Daïtro, Lhasa, Raein - The Harsh Words As The Sun

Tracklist:
01. Daïtro - Une Fois Encore Aka Redrum JR
02. Daïtro - Un Bateau Ivre
03. Daïtro - Le Bout de Mes Levres
04. Lhasa - Mother Earth Father Sky
05. Lhasa - Fallen Grace
06. Lhasa - Blogged Horizon
07. Raein - Part One
08. Raein - Part Two

If You Like: Loma Prieta, Lion of the North, Envy

Why is Lhasa on here? This is a strange album. The Daïtro and Raein parts are pretty good, but not anything extra special. I love long songs, and neither Daïtro nor Raein offer any. They're still good songs, but nothing too incredible. What's strange about Lhasa is that I like the music, but the vocals sound like death. They are the ones bringing the 10+ minute songs to the album, but it's incredibly weird. I think I'd like it more if the vocals were a little faster; it might sound like Heavy Heavy Low Low. Good tracks for Daïtro and Raein fans, and I guess if you're into Lhasa's music that's also a plus. 6/10

Daïtro & Sed Non Satiata Split

Tracklist:
Daïtro
01. De L'eau Coule Sous Les Ponts
02. Place Tolozan
03. Nous Ne Participons Pas Tous à La Même Utopie
04. Un Fléau Pour Un Autre
Sed Non Satiata
05. Les Hommes Sans Visage
06. Mask
07. Interlude
08. Des Ruines

If You Like: A Fine Boat, That Coffin! Funeral Diner, Portraits of Past

This split begins with Daïtro's De L'eau Coule Sous Les Ponts, which is mostly instrumental. Place Tolozan comes on next, which continues the instrumentation but in a more relaxed way. Daïtro has always known how to mix screamo with post-rock. The third track is the first real burst of energy since the very beginning of the album, and is a welcome reminder of Daïtro's thrash-y talent after Place Tolozan. Daïtro leaves their part of the split with an epic song clocking in just under 8 minutes. Sed Non Satiata comes on with a slightly more post-hardcore feeling to their music. This does transform into a melodic screamo similar to Daïtro a little bit into Les Hommes Sans Visage. Mask has a similar structure, but they through in some metal-sounding riffs towards the end, which sounds pretty good. After the short interlude, Des Ruines ends the song with energy at the beginning and some interesting harmonies and melodies in the middle. Definitely worth checking out. 8/10

Daïtro - Laisser Vivre Les Squelettes

Tracklist:
01. Laisser Vivre Les Squelettes
02. Chaque Seconde
03. Les Orbites En Eveil
04. Nous Sommes D'ici
05. Comme Du Papier
06. Pouroudi Les Inconnus Restent-Ils Inconnus?
07. Trois Nurs Pour La Salle De Torture
08. Se Noyer, S'dublier, Regarder Partir

If You Like: Danse Macabre, ...who calls so loud, The Birds Are Spies, They Report To Trees

This is Daïtro's second full-length album, and it's even better than the first. The songs are a longer and have a little more substance. Each song explodes with emotion and epic music. I love when melodic screamo bands have songs over 6 or 7 minutes, and Daïtro gives me 3. This album is right up there with Funeral Diner's Difference of Potential, which is one of my all-time favorites. If you like melodic hardcore/screamo and don't mind having no clue what they're singing about, download this. 9/10

Daïtro - Des Cendres, Je Me Consumme

Tracklist:
01. Mons Corp
02. Mes Chiffres
03. Mon Insomnie
04. Les Slogans Uniformes
05. Des Cendres
06. Je Me Consumme
07. Hop

If You Like: Raein, Sed Non Satiata, Yaphet Kotto

It's been a long time since I've put anything up. I've been listening to a lot of Raein and Daïtro lately, so I thought it was time to put something up. This is a great screamo album. Daïtro incorporates melody into their songs better than most any other band I know. The songs flow great: Mon Corps into Mes Chiffres, Je Me Consumme into Hop... great stuff. Mon Insomnie, Des Cendres, and Hop are great examples of the melodic aspect of screamo music. Mes Chiffres and Je Me Consumme have the speed and energetic tempo you expect and love from these bands. An overall great album and well-put together. I just wish I could understand French, although I think the album title means "Ashes, You Consume Me" or something to that effect. 8/10

