The Assistant

The Assistant were a four-piece (initially five-piece) screamo/emo band from Plainview/Highland Park, New Jersey that were active from 1999 to 2003. In that time, they released two full-lengths and a handful of splits. I don't even know where to begin with this band, because they were truly something else. They lean on the metallic side of things in heavier moments with distorted, crunching guitars, but could just as easily deliver something melodic or off-kilter, making use of their multiple vocalists (especially on their self-titled). They were chaotic, technical, political, and personal, unwavering in their execution and unencumbered by formality. Whatever you want to say, they've got a little something for everyone. If you're new to this band I'd suggest starting with their self-titled, though We'll Make The Roads By Walking is worth your time as well. Enjoy.

Forstella Ford/The Assistant (2000)

1. The Assistant - Shaggy Dog Always Eats Spoiled Kitty

2. Forstella Ford - Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Bestower

The Assistant (2000)

1. Humyn Capital

2. People Vs. The State

3. I Don't Believe

4. Sequel

5. Five Your Old Mentality

6. Route 18

7. Training Wheels Or No Hands

8. Isabelle Hates Charlie

9. 3-5363A

10. F.orever A.ngry At M.y I.nner L.ove For Y.ou

11. Cyclic

12. 93,800 Hours

The Assistant/The Scarlet Letter (2001)

1. The Assistant - Bubblegum Cigars

2. The Scarlet Letter - Fifteen Greasy Tubes Of Ribs & The Leather Wallet Conspiracy

3. The Scarlet Letter - A Hollow Threat

4. The Scarlet Letter - How Is That Fat Muffin-Assed Bastard?

5. The Scarlet Letter - Debacle Sound

6. The Scarlet Letter - Footprints In The Sand

The Assistant/A Days Refrain (2001)

1. The Assistant - Four Years In Five Lives

2. The Assistant - Cry. Blame. Scream. Repeat

3. A Days Refrain - We Grow Numb

4. A Days Refrain - Statistic

We'll Make The Roads By Walking (2003)

1. Be Nice To Me, I Had A Ruff Day

2. We Are All Collateral Damage

3. Too Bad Spiderman Doesn't Exist Because There Really Is A Green Goblin

4. Tom Hanks Has A Huge Beard

5. Watchoodid

6. Four Years In Five Lives

7. An Afternoon At The Badlands

8. My Last Potential Self Destruction

The Assistant/This Ship Will Sink/Takaru (2004)

1. The Assistant - I Have A Name

2. This Ship Will Sink - George Bush Could Fuck Up A Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich

3. Takaru - Attack Of The Drones

4. Takaru - Chronophobia

5. Takaru - Why Don't You Ask Me? Motherfucker??

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Marschak

Marschak were a five-piece screamo/post-hardcore band from Moscow, Russia that were active from approximately 2001 to 2009. They put out two albums, which vary fairly significantly in sound. Their self-titled is a raw and melancholic take on screamo, with desperately pained vocals, midtempo rhythms and washy guitar chords. Conversely, Relict is leaner and more technical, encroaching post-hardcore territory with its wiry, angular, syncopated guitars and shouted vocals, not to mention the inclusion of acoustic guitar segments. Both are solid releases, which one to start with is really based on your preferred cup of tea. I'm partial to the self-titled, if only for its bare viscera, but appreciate the experimental nature of Relict as well. Enjoy.

Marschak (2003)

1. Мой Новый День

2. Апраксия

3. Gilles De Tourette Syndrome

4. Изолят

5. Меня Не Было Здесь

6. Разговор C Самим Собой

7. Не Быть Человеком

8. Октябрь, 23

Relict (2009)

1. Час Прощания

2. Левиафан

3. Обещание На Рассвете

4. Эра

5. Апологет

6. Нет Никаких Нас

7. Хуршеда

8. Гротеск

9. Бутафория

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2024 in Review...

