jazz interludes. Not to mention they outright pay homage to Ornette Coleman with the song title "The Sound Of Jazz To Come". Nation Of Ulysses were also a massive influence on a certain band that would later release a certain album titled The Shape Of Punk To Come; not only with their sound, but their politics. The band were very outspoken, through their shows, their zine ("Ulysses Speaks"), and their records, which they considered to be statements instead of albums. In a city dominated by Republicans and Democrats, they were their own political party. Their debut's title is outright 13-Point Program To Destroy America, if it couldn't be any clearer (the proper album is 13 songs, but the CD release had 3 bonus songs from their debut EP, thus the 16 track version below).

Three of them would later play in another great band called The Make-Up, and individual members were involved in a ton of projects post-NoU. The band put out two perfect albums and one compilation years after they ended. It contained some tracks that would have ended up being their third album, and a few live tracks tacked on at the end. This band probably should have been one of the bands I posted on here, yet here they are in 2016. I haven't listened to them in a little while unfortunately, but revisiting them now proves they never get old, and are still as mind-blowing the first and 500th time you hear them. Enjoy.

The Nation Of Ulysses (1991)

1. The Sound of Young America

2. Channel One Ulysses

3. Atom Bomb

13-Point Program To Destroy America (1991)

1. Spectra Sonic Sound

2. Look Out! Soul is Back

3. Today I Met The Girl I'm Going To Marry

4. Ulythium

5. A Kid Who Tells On Another Kid Is A Dead Kid

6. Cool Senior High School (Fight Song)

7. Diptheria

8. Aspirin Kid

9. Hot Chocolate City

10. P. Power

11. You're My Miss Washington, D.C.

12. Target: U.S.A.

13. Love Is A Bull Market

14. The Sound of Young America

15. Channel One Ulysses

16. Atom Bomb

Plays Pretty For Baby (1992)

1. N-sub Ulysses

2. A Comment On Ritual

3. The Hickey Underworld

4. Perpetual Motion Machine

5. N.O.U. Future-Vision Hypothesis

6. 50,000 Watts Of Goodwill

7. Maniac Dragstrip

8. Last Train To Cool

9. Shakedown

10. Mockingbird, Yeah!

11. Depression III

12. S.S. Exploder

13. The Kingdom of Heaven Must Be Taken by Storm

14. The Sound Of Jazz To Come

15. N.O.U.S.P.T.D.A.

16. Presidents Of Vice

The Embassy Tapes (2000)

1. Introduction

2. Uptight

3. R.O.T.T.E.N.

4. A.P.E. Embassy

5. Hex-Proof

6. Outline For Hangout

7. Gimme Disaster

8. Shakedown (Party)

9. Last Train To Coll

10. P-Power Pt. II

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Midwest Pen Pals

Feel free to berate me for letting this go unposted for so long. Midwest Pen Pals were a three-piece emo/screamo band from South Bend, Indiana that were around in 2009. They're one of many bands that shared very similar members, with the others being Merchant Ships, William Bonney, Park Jefferson, you know who they are. Twinkly guitars and sad songs, it doesn't get much better than that. Midwest Pen Pals only ever released one EP, but it's gotten plenty of attention in the years following it. There was supposed to be a remaster in 2014, which was never officially released but leaked anyway. I have both the original 2009 version and the 2014 remaster below, so take your pick. The remaster definitely sounds better, plus has a bonus track, but I find it cool to hear the original recordings. Either or, enjoy.

Inside Jokes (2009)

1. Leaving Songs

2. Bobby Markos Posi Talk

3. My Castle, Your Castle

4. Austin's House

5. Because He's There, And He Hates Me

6. Movies Like Juno

Inside Jokes Remastered (2014)

1. Leaving Songs

2. Bobby Markos Posi Talk

3. My Castle, Your Castle

4. Austin's House

5. Because He's There, And He Hates Me

6. Movies Like Juno

7. A Kick Ass Life

Slingshot Dakota

Slingshot Dakota are a two-piece indie/emo band from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that formed in 2003. They were started by Carly Comando, who was the vocalist and keyboard player, along with two other former members of Latterman. By 2006, those two members had been replaced by drummer Tom Patterson, who has been the group's second half ever since. They've got the indie/pop energy (and similar line-up) of Matt and Kim, the emo/indie sensibility of major influence Rainer Maria, and somehow fit in with modern bands such as Tigers Jaw. Essentially, Slingshot Dakota have a fairly wide appeal. It's hard not to like a band that feeds off of great songs with catchy choruses, amazing vocals, and a drum/keyboard mix. They've put out their last two full-lengths with Topshelf, which should be a blatant indication that they're one of the best bands around. Enjoy.