Funeral Diner - Doors Open

Tracklist:
01. This Wrath
02. Carved From Stone
03. Neither Option
04. Head of Vecha
05. This Optimism

If You Like: Joshua Fit For Battle, At The Drive-In, Loma Prieta

I don't think this album gets the credit it deserves. It's not their best release, but it's a solid album. Matt Badja's drum work gives the album unity, along with the melodic investigations carried on by the guitars. Seth's voice is more towards the indie spectrum of the band, as opposed to the hardcore vocals of certain earlier songs. This is worth getting if you like Funeral Diner or the genre, but it's nothing mind-blowing. 8/10

Funeral Diner - Difference of Potential

Tracklist:
01. Syncope
02. Direct Hit
03. Lackluster
04. There Are No Today's Today, So There Will Be No Yesterday's Tomorrow
05. I Wish I Could Do The Backstroke
06. Chalk Angels
07. Paper
08. Fire... Deth

If You Like: ...who calls so loud, Raein, Suis La Lune

This is my favorite full-length from Funeral Diner. Almost every song is incredible, and the rest are beyond that. From the indistinct yells of 'Syncope' to the emotional guitars on 'Fire... Deth' Funeral Diner keeps up the intensity and dark beauty that they have mastered. Definitely get this. 9/10

Funeral Diner - Bag of Holding Tour Support 3"

Tracklist:
01. Addendum
02. I Was The Sword
03. Two More

If You Like: Pianos Become The Teeth, Daïtro, The Saddest Landscape

Funeral Diner best exeplifies the melodic hardcore/screamo genre. It blends the energy of hardcore with the emotion of screamo and an emphasis on decipherable melodies. They carried this style to their successor, ...who calls so loud, but the perfection lies with Funeral Diner. Their songs range from short emo bursts like 'Addendum' (my ringtone) to causing ambivalence through beautiful guitar and drum work and screams. They control this using restraint in some places and harmony in others. They plan it, and it pays off. Their myspace states that Funeral Diner "knows what we're doing." The music tends to be mostly dark, although this album isn't quite as somber as others. Forget A Skylit Drive, this is real screamo. Now click on the picture and give them a chance to be your favorite band. 10/10

Silversun Pickups - Carnavas

Tracklist:
01. Melatonin
02. Well Thought Out Twinkles
03. Checkered Floor
04. Little Lover's So Polite
05. Future Foe Scenarios
06. Waste It On
07. Lazy Eye
08. Rusted Wheel
09. Dream At Tempo 119
10. Three Seed
11. Common Reactor

If You Like: Radiohead, Spoon, Death Cab For Cutie

This is Silversun Pickup's follow-up to Pikul, and it's a vast improvement. The songs are more developed and have more internal changes, but most of the songs develop the same way leading to repetition and unimpressiveness (if that's a word). Each song by itself I love, but while listening to the entire album I find myself skipping from 'Well Thought Out Twinkles' to 'Waste It On' and 'Lazy Eye' and finishing with 'Common Reactor'. Those are all incredible songs and I recommend the album just for those four. You'll probably even like the rest. 9/10

Silversun Pickups - Pikul

Tracklist:
01. Kissing Families
02. Comeback Kid
03. Booksmart Devil
04. The Fuzz
05. Creation Lake
06. All The Go-Inbetweens

If You Like: Modest Mouse, Brand New, The Shins

Pikul is the first release from Silversun Pickups, a refreshing ambient rock band. However, half of this album falls short of their now-established reputation in the music world somewhere between underground and pop. This has 3 songs I like, and 3 songs that don't stand out at all. 'Kissing Families' is a great, catchy song with some energy which is lacking from the rest of the album. 'Creation Lake' uses female vocals and is very repetitive, but it's relaxing and I like it. 'All The Go-Inbetweens' is a mellow, slow song with great bass and percussion but pretty empty lyrics. I'm a little biased towards long songs, so just the 7:37 track length makes it innately enjoyable for me. It's amazing if listened to with outside influences, I think. This album is worth getting after you download and fall in love with 'Carnavas'. If it wasn't for that album, I wouldn't be paying $35 + tax to see them next week. 7/10