Despite the scarcity of my activity on here this year, I couldn't let it close out without at least attempting to do the usual annual link round-up. If you're unfamiliar, at the end of each year a compilation like this is posted consisting of links to all the new releases from bands featured on here that came out this year. It's intended to be a helpful way of catching up on anything you might have missed out on throughout the year, and that made a hell of a lot of sense in 2014 when there was only around 200 bands on here to keep updated, half of which weren't even active anymore. It's become increasingly more difficult to keep up with each year's releases, especially considering we've now crossed the 1200 post mark.

I started to add a bunch of new releases just to get the ball rolling, but also don't want to dedicate hours to this if there's little demand for it. So, I figured I'll post this as is for now, maybe throw a few more on throughout the month, and if there's any 2024 release from a band on here you're specifically looking for, let me know in the comments and I will be sure to get that added as well.

I know I say this a lot but I will try and get to some re-uploads as well this month. Just to mention again, my old hard drive died so I lost virtually everything I had saved on here, making re-uploads much harder because I have to track down and tag entirely new files. I've got the usual top 50 list coming and a few more regular posts to go for the year (at least enough to match the same number of posts as 2012, so we're tied for least active year). As always, thanks for still checking this blog out, even with all the inactivity it still astounds me that there's any kind of interest in this thing. Thanks again, and enjoy.

ALBUMS

A Place For Owls - How We Dig In The Earth

Balance And Composure - With You In Spirit

Blind Girls - An Exit Exists

Bright Eyes - Five Dice, All Threes

Candy - It's Inside You

Carly Cosgrove - The Cleanest Of Houses Are Empty

Chat Pile - Cool World

Common Sage - Closer To;

Crippling Alcoholism - With Love From A Padded Room

Cursive - Devourer

Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead - Tragedy As Catharsis
Drug Church - Prude

Envy - Eunoia

febuary - February

Frail Body - Artificial Bouquet

Foxing - Foxing
Full Of Hell - Coagulated Bliss

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD

Gouge Away - Deep Sage
Heavenly Blue - We Have The Answer

High Vis - Guided Tour

Infant Island - Obsidian Wreath

Japandroids - Fate & Alcohol

Knocked Loose - You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To

Macseal - Permanent Repeat

Meth. - Shame

Microwave - Let's Start Degeneracy

Nø Man - Glitter and Spit

Ogbert The Nerd - What You Want
Origami Angel - Feeling Not Found

Oso Oso - Life Till Bones

Remo Drive - Mercy

Respire - Hiraeth

SeeYouSpaceCowboy - Coup De Grâce

Shellac - To All Trains

Sinai Vessel - I Sing

State Faults - Children Of The Moon

Stay Inside - Ferried Away

Terry Green - Provisional Living

The Arrival Note - ...Home Is So Far From Here

The Early November - The Early November

The Hope Conspiracy - Tools Of Oppression/Rule By Deception

The Story So Far - I Want To Disappear
Thirdface - Ministerial Cafeteria

Tiny Moving Parts - Deep In The Blue

Toe - Now I See The Light

Touché Amoré - Spiral In A Straight Line
Widowdusk - Widowdusk

Your Arms Are My Cocoon - Death Of A Rabbit

EP'S/DEMOS/SPLITS/SINGLES/COMPILATIONS/ETC.

A Place For Owls - Pt. 2

Candy - Flipping

Catalyst/Vs Self/Knumears/Party Hats

Comeback Kid - Trouble

Common Sage - Nostos | Algos

Death Goals/Dreamwell

Flight Mode - The Three Times
Flight Mode - Tøyen, ‘13

Foxtails - Home

Gel - Persona

herlovebeheadsdaisies/Edith Pike - Sisters Of The Blessed Sacrament

Hot Water Music/Quicksand

Kerosene Heights - Leaving

Kid, Feral - Headlights EP

Senza - Celestial Body

Slow Mass - Drift Themes

Stars Hollow - In The Flower Bed
Sweet Pill - Starchild

Swiss Army Wife + Kerosene Heights - Sisters, Not Twins

The Armed - Everlasting Gaze

Usurp Synapse - Polite Grotesqueries

Ratboys

Ratboys are a four-piece indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois that formed in 2010. Initially comprised of Julia Steiner and David Sagan, they began in South Bend, Indiana before relocating to Chicago and rounding out their line-up as a full band. They've released five full-length albums, all through Topshelf Records. Before we get to the end-of-year stuff, I thought I should finally include this band, who put out one of my favourite albums of last year, and one I continually returned to throughout this year. 

