Downhaul

Downhaul are a four-piece indie/emo band from Richmond, Virginia that began in 2016. After a handful of EP's, they released their debut full-length album today, titled Before You Fall Asleep. Even after a single listen, I am already incredibly impressed. There's a definite influence from bands like The Hotelier or Into It. Over It., with a focus on incredible songwriting,  backed by some impressive musicianship and incredibly clean production. These songs are super catchy, with solid lyrics and an energy still rooted in pop sensibilities. I don't know what to say really, I'm out of practice for this at the moment, haha. It's an awesome record, and one that's going to be getting the multiple listen treatment for the coming future. Definitely recommended. Enjoy.

Little Whim (2016)

1. Fifteen/Eighteen

2. Old Wood

3. Driveway

4. Expire

About Leaving (2017)

1. How Things Worked Out

2. Every Few Weeks

3. (Interlude)

4. Always Talk

Where We Started (2018)

1. Double Time

2. SMAK

3. Park

4. Coming Home

Before You Fall Asleep (2019)

1. Grace Days

2. Lately

3. Wires / Enough

4. Architect

5. Level Set

6. Notched

7. Bedridden

8. Shelf Life

9. Balcony

10. Ring Out

Tornado Season (2019)

1. Walking Distance

2. Leverage

3. Old Wood (4-Track Version)

4. Balcony (4-Track Version)

Proof (2021)

1. Bury

2. Dried

3. Scatterplot

4. Curtains

5. Standing Water

6. Circulation

7. The Ladder

8. Eyesight

9. Interlude

10. About Leaving

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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

Slow Mass

Slow Mass are a five-piece post-hardcore/indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois that began in 2014. They contain members who were also a part of Into It. Over It. and Former Thieves. Thus far they've released one EP and one LP, both of which have received nothing but high praise. And rightfully so, since Slow Mass carve out a very unique corner of the indieverse in which they operate. They take the off-kilter rhythms, and tension-building, dynamic climaxes championed by post-hardcore greats such as Unwound and Fugazi, and mix in these more "indie" characteristics, including a lot of sweet, dual vocal harmonies. It's really hard to pinpoint exactly where their sound is derived from, because it truly is a unique mix. They'll be touring with La Dispute and Gouge Away this year, so be sure to check them out there, as I'm sure this is a band we'll be hearing a lot about for a (hopefully) long time. Enjoy.

Treasure Pains (2016)

1. Dark Dark Energy

2. Bruce Lee

3. Nice But Not Kind

4. Clint Eastwood

5. Portals To Hell

6. Treasure Pains

Audiotree Far Out (2017)

1. Dark Dark Energy

2. Suburban Yellow

On Watch (2018)

1. On Watch I

2. Grey Havens

3. Blocks

4. Suburban Yellow

5. My Violent Years

6. Oldest Youngest

7. On Watch II

8. E.D.

9. The Author

10. Tunnel Vision Quest

11. Like Dead Skin

12. Schemes

13. G's End

Music For Ears 1 (2019)

1. Siren

2. Reservations (Wilco)

Music For Ears 2 (2020)

1. Mal

2. I'll Wait With You (Pygmy Lush)

Drift Themes (2024)

1. Drift Theme 1

2. Drift Theme 2

3. Drift Theme 3

4. Drift Theme 4

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WristMeetRazor

Wristmeetrazor are a three-piece screamo/hardcore band that began in 2017. Initially beginning with a demo as a solo project, they soon expanded into a full-lineup to release the a double-EP in 2017, "I Talk To God... But The Sky Is Empty". You might remember this, since the first half of the EP was premiered here when it was first released. They made an immediate impact with their ferocious sound, blending aspects of classic screamo bands like Neil Perry and Combatwoundedveteran, with hints of metalcore influence from Converge and early Norma Jean. Fans of other modern bands like SeeYouSpaceCowboy and .gif from god will also dig this. They recently released their debut full-length album on Prosthetic Records, and its the exact sonic throwback gutpunch we were hoping for. Awesome album, awesome band, I cannot recommend enough. Enjoy.

Demo (2017)

1. I

2. II

3. III

I Talk To God... (2017)

1. 1716

2. Razorwire Bouquet

3. Nothing Gold Can Stay

4. This Summer's Sorrow

...But The Sky Is Empty (2017)

1. Bible Study With An Atheist

2. De Nadi...

3. ...Querido Amor

4. Anesthetic

Misery Never Forgets (2019)

1. Loathsome

2. In Line For Halos

3. Insecurity Checkpoint

4. Come On In, The Water's Pink

5. Goodbye Sweet Betty

6. XOXO (Love Letter From A Loaded Gun)

7. He Smiled From Ear To Ear

8. Expiry Date : 12 Hours

9. No More Blue Tomorrows

Replica Of A Strange Love (2021)

1. Our Distress Entwined

2. Last Tango in Paris

3. Sycophant

4. Nietzsche Is Dead

5. Love's Labor's Lost

6. Anemic (The Same Six Words)

7. Eyes of Sulfide

8. Dies Iræ

9. 99 & 44/100

10. A Fractured Dovetail Romance

11. This Summer's Sorrow Ⅱ: Growing Old in the Waiting Place

12. All the Way Alive

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Spanish Love Songs

I don't think a week has gone by where I haven't got a request for these guys, so I finally did myself a favour and checked them out. And god damn, I have been missing out. Spanish Love Songs are a five-piece punk/indie band from Los Angeles, California that began in 2014. They play a similar style of catchy but visceral punk rock in the vein of bands like The Menzingers and Captain, We're Sinking. The vocals shout and tremble every word like it's their last, the lead guitars keep things melodic while the rhythm section pumps out enough energy to fuel a city.