Tonight Is Glory - The Vision & Reality

Tracklist:
01. The Allegory Discussion
02. Horizons
03. Exciting Forms of Discussion
04. I'm The King
05. It's Never Been This Quiet
06. Your Eyes In The Skies
07. The Man In The White Suit
08. Calotype
09. Promise
10. At The End Of The World

If You Like: The Devil Wears Prada, In Fear And Faith, The Year Ends In Arson

I had an opportunity to see TX's Tonight Is Glory last Thusday. I never heard of them, but their live show reminded me of In Fear And Faith if they were smaller and a little more metal-influenced. I decided to find an album of theirs, and it turns out it's a solid metal album. Tonight Is Glory has the skill to make themselves rise through the massive tangled mess of metal bands towards the top. The only complaint I have is that the songs are really short, although it's not that big of a deal. I'm not sure why these guys aren't bigger, but they've definitely got potential. If you like The Devil Wears Prada, you'll probably like this album too. They're on tour, go see them. 7/10

...who calls so loud

...who calls so loud LP

Tracklist:
01. Sleeplike
02. I Need To Experience The Ultimate
03. 4.4.4.4.
04. Assume The Power Focus
05. What I Learned In The C.O.U.M.
06. Any Color I Want
07. Coming Together Over A Black Sun
08. Slip Step

If You Like: Funeral Diner, Portraits of Past, Raein

...who calls so loud EP

Tracklist:
01. Hey, I'm Outside
02. M'ed Palms
03. Resonant Grain Silo
04. Lark vs. Rascal

If You Like: Ampere, Suis La Lune, I Wrote Haikus About Cannibalism In Your Yearbook

...who calls so loud is one of the bands that emerged from Funeral Diner's ashes. The others are Sterling Says and Lemonade, and ...who calls so loud is definitely the best. They also have members from Portraits of Past and I Wrote Haikus.... The band is most often referred to as "that new Funeral Diner band" which I don't think is an inappropriate comparison. The specialize in dark melodic hardcore/screamo, and even did a European tour shortly after forming. The songs go from slow, introspective instrumentals to epic bursts of guitars, drums, and screaming. On the LP, 'Assume The Power Focus' begins with a country-like intro. At first I thought "wtf?" but it's kind of nice. The end of 'What I Learned At The C.O.U.M.' is amazing, and kind of reminds me of Funeral Diner's 'Shifting'. Which is definitely good. The EP focuses on instrumentation even further, with two completely scream-less tracks and a long intro and outro on 'Lark vs. Rascal'. I don't like the first track; it's too different from their sound. The third is good though, using acoustic and electric guitars over the piano. 'M'ed Palms' and 'Sleeplike' are the epic melodic screamo tracks found on the bands myspace. Pay extra attention the drums in ...who calls so loud: Matt Bajda is one of the best. It seems like they're going to break up soon... I'm really disappointed I couldn't see them last year when they stopped near Philadelphia. If you like screaming, download these. LP: 9/10 EP: 8/10

The Decemberists - Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series

Tracklist:
01. Valerie Plame
02. Days Of Elaine
03. O New England
04. I'm Sticking With You
05. Record Year
06. Raincoat Song

or...

01. Always The Bridesmaid Vol. I: Valerie Plame
02. Always The Bridesmaid Vol. II: Days Of Elaine
03. Always The Bridesmaid Vol. III: Record Year For Rain

If You Like: Bright Eyes, Band Of Horses, All Smiles

This album is the most upbeat album of The Decemberists, the only exception being 'Record Year'. 'Valerie Plame' is about a spy and ends with a tune similar to 'Hey Jude'. I believe 'I'm Sticking With You' is a Velvet Underground Cover. 'Record Year' is a nice melancholy song, followed by 'Raincoat Song' which has a somber steel guitar underneath the more uplifting vocals, which sound happy but are kind of sad: "And the raincoat that you wore when it rained today, I think it only made it rain more." This album is good if you're a fan, otherwise don't bother. 5/10