It's criminal that it took so long to get to, especially since they're a Topshelf band whose name continually came up for years. The Window did not disappoint, with its country-tinged, jangly slacker rock sound, fuzzy lead guitars, and impeccable songwriting with monstrous hooks. From the loose jam of "Black Earth, WI", to the racous garage rock of "Crossed That Line", to the soaring vocals of the title track, this album is incredible. Exploring their back catalogue has also been a joy, as they've been incredibly consistent since the get-go, but I'm still mostly partial to The Window. So if you're like me and have been pushing checking this out off, don't. Enjoy.

Ratboy (2011)

1. The Stanza

2. Down The River

3. Intense Judgement

4. Key

5. A 39 Is Annie The Oldest Cat

6. Have A Heart

AOID (2015)

1. AOID

2. Tixis

3. MCMXIV

4. Charles BErnstein

5. Folk Song For JAzz

6. Postman Song

7. Our Mortician's Daughter

8. Bugs!

9. Pivotal Dates

10. And

Dowsing/Ratboys (2016)

1. Dowsing - Hold

2. Dowsing - Pass

3. Ratboys - Not Again

4. Ratboys - Light Pollution

GN (2017)

1. Molly

2. Elvis Is In The Freezer

3. Westside

4. Control

5. Crying About The Planets

6. Dangerous Visions

7. Wandered

8. GM

9. The Record

10. Peter The Wild Boy

GL (2018)

1. GL

2. You've Changed

3. Figure

4. After School

Printer's Devil (2020)
1. Alien With A Sleep Mask On

2. Look To

3. My Hands Grow

4. A Vision

5. Anj

6. I Go Out At Night

7. Victoriam Slumhouse

8. Clever Hans

9. Listening

10. Printer's Devil

Happy Birthday, Ratboy (2021)

1. The Stanza

2. Down The River

3. Intense Judgment

4. Key

5. At 39 Is Annie The Oldest Cat?

6. Space Blows

7. Collected

8. Cacao To Cacao

9. Have A Heart

10. 88 Fingers Edward

11. Go Outside

The Window (2023)

1. Making Noise For The Ones You Love

2. Morning Zoo

3. Crossed That Line

4. It's Alive!

5. No Way

6. The Window

7. Empty

8. Break

9. Black Earth, WI

10. I Want You (Fall 2010)

11. Bad Reaction

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

Website

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead

Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead are a three-piece screamo/emoviolence band from Vancouver, British Columbia that formed in 2022. Following up their demo last year, their debut "full-length" (clocking in at an exquiste 18 minutes) came out earlier this month, and it hits hard. Its blend of noisy dissonance, breakneck rhythms, octave chord shredding, and occasional exercise in control makes for a chaotically pulverizing but impressively executed listen. If you're into bands like One Eyed God Prophecy, Union Of Uranus, Jeromes Dream, Orchid, and Ostraca, this is not to be missed. Enjoy.

Demo (2023)

1. Marionette

2. Propitation

3. When What Once Worked Suddenly Breaks

4. Aspected Of Dust

Tragedy As Catharsis (2024)

1. Spirit Incantation

2. Glimmer Fate

3. Etchings

4. PErish Song

5. A Deeper Shade Of Night

6. Spiteful Enemy

7. Suzerain

8. Malediction

9. Ritual Symmetry

10. Blood Astronomy

11. Arrangement

12. Meadow Rue

13. Baleful Solitude

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

Instagram

Ogbert The Nerd

Ogbert The Nerd are a four-piece punk/emo band from New Brunswick, New Jersey that formed in 2018. They dropped an EP the following year, their debut full-length in 2020, and their sophomore effort, What You Want back in July of this year, which is what first caught my attention. This is the good shit right here. The band plays a punchier, more frenetic version of emo revival, with doubled vocals that demand every line be shouted along with. These songs are catchy, their lyrics poignant, and the energy unbridled, all telltale signs of a solid emo/punk release. If you're a fan of bands such as Snowing, Algernon Cadwallader, Glocca Morra, and Spraynard, with Joyce Manor and Jeff Rosenstock leanings, this is the band you've been waiting for. Enjoy.

