Sunami

Sunami are a five-piece hardcore band from San Jose, California that formed in 2019. In a very short span of time, they've become one of the forerunners of modern hardcore (specifically beatdown with elements of d-beat), establishing a name for themselves through some wild, mosh-frenzied shows. Sonically, they do genuinely hit hard as fuck with their call-to-arms breakdowns, but deliver them with a sly wink, acknowledging the insanity of their over-the-top exuberance. Not much else to say, check out live sets by these guys, they're putting on some of the most insane shows in hardcore right now. Thus far, they've released a demo, EP, and a split with the incredible Gulch (RIP). They've got an LP coming at some point via Triple B, so get ready for that too. Enjoy.

Demonstration (2019)

1. Sunami Style

2. Weak Die First

3. Contempt Of Cop

Sunami (2020)

1. Gate Crasher

2. Mind Your Business

3. Y.A.B.

4. Feds Within

Sunami/Gulch (2021)

1. Sunami - Step Up

2. Sunami - Die Slow

3. Gulch - Bolt Swallower

4. Gulch - Accelerator

Promo (2022)

1. Six

2. I Don't Care

3. Fake Blood

Sunami (2023)

1. Y.S.A.B.

2. Dirty Work

3. 10 Toes Down

4. No Heart

5. Six

6. Think About It

7. Contempt Of Cop

8. Defraud

Coast To Coast (2025)

1. Pain of Truth - Shattered Past

2. Pain of Truth - The Enemy

3. Sunami - Doubt

4. Sunami - Fence Walker

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Spy

Spy are a five-piece hardcore punk band from the Bay Area, California that formed in 2020. Thus far, they've put out two EP's and a split of straight-forward, raw hardcore, with stomping ferocity, gnashed breakdowns, and throat-shredded vocals delivering lyrics with charged sociopolitical statements. Highly recommended stuff, especially if you've been coming up with other incredible bands such as Gel, Scowl, Sunami or Restraining Order. Enjoy.

Service Weapon (2020)

1. Violent Majority

2. Running Out Of Space

3. Bootlicker

4. Service Weapon

Habitual Offender (2021)

1. Afraid Of Everything

2. Obtained Under Duress

3. Exceptional American

4. Habitual Offender

5. Labor Dispute

6. Negative Mind Power

Spy/Maniac (2022)

1. Spy - Clobbered

2. Spy - 1-800

3. Maniac - Last Rites

4. Maniac - Rapture

Satisfaction (2023)

1. No Redeeming Value

2. Surveilled

3. Carceral Attitude

4. Koniec

5. Do What I Can

6. Pay No Mind

7. Not For Me

8. Wrong Place Wrong Time

9. Big Man

10. Hidden In Plain Sight

Seen Enough (2025)

1. On The Brink

2. Stay In Your Lane

3. Dim

4. Void Of Passion

5. Overlord

6. Quit The Act

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Me And Him Call It Us

Me And Him Call It Us were a three-piece (later four-piece) mathcore band from Atlanta, Georgia that formed in 2003 and broke up in 2007. They put out two full-lengths in their initial run, with a decent amount of demos and unreleased material being shared by the band posthumously. On their debut, the band unleashes explosive, charged shrieks of ear-splitting noise, alongside heavy, choking riffs with shots of sharp dissonance, all delivered in unbridled blast-beat chaos and neck-snapping syncopation. With fuel only lasting for short bouts, the album is broken up by ambient, atmospheric interludes that are more impending doom than sweet serenity. The follow-up, Loss, takes the sound founded on their debut and widens their dynamic range, with elements of more "conventional" powerviolence, grindcore, and screamo being apparent in the mix at times. Both projects are definitely worth your time, especially if you're a fan of bands such as The Sawtooth Grin, Ed Gein, or As The Sun Sets. Members of Me And Him Call It Us also went to form some incredible bands, most notably Dead In The Dirt and O'Brother. Enjoy.