The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts

Tracklist:
01. Leslie Anne Levine
02. Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect
03. July, July!
04. A Cautionary Song
05. Odalisque
06. Cocoon
07. Grace Cathedral Hill
08. The Legionnaire's Lement
09. Clementine
10. California One / Youth And Beauty Brigade

If you like: Pirates of the Caribbean, Neutral Milk Hotel

This is The Decemberist's first release (as far as I know) and still probably my favorite. I love just about every song. This is like the basis of all other albums: the most pure, all the instruments and techniques used in later work, strange lyrics, and even the sepia artwork. 9/10

The Decemberists - Her Majesty

Tracklist:
01. Shanty for the Arethusa
02. Billy Liar
03. Los Angeles, I'm Yours
04. The Gymnast, High Above The Ground
05. The Bachelor And The Bride
06. Song For Myla Goldberg
07. The Soldiering Life
08. Red Right Ankle
09. The Chimbley Sweep
10. I Was Meant For The Stage
11. As I Rise

If You Like: Iron & Wine, Bright Eyes

The sophomore release from The Decemberists contains many of their best songs. The band's apparent pirate-complex rolls over strongly from the previous 'Castaways and Cutouts' as exemplified best in songs like 'The Chimbley Sweep'. I'm pretty sure this song is based on William Blake's stories, but I don't remember them well enough to say more than that. My favorites from this album include (in no particular order): Billy Liar, Los Angeles, I'm Yours, The Gymnast, High Above The Ground, Red Right Ankle, and I Was Meant For The Stage. If you can get used to his voice and quaint vocabulary, this album will be one of the most incredible things ever. 9/10

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

Tracklist:
01. The Crane Wife 3
02. The Island: Come and See/The Landlord's Daughter/You Won't Feel The Drowning
03. Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)
04. O Valencia!
05. The Perfect Crime
06. When The War Came
07. Shankill Butchers
08. Summersong
09. The Crane Wife 1 & 2
10. Sons & Daughters

If You Like: strange indie music

This album continues the drift away from 18th century-style music beginning with 'Picaresque'. 'The Crane Wife' is a powerful opener, followed by a 3-in-1 track that is more corsair-ish than the rest of the album. 'Yankee Bayonet' is an indie folk duet. The male and female vocals complement each other very nicely. 'O Valencia!' is a fun song, even though the subject matter is rather morbid. I don't like 'The Perfect Crime' much, it's just annoying I think. 'When The War Came' is an above average song, with energy but drags on a bit. 'Shankill Butchers' is the slowest song (besides maybe 'You Won't Feel The Drowning') and is reminiscent of earlier albums. 'Summersong' is a catchy indie song. 'The Crane Wife' theme is similar to the story, except I get the impression from the song that he helps her, she leaves, comes back and he smothers her because he's afraid she'll leave again.. then I guess she dies. It's a good series of songs. 'Sons & Daughters' is a song I really enjoy, it's got a very happy feel to it and is definitely a sing-along. Gotta love those sing-along war songs. The song (and album) fades out with an optimistic "Hear (Here?) all the bombs fade away!" 8/10

The Decemberists - Picaresque

Tracklist:
01. The Infanta
02. We Both Go Down Together
03. Eli, The Barrow Boy
04. The Sporting Life
05. The Bagman's Gambit
06. From My Own True Love (Lost At Sea)
07. 16 Military Wives
08. The Engine Driver
09. On The Bus Mall
10. The Mariner's Revenge Song
11. Of Angels and Angles

If You Like: Death Cab For Cutie, Margot & The Nuclear So and So's, The Format

'Picaresque' is more accessible, fast-paced, and grounded in the present than previous releases. It somewhat replaces the steel guitar with other instruments which are louder, but songs like 'From My Own True Love' still utilize the acoustic power the band has. The music and Meloy's voice are still pirate-y, characteristic of most of their albums besides 'The Tain', but it seems like they learned how to dilute it into more common indie, folk, and alternative sounds. Besides this, they haven't changed the sound much except by making things more complex. I think both the stripped-down and (perhaps) overly-orchestrated styles work for them. A good album if you have to introduce yourself to the band. 7/10

The Decemberists - The Tain

Tracklist:
01. The Tain (Parts I-V)

If You Like: Indie-Folk interpretations of early Irish legends.