Keener Sighs (2004)

1. Lost Notes And Seared Hopes

2. A Glance Backwards And Forwards

3. It Wouldn't Be

4. I'll Leave The Toasts To The Bartender

5. Knights Of Nine

6. Best Friend

7. Throwing Darts

8. Application For Our Lucky Day

9. Friday Afternoon

10. Don't Forget To Stretch First

Their Dreams Are Dead, But Ours Is The Golden Ghost! (2007)

1. The Golden Ghost

2. Until The Day I Die

3. Ohio!

4. South 1st

5. I-78

6. Wave

7. Let Go

8. Until The Day I Die, Part 2

9. Tour Song

10. Lullaby

Demo 2009 (2009)

1. White Couch

2. Michael Jordan Saved My Life

3. Waiting Room (Fugazi cover)

Dark Hearts (2012)

1. Intro

2. May Day

3. Gossip

4. Disaster

5. Rasta Bacca

6. Never Hear

7. Starting Over

8. Light

9. Living/Dreaming

10. Cassette

11. Words

12. Good Year

I Guess This Is Growing Up Volume 1 (2014)

1. Lions - Man Overboard

2. Invalids - Lemmings

3. Tir Asleen - Wendy Clear

4. Dads - Adam's Song

5. Slingshot Dakota - Stay Together For The Kids

6. We'll Die Smiling - Dammit

Pet Symmetry/Slingshot Dakota (2014)

1. Pet Symmetry - Potted Plant Meets Vintage Amp: A Katherine Grube Love Story

2. Slingshot Dakota - Rise (Rainer Maria Cover)

Break (2016)

1. You

2. Monocacy

3. Lewlyweds

4. Stay

5. Doreen

6. Paycheck

7. Too Much

8. Storytellers

9. Break

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Lemuria

Lemuria are a three-piece indie rock/punk band from Buffalo, New York that formed in 2004. Without a doubt, they are one of my favourite bands around now. They write some of the catchiest songs, with great riffs and irresistible hooks matched with the energy of a punk band and the lightheartedness of a pop band. The dual male-female vocals of guitarist Sheena Ozzella and drummer Alex Kerns work perfectly together as counter-dynamics to each other, but also can easily stand on their own for entire songs. As far as their influences go, think of any great 90's alternative rock band, whether it be Superchunk or The Breeders; Lemuria take that foundation and make it their own to craft some amazing songs to define both this decade and the one before it.

The band has an extensive catalogue, with a ton of great splits and three stellar full-lengths, with their debut Get Better probably being the standout. That album consists of twelve perfect tracks that can be played over, and over, and over again and only "get better" with each listen. This band is at the top of my recommendations list for just straight-up good music that could appeal to tons of people regardless of their personal taste. Lemuria have also worked with a ton of amazing labels, including Alex Kern's own Art Of The Underground, Asian Man, and are currently signed to Bridge 9, who are most well-known for their roster of amazing hardcore bands. Here's as much of their discography as I've been able to accumulate over the years, it's near-complete, though if there's anything potentially missing I'd be grateful if you could send it to me. Enjoy.

Demo (2004)

1. Getting Over Ourselves

2. Searching For Contrition

3. Hey, I'm Over Here

4. An Attempt To Think About You

5. Let's Think About What Just Happened

Your Living Room's All Over Me (2006)

1. Lemuria - Hours

2. Lemuria - Lick Your Lips

3. Lemuria - Bugbear

4. Lemuria - Keep Quiet

5. Lemuria - Rough Draft

6. Lemuria - Bristles And Whiskers

7. Lemuria - Sophomore

8. Kind Of Like Spitting - Shallow Doses

9. Kind Of Like Spitting - Team Reasonable

10. Kind Of Like Spitting - You I Seek

11. Kind Of Like Spitting - Why I Smoke Mad Weed

12. Kind Of Like Spitting - Afraid Of Crushes

The Ergs!/Lemuria (2007)

1. The Ergs! - Introducing Morrissey

2. The Ergs! - Hey Jealousy

3. Lemuria - Little Silver Children

4. Lemuria - Clean

The First Collection (2007)