EP (2019)

1. Rats! It Didn't Work!

2. Enter: Mungus Borgar

3. It's Fine (I'm Fine)

I Don't Hate You (2020)

1. Get In The Robot

2. Do It For Elio

3. Buddies Lite Lime

4. Really, It's Fine

5. You Like The Raiders

6. Matthew Renzo vs The Hoboken Parking Authority

7. Mungus Borgar Rides Again

8. Snail

9. Rats! It Didn't Work!

10. Malkmus

11. Twenty-Four

Bric-à-brac Edition

A New Kind Of Borkulator (2022)

1. A New Kind Of Borkulator

What You Want (2024)

1. Don't Quit, Get Fired

2. For Posterity

3. Brunson Lied

4. Bike Cops

5. Just Like Always

6. Purple Roses

7. Raspberries

8. Twelve Dollar Snickers

9. Dragon Song

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

Twitter

Instagram

Thirdface

Thirdface are a four-piece hardcore band from Nashville, Tennessee that formed in 2018. They come through with raw, relentless blistering energy, with noisy, wiry guitars and rhythms that refuse to be pinned down. The vocals are absolutely scorching as well, with lyrical themes worth paying attention to. Their sound is this fantastic abrasion that feels like a culmination of disparate influences, which makes for something strangely unique but also distinct. Their debut LP Do It With a Smile was one of the strongest offerings of its year, and its recent follow-up Ministerial Cafeteria might even be a step up from it. If you're remotely interested in hardcore, this band absolutely has to be on your radar if they're not already. If you're still not sold, listen to "Villians!". Enjoy.

A Demonstration Of Righteous Aggression (2018)

1. Impetus

2. Gossip

3. Take It Back

4. No Relief

5. Fantasy

6. Local

Do It With A Smile (2021)

1. Customary

2. Local

3. Chosen

4. Grasping At The Root

5. Buck

6. Ally

7. Villains!

8. Legendary Suffering

9. No Requiem For The Wicked

10. Interlude

11. No Hope

12. No Relief

Ministerial Cafeteria (2024)

1. Mantras

2. Meander

3. Midian

4. Sour

5. Pure Touch

6. DOV

7. Bankroll

8. Stalkwalk

9. Beneviolent

10. Artifact Of Darkness

11. Trap Revealed

12. Purify

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

Instagram

Facebook

Rainmaker

Rainmaker are a four-piece screamo/post-hardcore band from Eslöv, Sweden that formed in 2012. Though not officially disbanded, they haven't been particularly active since 2018. Their discography is quite small, consisting of just a demo, a full-length (put out by Dog Knights Productions), and a split with the excellent Italian band Øjne. Sonically, they fuse the forlorn catharsis of screamo with the more hard-hitting and technical elements of post-hardcore, with passages indebted to post-rock (with guitars awash in reverb and delay). This band is incredibly dynamic, going through a litany of sound and emotion in the span of just 8 tracks on their LP, and a single fantastic contribution to their split. I wish we got more output from them because this is legitamately great stuff, but for now we're lucky to have just this. Enjoy.