The (C:) Drive Of Love Stories (2004)

1. Number One

2. There Is No Question Mark Button On This Computer

3. I: The Hollow Anchor's Despair

4. Innocent Bystanders Watched In Horror As Peter Jennings Drew His Murder Weapon

5. II: The Suspense, Prorogation, And Finally Descent Of Edwin Daunterbury

6. Infrared Light; Don't Talk To Me About Quantum Physics

7. III: The Pale Ghost At Sea And The Fingers Aquiver

8. A Rotten Set Of Bagpipes Can Make A Fantastic Mini-Skirt If Sewn Properly

9. IV: May The Tide Companion Thee To Shore 

Loss (2006)

1. Sarsaparilla

2. Cut-Throat Cardiac Arrest

3. "Mayday! Mayday!" Cried The Captain

4. Just Can't Function No More

5. The Anticipation Is Killing Me

6. ...Into Troubled Waters I Sink

7. Headache

8. Innocent Bystanders

9. P.S. I Love You

10. Loss

11. The Sea Swallowed Us Whole

12. My Heart Beats In Blast Beats

13. That Ghost Is Breathing Again

14. Encirclement Of The Dancing Scarecrows

Me And Him Call It Us/The Blue Letter (2006)

1. Me And Him Call It Us - The Weight

2. Me And Him Call It Us - Frostbit

3. Me And Him Call It Us - Seasick

4. The Blue Letter - March Of The Romans

Friends Applaud; The Comedy Is Over (2012)

1. Sincerity Is A Hard Thing To Come By These Days

2. Greener Grass

3. The Worst Part

home demos (2020)

1. stay (demo)

2. the weight (demo)

3. charcoal (demo)

4. seasick (demo)

5. pallbearer (demo)

6. frostbit (demo)

Meadow Drive Sessions (2020)

1. Pallbearer

2. Charcoal

3. The Interim

4. Leaden Strides

5. Stay

6. Tragedy

Loss 1.0 (2022)

1. cut-throat

2. anticipation

3. mayday

4. sarsaparilla

5. headache

6. peter jennings

7. p.s.

8. blast beats

9.  can't function

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Aviator

Aviator are a five-piece post-hardcore band from Boston, Massachusetts that formed in 2009. They were incredibly prolific for nearly a decade, putting out a ton of releases alongside two fantastic full-lengths, both via No Sleep Records. In recent years they haven't been active, though they haven't officially disbanded. It is a massive failure on my part to have left this band slip through the cracks for so many years now, as their sound is right up this blog's alley, and they were most active in its heyday. This band blends the more technical, rhythmic and melodically meandering aspects of post-hardcore acts with the raw, visceral heart-on-your-sleeve delivery of melodic hardcore. They draw influence from classics such as At The Drive-In, mewithoutYou, Bear vs. Shark and Piebald (made clear in their choice of covers), which adds a wide array of vocal and instrumental dynamics to their hardcore-influenced base. If you're a fan of bands like Touché Amoré, Defeater, La Dispute, Caravels, More Than Life, Goodtime Boys, Octaves, and so many more that were kicking around in the early 2010's, Aviator absolutely has to be on your radar. It's not a direct comparison in terms of sound, but in terms of modern elevation and emotional resonance. Enjoy.

Demo (2010)

1. Second Chances

2. Winter Blues

3. Know More

4. Cutting Ties

5. Grace

My Fictions/Aviator (2010)

1. My Fictions - Kept Myself Awake

2. My Fictions - Dreamt Myself An Architect Built Myself Some Walls

3. Aviator - I'm Sick Of Standing In The Same Place

4. Aviator - The Definition Of A Dead End

I'm Not The Lonely One (2011)

1. Acceptance Is Denial

2. Denial Is Despondency

3. Despondency Is Unhappiness

4. Unhappiness Is Loneliness

5. I'm Not The Lonely One

Aviator/Spirit Fangs (2012)

1. Aviator - A Thousand Monkeys

2. Aviator - A Thousand Typewriters

3. Spirit Fangs - Hand Over Heart

4. Spirit Fangs - Bloodrivers

January MMXIII (2013)