This 18 and a half minute song contains everything you'll find in The Decemberists. It has just about every instrument they use and every emotion they can raise. It doesn't really correlate to The Táin all that well, but it's fine if you've never read it. If you can stand long songs, get this. 8/10

The Decemberists - Billy Liar (Single)

Tracklist:
01. Billy Liar*
02. Los Angeles, I'm Yours*
03. Everything I Try To Do, Nothing Seems To Turn Out Right
04. Sunshine

If You Like: Belle and Sebastian, Sufjan Stevens, Elliott Smith

*These are also on 'Her Majesty', I don't really include them here.

'Everything I Try To Do...' is one of the best Decemberists songs. And they have a lot of good songs. If you're feeling down, this won't cheer you up but it will make you feel comfortable in the state. It's also one of the few where Colin Meloy's voice dominates the track. Get it, now. Sunshine isn't anything great... Album as a whole: 9/10, last two tracks: 7/10.

The Decemberists - 5 Songs

Tracklist:
01. Oceanside
02. Shiny
03. My Mother Was A Chinese Trapeze Artist
04. Angel, Won't You Call Me?
05. I Don't Mind
06. Apology Song

If You Like: Neutral Milk Hotel, Iron & Wine, The Shins

That's right, '5 Songs' has 6 songs on it. The first 2 are some upbeat songs, with the steel guitar chords and Meloy's relaxing voice. 'My Mother Was A Chinese Trapeze Artist' is slower, and is the type of song found on their 'Castaways and Cutouts' album. 'Angel Won't You Call Me' is probably the happiest sounding song on the EP; it reminds me of their song 'Sunshine' and The Format. 'I Don't Mind' is another slow, sorrowful song. I love it. 'Apology Song' is surprisingly upbeat, I would expect it to be kind of slow and depressing. It sounds like some of Conor Oberst's newer works. If you've never heard The Decemberists before, I wouldn't start here, either 'Castaways and Cutouts' or 'Picaresque'. 6/10

Pianos Become The Teeth - Old Pride

Tracklist:
01. Filial
02. Quit Benefit
03. Sleepshaker
04. Prev
05. Pensive
06. Cripples Can't Shiver
07. Jess and Charlie
08. Young Fire

If You Like: Funeral Diner, Raein, I Wrote Haikus About Cannibalism In Your Yearbook, Suis La Lune, Ampere, La Quiete, Belle Epoque (from France, not TX)

This is my favorite release by my favorite active screamo band. It is more developed and thought-out than previous releases and has all the developments and experiments a normal band makes in a career on one cd. It has instrumental portions ('Young Fire'), spoken clips over instruments ('Cripples Can't Shiver'), instruments with screaming in the background, instruments and screaming blending together, just screaming, tempo shifts, melodic parts interwoven in epic walls of noise, everything. I bought this cd and a shirt at their tour-kickoff show, that's how much I loved it. Oh, and if they come near you on tour, definitely go. 10/10

Pianos Become The Teeth / Ezra Joyce Split

Tracklist:
01. Ezra Joyce - Holmes and Chicago
02. Ezra Joyce - The Depletion of Suns
03. Pianos Become The Teeth - Creatures of Habit

If You Like: l'antietam, Envy, City Of Caterpillar

This is a split between bands on polars of the Emo spectrum. Ezra Joyce is the kind that stays close to the hardcore roots but brings the intensity and aggression characteristic of early emo bands, and Pianos Become The Teeth evolve into a dark screamo band with the release of 'Creatures of Habit'. This song stretches over 8 fantastic minutes of painfully intense, eruptive music. After about 6 minutes it slowly fades out. I think this song puts them alongside legends such as Funeral Diner, Portraits of Past, and Raein. The Ezra Joyce stuff is pretty good too. 7/10