1. Hours

2. Lick Your Lips

3. Bugbear

4. Rough Draft

5. Keep Quiet

6. Bristles And Whiskers

7. Sophomore

8. In A World Of Ghosts...

9. Who Would Understand A Turtle

10. Bee Spit

11. The Origamists Too

12. It's Not A Lie, It's A Secret

13. Bookworm

14. The Origamists

15. Home For The Holidays

16. Piranha

17. Trivial Greek Mythology

18. The Origamists II

Get Better (2008)

1. Pants

2. Yesterday's Lunch

3. Lipstick

4. Buzz

5. Wardrobe

6. Length Away

7. Dog

8. Dogs

9. Get Some Sleep

10. Hawaiian T-Shirt

11. Fingers

12. Mechanical

Ozzy (2009)

1. Ozzy

2. Expert Herder

Under The Influence Vol. 7 (2009)

1. Lemuria - Alec Eiffel (The Pixies cover)

2. Off With Their Heads - Scarred By Love (Nobodys cover)

The Second Collection (2010)

1. Getting Over Ourselves

2. Searching For Contrition

3. Hey, I'm Over Here

4. An Attempt To Think About You

5. Let's Think About What Just Happened

6. Muzzle Your Wisdom

7. An Attempt To Think About You [Alternate Version]

8. Little SIlver Children

9. Clean

10. Alec Eiffel [Pixies cover]

11. Mechanical [Live Version]

12. Pants [Pink Couch Session]

Note: Unofficial compilation

Chautauqua County (2010)

1. Chautauqua County

2. They Are Who I Say They Are

Cheap Girls/Lemuria (2011)

1. Lemuria - Single Mother

2. Lemuria - Lemons

3. Cheap Girls - Pure Hate

Pebble (2011)

1. Gravity

2. Wise People

3. Pleaser

4. Yellowstone Lady

5. Irregular

6. Ribcage

7. Different Girls

8. Bloomer

9. Durian

10. Chautauqua County

11. The One

Varoom Allure (2012)

1. Varoom Allure

2. Cannonballs To Hurt

Brilliant Dancer (2013)

1. Brilliant Dancer

2. Helloing

The Distance Is So Big (2013)

1. Michael And Stephen Moon

2. Brilliant Dancer

3. Clay Baby

4. Scienceless

5. Paint The Youth

6. Dream Eater

7. Oahu, Hawaii

8. Chihuly

9. Baffling Situations

10. Public Opinion Bath

11. Congratulations Sex

12. Survivor's Guilt

13. Ruby

Turnstile Comix #3 (2014)

1. Christine Perfect

2. Foggy Smoke

3. Courtesy Mercedes

Recreational Hate (2017)

1. Timber Together

2. Sliver Of Change

3. Christine Perfect

4. More Tunnel

5. Wanted To Be Yours

6. Kicking In

7. Lake Below

8. Trembling

9. Marigold

10. Best Extra

Companion (2018)

1. Recreational Hate

2. Neon Prison

3. Trembling Reprise

4. Wanted To Be Yours

5. More Tunnel

6. Kicking In

7. Sliver Of Change

8. Lake Below (Alex Kerns Car Demo)

9. Recreational Hate (Alex Kerns Car Demo)

10. Kicking In (Alex Kerns Car Demo)

11. Wanted To Be Yours (Alex Kerns Car Demo)

12. Created By Lovers (demo)

13. Ox (demo)

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Siege

Here's a little piece of history for ya. Siege were this little-known hardcore band from Weymouth, Massachusetts (just outside of Boston) that began in 1981, but were really only active between 1984 and 1985. They only recorded one demo in their existence, in addition to a handful of compilation tracks. Siege took the foundation of hardcore that had begun a few years prior to their existence and pushed an already radical genre to a new extreme. Louder, faster, dirtier, nastier, whatever adjective you want to use, they fit it. This is especially true for Kevin Mahoney's vocals, which were incredibly raw, vicious, and anyone whose vocals could ever be compared to an exorcism's owes a lot to him.

Though they were relatively unknown in their heyday, they've become massively influential in the years following them. They are often credited with founding, or at least influencing, what would later be become grindcore and powerviolence. Tons of noteworthy bands cite them as an influence, with the two most notable perhaps being Napalm Death (who have been vocal supporters of them in addition to covering them), and Drop Dead (who take their name from Siege's demo). If those two bands aren't noteworthy enough, I don't know who is. Even goddamn Lars Ulrich has praised them.