1. Solemn Mountain (Live)

2. A Thousand Typewriters (Live)

3. Forms (Les feuilles mortes) (Live)

4. A Thousand Monkeys (Live)

5. I'm Sick Of Standing In The Same Place (Live)

6. Harvest Words (Live)

Billy Pilgrim Has Come Unstuck In Time (2013)

1. Billy Pilgrim Has Come Unstuck In Time

Covers (2013)

1. Sleepwalk Capsules (At The Drive-In cover)

2. They Don't Understand Us At The Academy (Piebald cover)

3. Entrance Of The Elected (Bear vs. Shark cover)

4. Be Here Now (As Tall As Lions cover)

5. Never As Tired As When I'm Waking Up (LCD Soundsystem cover)

Native Wildlife/Glass Lungs/Killing Thing/Aviator (2014)

1. Native Wildlife - Most Accidents Happen Close To Home

2. Glass Lungs - Tiltawhirl

3. Killing Thing - Weathered

4. Aviator - So I Say To Her, I Say This (I Says)

Head In The Clouds, Hands In The Dirt (2014)

1. Pipe Dreams

2. Weathervane

3. There Was A Light (It Went Out)

4. Dig Your Own Grave And Save

5. Forms (les feuilles mortes)

6. I Hold Myself In Contempt

7. Bipolar Vortex

8. Head Noise

9. ...But I Won't Be There

10. Fever Dreams

[Untitled] (Demo) (2014)

1. [Untitled] (Demo)

High Hopes (2015)

1. High Hopes

Heaven's Gate b/w Death's Door (2017)

1. Heaven's Gate

2. Death's Door

Loneliness Leaves The Light On For Me (2017)

1. I Wanna Make Movies, Heather

2. Nasonov Pheromone

3. Ad Nauseam

4. I Wouldn't Leave Here If You Paid Me

5. Looks Deep Enough From Here

6. End Scene

7. One Year Warranty

8. I Wouldn't Live There If You Paid Me

9. Safety Coffin

10. Does It Make A Sound?

Bummer Summer: Compilation 2018 (2018)

11. Introvertebrate

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Cloud Mouth

Cloud Mouth were a three-piece screamo/post-hardcore band from Chicago, Illinois that were around from 2008 to 2011. Their output was fairly steady in those years, carving out a distinct sound of dark, winding screamo, with unnerving, lead guitar melodies, a rumbling rhythm section, and some biting vocals. If you're a fan of long-form acts such as Funeral Diner or City of Caterpillar that favoured a more technical, atmospheric approach to the genre, then Cloud Mouth should definitely be a band on your radar. To start, I'd suggest either Keep Well or That Ghost Is Always With Me. Enjoy.

Demo (2008)

1. Rats In Their Home

2. Deserted Growth

3. Past Tense

4. Rachel

Freak/Psych/Fuck (2009)

1. Psych!

2. This Place Is Dead Anyways

Cloud Mouth/Cougar Den (2009)

1. Cloud Mouth - Flex Yr. Head

2. Cougar Den - Whatever Happened To The Home Phone?

That Ghost Is Always With Me (2010)

1. Waves

2. Take Me Into The Cold

3. Shark Week

4. The Dream Is Dead

5. Hell Is Real

6. Down Init

Keep Well (2011)

1. Walker

2. Scratches

3. Slow Eyes

4. Quiet

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I Wish I

I Wish I are a four-piece emo/post-hardcore band from San Diego, California that formed in 1995. They took their name from an Embrace song, so it's not too surprising to here a ton of influence from DC bands including Fugazi, Rites of Spring, and Jawbox. Following two full-lengths and a ton of touring, they originally disbanded sometime around 1997. The band reformed in 2012, putting out a brand new full-length on Dim Mak Records back in 2013. Sonically, they definitely maintain their roots, but bring in some more classic rock influence, which is hard to explain but readily apparent when listening to it. Regardless, definitely check this out, especially Drop In Standing if you're a fan of bands like Texas Is The Reason. Enjoy.