Pianos Become The Teeth - Saltwater

Tracklist:
01. Gift of the Giver
02. Your Sister's Handwriting
03. All Children Make Mistakes
04. Idiosyncrasies
05. Houses We Die In
06. Interlude

If You Like: Lion Of The North, mewithoutYou, Saetia

This is an interesting album. It has the screamo screams over melodic, dark guitars and synths. There is little guitar distortion in the entire album, mostly just reverb and delay. The vocals on the first two tracks sound more punk than 'Idiosyncrasies' and 'Houses We Die In' (both incredible songs), which are darker and more typical screamo. 'All Children Make Mistakes' is a peaceful, introspective piece with cymbals and pianos that make it seem like an Explosions In The Sky song. Interlude is a good interlude, but I don't understand why it's at the end? It sounds more like an intro than an outro to me. 8/10

This Will Destroy You / Lymbyc Systym - Field Studies

Tracklist:
01. This Will Destroy You - Brutalism & The Worship of the Machine
02. This Will Destroy You - Freedom Blade
03. Lymbyc Systym - Processed Spirits
04. Lymbyc Systym - Notations
05. Lymbyc Systym - Nartia

If You Like: Caspian, Yndi Halda, 65daysofstatic

'Field Studies' hosts songs from This Will Destroy You and Lymbyc Systym, two bands with different styles that happen to flow nicely. 'Brutalism...' is a long post-rock song that has a heavy emphasis on percussion, and swirling guitar work. It gradually builds up, expanding and contracting into a controlled wall of sound. I didn't think 'Freedom Blade' was anything too special; it had potential but didn't lead anywhere. The Lymbyc Systym songs are more technical and synthetic. This was my introduction to Lymbyc System, so I don't have much to say. To me it sounds like a mix of 65daysofstatic and Explosions In The Sky. 'Field Studies' is worth checking out. 8/10

This Will Destroy You - Young Mountain

Tracklist:
01. Quiet
02. The World Is Our...
03. I Believe In Your Victory
04. Grandfather Clock
05. Happiness: We're All In It Together
06. There Are Some Remedies Worse Than The Disease

If You Like: Mono, Pelican, Envy, Constants

This is the first release from 'This Will Destroy You' and it will destroy you. It's an experiment in creating mellow, dark, depressing music with restrained bursts of shoegaze-type ambience. Unlike their self-titled, the songs on 'Young Mountain' don't develop as much as they oscillate with rhythms and noise. It also uses much more delay and reverb than the self-titled, making a less clean sound. 'Grandfather Clock' sets itself apart, both by being a short song and by the electronic beats underneath the guitar. 'There Are Some Remedies..." was on the soundtrack of The Taking of Pelham 123. I can't really explain the music, just listen. 10/10

This Will Destroy You - s/t

Tracklist:
01. A Three-Legged Workhorse
02. Villa Del Refugio
03. Threads
04. Leather Wings
05. The Mighty Rio Grande
06. They Move On Tracks Of Never-Ending Light
07. Burial On The Presidio Banks

If You Like: Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor

If the above bands are gods of post-rock, then This Will Destroy You is the God, Yahweh, and Allah. Every song they have is immense, epic, and beautiful. Most of the songs begin with soft ambient music and gradually build up to epic burst of music. The only song I don't completely love is 'Villa del Refugio' because it's much more static than the rest of the songs.. but it's all good. This is great music to put on when you're trying to study or sleep or doing just about anything else. These guys know what they're doing. 9/10

Menomena! - Happiness Is Shouting "Bingo!"

Tracklist:
01. The Ladder
02. Nebali
03. Rose (Demo)
04. Tung Track
05. Posh Isolation
06. Crunka
07. Divad
08. Let's All Unite!
09. Sista Social Theme
10. Cough Coughing (live)
11. Twenty Cell Revolt (live)

If You Like: Animal Collective

This album is more instrumental than the other albums (besides Under An Hour), with 5/11 tracks having no vocals. Two of the instrumental tracks, 'The Ladder' and 'Posh Isolation', are pretty good songs, and 'Nebali' is one of my favorites by Menomena!. There's also a demo of 'Rose', which was re-recorded for IatFBM!, which is much more raw. The rest of the songs are typical of the band, with the exception of 'Sista Social Theme', which comes way, way, way out of left field. If you like their later work than I would consider it worth getting. 6/10

Menomena! - I Am The Fun Blame Monster!