One More Winter (2013)

1. Farewell Swallows (Demo Version)

2. An Unopened Letter (Demo Version)

Alienation (2013)

1. Abolish...

2. Still Waters Run Deep

3. Relinquish Your Grip On The Rope, You Won't Fall

4. Rather Die Young, Than Die Young At Heart

5. Farewell Swallows

6. Silence

7. Falling Off The Sky

8. ...Alienation

Rainmaker/Øjne (2015)

1. Rainmaker - Le Poids Des Ombres

2. Øjne - Da Qualche Parte, Nel Momento Giusto

Bandcamp

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Crippling Alcoholism

Cripping Alcoholism are a five-piece noise rock/post-punk band from Boston, Massachusetts that have been around since at least 2022. They've released two full-lengths thus far, with their latest With Love From A Padded Room having really caught my attention. This is some good, unique stuff here. It's a reverbating echo chamber of despondency, its misery incarnate. These tracks wallow in cold synths, chorus-laden guitars, distant drums, and baritone vocals with lyrical subject matter that explores the trenches of addiction, self-hatred, organized religion, and vengeance. For as dark and gothic as they get, they still manage to work in surprisingly strong hooks (like on "Liquid Jesus" and "Fatherweight Kid"). It's one of the most intriguing albums I've heard this year, and worth checking out if you're a fan of bands as varied as Type O Negative, Swans, The Cure, Have a Nice Life, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and Chat Pile. Enjoy.

When The Drugs That Made You Sick Are The Drugs That Make You Better (2022)

1. Beloved

2. Sandpaper

3. Group Home

4. Slumber Party

5. Your Body As A Gulag

6. Trash Bride

7. Please Stop Hurting Me, I'll Tell You Anything

8. Hungry Time

With Love From A Padded Room (2024)

1. I'll Pay More If You Let Me Watch

2. Red Looks Good On Him

3. Lipstick With No Lips

4. Ottessa

5. Liquid Jesus

6. Evil Has A Babyface

7. Sav

8. Rough Sleepers

9. Featherweight Kid

10. Satan Is The One

11. Templeton

12. Mob Dad

Camgirl (2025)

1. Mr. Sentimental

2. Saran Wrapped Cash

3. LADIES' NIGHT (feat. Luxury Skin)

4. Pay Pigs

5. bedrot

6. MONET

7. Pretty in Pink (feat Luxury Skin)

8. Pliers (feat Luxury Skin)

9. screentime

10. I Have a Key to Your House

11. CAMGIRL

12. Sweet Talk (feat Amoekama)

13. TARAVISTA (feat Luxury Skin)

14. Mary Kate & Ashley

15. despair

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

Website

Instagram

Filth

Filth were a five-piece hardcore/crust punk band from the East Bay, California that formed in 1989 and disbanded in 1992, with reunion shows occurring in 2010. They released one EP and two splits, with the Blatz split later being re-released to include both bands full discographies. Thus, sometimes you'll see Destroy Everything as a compilation, but everything's included on their individual original releases here. Even with their minimal output Filth proved to be highly influential, with their throat-scorching vocals, brash dual guitars that occasionally slip into some semblanc of melody. Lyrically, they can be both life-affirming and vitroilic, calling out hypocrisies and injustices seen outwardly while on a quest of self-expression and individual freedom. You may incidentally already be familiar with one song of theirs, since pg.99 cover "The List" (originally included on their City Of Caterpillar split, though now often included on reissues of Document #8). Enjoy.

Live The Chaos (1990)

1. Today's Lesson

2. Lust For Glory

3. Hate

4. Freedom

Shit Split (1991)

A Touch Of Blatz

1. Blatz - Homemade Speed

2. Blatz - Lullaby

3. Blatz - Chuck

4. Blatz - Berkeley Is My Baby (And I Wanna Kill It)

5. Blatz - Cockroach Cafe

6. Blatz - California

7. Blatz - Dolly

8. Blatz - I Don't Care About You

9. Blatz - Fuk Shit Up

Destroy Everything

1. Filth - The List

2. Filth - You Are Right

3. Filth - Night Of Rage

4. Filth - Filth

5. Filth - Violence As A Solution

6 Filth - Scarred For Life

7. Filth - Banned From The Pubs

This Is Why We Are The Drunks (1992)

1. Submachine - Suicide Drive

2. Submachine - Laughing

3. Submachine - Beer Song

4. Filth - Buttshits

5. Filth - Dear Fuck