Their most recent LP, Schmaltz consists of banger after banger, with catchy choruses and lyrics that hit home. Each track is perfectly paced with enough dynamic change-ups to keep them interesting, and the opening and closing tracks are perfect bookends, with the final track "Aloha To No One" living up to its name as a barstool anthem. Thus far I've only listened to their recent LP, but am looking forward to their earlier material, and will think twice before glossing over heavily requested bands like this again. Enjoy.

Giant Sings The Blues (2015)

1. Bad Day

2. Nervous People

3. Concrete

4. Dying

5. Mexico

6. Vermont

7. Friends

8. Remainder

9. Stranger

10. Bright Day

Little Giants (2016)

1. Sad Songs

2. For Ruby

3. Check Your Hair

4. Stranger (Acoustic)

5. Concrete (Demo)

6. Nervous People (Demo)

7. Vermont (Demo)

8. Bright Day (Demo)

9. Roosevelt (Demo)

Buffalo Buffalo (2017)

1. Buffalo Buffalo

2. The Boy Considers His Haircut

3. Hot Faucet Cold Faucet

Schmaltz (2018)

1. Nuevo

2. Sequels, Remakes, & Adaptations

3. Bellyache

4. Buffalo Buffalo

5. Otis/Carl

6. The Boy Considers His Haircut

7. El Nino Considers His Failuers

8. Joana, In Five Acts

9. Beer & NyQuil (Hold It Together)

10. It's Not Interesting

11. Aloha to No One

Brave Faces Everyone (2020)

1. Routine Pain

2. Self-Destruction (As A Sensible Career Choice)

3. Generation Loss

4. Kick

5. Beach Front Property

6. Losers

7. Optimism (As A Radical Life Choice)

8. Losers, Pt. 2

9. Dolores

10. Brave Faces, Everyone

Phantom Limb (2021)

1. Phantom Limb

2. Blacking Out The Friction (Death Cab For Cutie cover)

Brave Faces Etc. (2022)

1. Routine Pain (Etc. Version)

2. Self-Destruction (As A Sensible Career Choice) (Etc. Version)

3. Generation Loss (Etc. Version)

4. Kick (Etc. Version)

5. Beach Front Property (Etc. Version)

6. Losers (Etc. Version)

7. Optimism (As A Radical Life Choice) (Etc. Version)

8. Losers, Pt. 2 (Etc. Version)

9. Dolores (Etc. Version)

10. Brave Faces, Everyone (Etc. Version)

No Joy (2023)

1. Lifers

2. Pendulum

3. Haunted

4. Clean-Up Crew

5. Middle Of Nine

6. Marvel

7. I'm Gonna Miss Everything

8. Rapture Chaser

9. Mutable

10. Here You Are

11. Exit Bags

12. Re-Emerging Signs Of The Apocalypse

A Brief Intermission In The Flattening Of Time (2025)

1. Lifers Too (feat. The Wonder Years)

2. Cocaine & Lexapro (feat. Kevin Devine)

3. Heavenhead (feat. illuminati hotties)

4. Berlin (feat. Tigers Jaw)

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Knope

Knope are a four-piece emo/indie band from Fairfax, Virginia that began in 2018. They put out a fantastic EP last year titled No Life., that hits a really cool niche. My first listen through of it gave off some seriously nostalgic vibes and reminded me of classic revival bands like Dikembe mixed with a slightly newer act such as Free Throw. The vocals are in Knope little gruffer than most bands in the genre, which really set them apart from a lot of bands attempting this sound. Not to mention there is some heavy pop punk influence, which give the songs a real driving force. Not to mention the top-notch songwriting, which is really what makes this band so good. The lyrics are detailed and memorable, and tracks like "Ralph Gets His Heart Broken" are guaranteed to get stuck in your head, while "Demo Lovato" takes you on one hell of a ride. Rambling aside, this is a solid EP that I cannot recommend enough. Enjoy.