Drop In Standing (1996)

1. Summer

2. Overrated

3. Drop In Standing

4. Eight

5. Faster Than dancing

6. Driving The Stake

7. Replay

8. Cardenas

9. Lost

10. Days Past

Backseat Driver / Mourning A Third Day (1997)

1. One Hundred Words For Snow - Backseat Driver

2. I Wish I - Mourning A Third Day

...F° (1997)

1. Social Butterfly

2. Rosemary

3. Let You Know

4. F°

5. Blessed And Delivered

6. Headlong

7. Portrait of Dorian Gray

Convolusions (2013)

1. Sanctified

2. Ideoglossia

3. Ratracer

4. Flower Walls

5. Estrellas

6. Can You Believe

7. My Telepathy

8. Awakening

9. Convolutions

10. Mirror Mirror

11. Hello Sailor (Radio Edit)

12. OREI

13. Hello Sailor

The Fire Theft

The Fire Theft were a three-piece indie rock band from Seattle, Washington that formed in 2001 and have been on indefinite hiatus since 2004. Notably, this band was formed by three-quarters of the quintessential Sunny Day Real Estate line-up, including guitarist/vocalist Jeremy Enigk, bassist Nate Mendel, and drummer William Goldsmith. The Fire Theft was formed immediately after SDRE split for the second time, with Mendel rejoining his former bandmates after having joined the Foo Fighters following SDRE's first split. Under this moniker, they released one full-length in 2003, alongside one single. Since the reformation of SDRE in 2009, it's doubtful this project will be ever picked up again, though no definite word has been given on the matter. 

Sonically, this is a pretty notable departure from the sound we've come to know these guys for. There's plenty of lush, arpeggiated melodic guitars, and Enigk's distinct vocal falsetto but with some added instrumentation coming in to the fold (synths, xylophones, strings, etc.) and some odd time signatures being utilized. There's also multiple atmospheric, ambient interludes throughout the album, breaking up some of the heavier-hitting moments. Bands like Gensis and Yes have been pointed to as influences, as though it's definitely noticeable, it's a little overblown to make any direct comparisons. It's a solid album, though admittedly not one I really check in on, and I would take any SDRE album over this. Having said that, it's still worth sharing and checking out if you're a massive fan of theirs and want to hear what they were up during on of their multiple interims. Enjoy.

Hands On You (2003)

1. Chain

2. Sinatra

3. Hands On You

The Fire Theft (2003)

1. Uncle Mountain

2. Wast Time Segue

3. Oceans Apart

4. Chain

5. Backwards Blues

6. Summertime

7. Houses

8. Waste Time

9. Heaven

10. Rubber Bands

11. It's Over

12. Carry You

13. Sinatra

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Obroa-skai

Obroa-skai are a three-piece screamo band from Edmonton, Alberta that formed in 2019. Thus far, they've released one EP and two splits.This band plays a dark, fast-paced and dissonant brand of screamo, mixed in with looming interludes and elements of self-described "harsh noise", which is honestly the most apt description for it. This band hits hard, and its members were previously in some incredible bands also out of Edmonton, Mahria and Rayleigh. Highly recommended, enjoy.

Obroa-skai (2019)

1. Paradox Of Choice

2. Radical Dreamer

3. Wytai

4. L.F.

5. Quiet Dysphoria

Obroa-skai/YSIDRO (2020)

1. Obroa-skai - Solastagia

2. Obroa-skai - Holocene Extinction

3. YSIDRO - Haight

4. YSIDRO - IAWUIAC

The Cold Promise Of Uncertainty (2020)

1. 소나기 - 070587 (blue ticket)

2. 소나기 - endless waltz

3. Obroa-skai - opportunistic activism

4. Obroa-skai - diminution of environmental policy

5. Indisposed - support

6. Coma Regalia - Reach
7. Coma Regalia - Pause

8. Coma Regalia - Break

Science Progresses One Funeral At A Time (2023)

1. Soft Rains

2. It Must Have Been Beautiful

3. 1928 - 1972

4. Myth Of The Disembodied

5. Another World Is Possible

6. Void

7. One Hundred And Fifty Years

8. Nextdoor

9. Syncope

10. Home

11. Blink

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