Siege briefly reunited in 1991 with Seth Putnam (the Anal Cunt guy) on vocals, but not much became of that except for a radio session that only surfaced a few years ago (which I don't have and in all honesty kind of feel like hearing it would be a tarnish on the mystique of their legacy, but that's just me). Sadly, but coincidentally, both Putnam and Mahoney died in 2011.

Their demo and early material was largely out of print for quite a few years, though it's been reissued quite a few times since it first was in 1994, which included both the demo tracks and their compilation tracks off of Cleanse The Bacteria. That initial reissue was re-released in 2004, twenty years after their demo and 10 years after the first reissue. That version is the one I have here. It's gotten a few other re-issues since then, twice in 2006 by two different labels and then again in 2009 by Deep Six. Sadly, I don't have every version of it, otherwise I would probably upload them all. Regardless, just one is all it takes to understand why this band is heralded the way they are. Not only were they massively influential, they were also a great band in themselves. Enjoy.

Drop Dead (1984/2004)

1. Drop Dead

2. Conform

3. Life Of Hate

4. Starvation

5. Armageddon

6. Walls

7. Sad But True

8. Cold War

9. Grim Reaper

Ghosts And Vodka

Ghosts And Vodka were a four-piece instrumental indie/emo band from Chicago, Illinois that formed in 1998 and broke up in 2001. They were formed by previous Cap'n Jazz members Victor Villareal and Sam Zurick, who both played guitar, along with bassist Erik Bocek and drummer Scott Shellhamer. Ghosts And Vodka played an intricate style of music that borders on math rock at times because of its technical complexity, but they still manage to stay jangly and melodic, which makes for the perfect counter. They only released one album and one EP, both of which were compiled on Addicts And Drunks in 2003, along with an additional song. Ghosts And Vodka ended in 2001 since Villareal and Zurick wanted to focus on their new project with the Kinsellas, which turned out to be Owls. They attempted a reunion in 2009, but only made it through a few practices before scrapping the idea. As great as that would have been, we still have this one great album from them, and one that is quite underrated in comparison to the rest of the Cap'n Jazz clan. Enjoy.

Addicts And Drunks (2003)

1. Andrea Loves Horses

2. It's All About Right Then

3. Good Luck With Your Multiple Personalities

4. Laser Guided By God

5. Futuristic Genitalia

6. Sex Is Popular

7. Hot Dot Above, Tan Man Below

8. Is That A Person?

9. Four Red Brains

10. Conversational All-Stars

11. Mechanical Bull Rider

12. Nicholas Prefers Dinosaurs

13. Cowboys And Sailors

14. Doo Dee Doo Dee Do

15. Stoli On The Rocks

16. Bizarre Funeral

Marginal Man

Marginal Man were a five-piece punk/hardcore band from Washington, D.C. that formed in 1982 and broke up in 1988. They reunited for three shows in 1991, 1995 and 2011. Marginal Man are best known as being a Dischord band, and being part of the changing hardcore scene in DC, which transitioned from the straight-forward, no holds barred hardcore of the early 80's to a more melodic, experimental sound in the middle of the decade. The early hardcore influence is definitely evident on their first LP (the only one actually with Dischord), especially since three of the band's members previously played in Artificial Peace, who are best known for appearing on the Flex Your Head compilation. Marginal Man pushed that boundary by incorporating, melodic, sung vocals, along with lead guitar parts in addition to standard power chords. They made it through three full-lengths, though their debut is definitely their best known. Enjoy.

Identity (1984)

1. Missing Rungs

2. Friend

3. Torn Apart

4. Mental Picture

5. Pandora's Box

6. Fallen Pieces

7. Identity

8. Emotional Scars

9. Marginal Man

Double Image (1985)

1. Turn The Tables

2. Friend

3. Linger In The Past

4. Strange Feeling

5. Mainstream

6. Chocolate Pudding

7. Tell Me

8. Shades Of Reason

9. Someone Cares

10. Forever Gone

11. Double Image

Marginal Man (1988)

1. Time

2. What Did She Say

3. Metal Madness

4. Gentry

5. Under A Shadow

6. Home Again

7. I Had A Feeling

8. Mind On Hold

9. Spirits

10. Sea Of Sorrow

20 Years Of Dischord (2002)

15. Missing Rungs

17. Manipulator

Note: These  two songs appear on Dischord's 3-disc career-spanning compilation