Ralph Gets His Heart Broken (2018)

1. Ralph Gets His Heart Broken

No Life. (2018)

1. Ralph Gets His Heart Broken

2. Firestarters Club

3. Demo Lovato

4. Dreamcatcher

5. No Life.

Collegetown (2018)

1. Collegetown

A Doggone Split (2019)

1. closure. - Olympic Cryathalon

2. Good Sleepy - Be Alike

3. Knope - I'm Not A Punk

4. Knope - Piledriver!

5. Good Sleepy - Covers

6. closure. - Chill Lofi Beats To Study To

An Exercise In Patience (2020)

1. Broken Couch

2. Holy Water

3. The Sight Of You

4. Shimmer

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Lytic

Lytic are a two-piece screamo band from New York, New York that have been around since at least 2016, but only recently released their debut recorded material. They dropped an EP in December 2018, and a split with living legends Shizune this month on Zegema Beach Records. Speaking of legends, Lytic is notable for being the newest project from Jamie Behar, a former member of Saetia and Off Minor. Their debut EP was also produced by fellow Off Minor/Saetia alumni Steve Roche. As expected, this new material is insanely killer. It blends the chaos of emoviolence with the jittery jazz rhythms of Off Minor, all while adding melodic tinges and maintaining a fresh, organic sound. Not sure what else to say except you'll definitely dig this if any of the aforementioned bands appeal to you. Enjoy.

onesidedlp (2018)

1. Bleak

2. The Last Northcore Kid

3. Screens

Shizune/Lytic (2019)

1. Shizune - greg e a roppongi con john macAfee

2. Shizune - occhiaie metafisiche

3. Lytic - Greener Grass

4. Lytic - All Bleeding Stops Eventually

5. Lytic - Lugenpresse

onesidedlp - Bandcamp

Shizune/Lytic - Bandcamp

Shizune/Lytic 7" - USA

Shizune/Lytic 7" - Canada/International

Origami Angel

Origami Angel are a two-piece indie/emo/punk band from Washington, D.C. that began in 2017. Since then, they've dropped two bangin' EP's and a recent split with the also-fantastic Commander Salamander. Sonically, they blend the more modern indie leanings of bands like Modern Baseball and The Hotelier with the classic twinkle of American Football. However, their more recent material has started to slightly shift away from the mid-tempo sad jams and into a more energetic, pop punk-esque style of sad jams. Awesome band, check 'em out. Enjoy.

Quiet Hours (2017)

1. Ride Our Bikes To School

2. SpaceX T-Shirt

3. Osmosis

4. Hey There

5. Mark My Words

6. Step

7. Notice

Doing The Most (2018)

1. effective. Power

2. ROM Hack

3. w / u

4. Thanks! I hate it.

5. fin (the long and untold story of how i know it's meant to be)

Holy Split (2019)

1. Origami Angel - Denny's Devito

2. Origami Angel - Origami Bagel

3. Commander Salamander - Kenny

4. Commander Salamander - Wassup My Good Man

Gen 3 (2019)

1. Ruby

2. Sapphire

3. Emerald

4. XD Gale of Darkness

Somewhere City (2019)

1. Welcome to...

2. 24 Hr Drive-Thru

3. 666 Flags

4. Doctor Whomst

5. Say Less

6. Escape Rope

7. The Title Track

8. Skeleton Key

9. Find Your Throne

10. The Air Up Here

Origami Angel Broke Minecraft (2020)

1. Witchu / Route 1 Baby

2. Roo B / Olympic Hi Dive

3. 24 Hr Delivery / KD MVP

4. Rom Com Hacky Sack / Space Flex T-Skrrt

5. Greenbelt Station

GAMI GANG (2021)

1. #GAMIGANG

2. Self-Destruct

3. Möbius Chicken Strip

4. Noah Fence

5. Mach Bike

6. Ispropyl Alchemy

7. You Won't.

8. Neutrogena Spektor

9. Greenbelt Station

10. Bossa Nova Corps

11. Kno U

12. /trust

13. [spoons rattling]

14. Tom Holland Oates

15. Caught In The Moment

16. Dr. Fondoom

17. Bed Bath & Batman Beyond

18. Footloose Cannonball Brothers.

19. Blanket Statement

20. gg

The Brightest Day (2023)

1. The Brightest Days

2. Thank You, New Jersey

3. Picture Frame

4. Kobayashi Maru (My Very Own)

5. Second Best Friend

6. Looking Out

7. My PG County

8. Few And Far Between

Feeling Not Found (2024)

1. Lost Signal

2. Dirty Mirror Selfie

3. Where Blue Light Blooms

4. Viral

5. Underneath My Skin

6. Wretched Trajectory

7. AP Revisionist History

8. Living Proof

9. Fruit Wine

10. Sixth Cents (Get It?)

11. secondgradefoofight

12. HM07 Waterfall

13. Higher Road

14. Feeling Not Found

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Envy/Love

Alright, now that we're back to our regularly scheduled programming, the first thing I wanted to share this year was this incredible compilation Zegema Beach Records put out last December. It's an Envy tribute album titled Envy/Love, featuring covers from some of the best screamo acts around now, including Gillian Carter, Massa Nera, Respire, Crowning, and Shizune, among others. The selection of tracks spans multiple Envy releases, though All The Footprints... is unsurprisingly the most represented here. Every band does an incredible job of putting their own spin on these classic tracks while still doing the original justice. I cannot recommend this comp enough for any Envy fan. You can read more about it over at OMSB here, or stream/purchase it below. Enjoy!

 

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