Tracklist:
01. Cough Coughing
02. The Late Great Libido
03. E. Is Stable
04. Twenty Cell Revolt
05. Strongest Man In The World
06. Oahu
07. Trigga Hiccups
08. Rose
09. The Monkey's Back

If You Like: drugs

First off, I love the album art.. I mean, it's a dragon! Or something. This album is a little more technical-sounding than 'Friend and Foe' which gives the band its variations. I love the first 2/3 of this album and I think it deserves a run-through. 'Cough Coughing' has an amazing beat and becomes mellow and just incredible towards the end. 'The Late Great Libido' uses the trumpet, piano, drums, everything and the vocals over it sound... beautiful. 'E Is Stable' is dark and creepy with excellent use of instruments towards the end, when it lightens. I'm running out of synonyms so I'll skip to Oahu. The bass line is simple and soothing, fading in and out through most of the song. Great instrumental track. The album finishes with 'The Monkey's Back' in an eerie note, but with one last burst of energy in the middle of the song.
Definitely worth checking out. 9/10

Menomena! - Wet and Rusting

Tracklist:
01. Wet and Rusting
02. Walking
03. Polo
04. Gay A
05. Wet and Rusting (ER Don Remix)
06. Wet and Rusting (Live)

If You Like: Of Montreal

I'm running out of "If you likes..." haha. 'Wet and Rusting' is one of my favorite songs by Menomena!. It is the epitome of their style, with all the instruments, percussion, melody, and mood shifts. 'Gay A' and 'Walking' are pretty good too. 'Polo' is on the technical and dark side of the Menomena! spectrum, like 'The Pelican' and 'Weird' from Friend & Foe. I'm not a big fan of remixes, and the live track is good for a live recording which never seem as good as just live or just a recording. 7/10

Menomena! - Under An Hour

Tracklist:
01. Water
02. Flour
03. Light

If You Like: Battles, This Will Destroy You, ISIS

This is probably my least favorite album of theirs. The songs tend to drag on (they're all over 17 minutes) and there's no vocals. I don't usually mind (I love 'Nebali') but I like hearing Menomena! sing. 'Water' is my least favorite song on the album; it just isn't typical of them and I think it's kind of boring. 'Flour' is better, with more of the typical Menomena! sound, and the last half of 'Light' I really enjoyed. So, the album gets better as it goes along pretty much. 6/10

Menomena! - Friend and Foe

Tracklist:
01. Muscle n' Flo
02. The Pelican
03. Wet and Rusting*
04. Air Aid
05. Weird
06. Rotten Hell
07. Running
08. My My
09. Boyscout'n
10. Evil Bee
11. Ghostship
12. West

If You Like: Battles, Arcade Fire, Her Space Holiday

*Wet and Rusting is on the 'Wet and Rusting EP' so I didn't include it on this album.

Don't be disappointed when they don't sound like Arcade Fire. Those are the only bands I can think of that even remotely remind me of Menomena!. It is definitely the most distinctive band I've ever heard. The lyrics and singing are more coherent than most experimental bands, but stream in and out more than most indie. They seem to blend into the instruments at many points, which I like. The mood can go from dark or slow to uplifting and catchy suddenly, but it all flows beautifully when taken as a whole. I find it's good relaxing or background music, especially for long car rides. 'Muscle n Flo', 'Rotten Hell', and 'My My' are my favorite songs on the album. 9/10

Emarosa - Relativity

Tracklist:
01. The Past Should Stay Dead
02. Just Another Marionette
03. What's The Clock Without The Batteries?
04. Heads Or Tails? Real Or Not?
05. Even Bad Men Love Their Mothers
06. Her Advice Cost Us A Life
07. Set It Off Like Napalm
08. Sailing In The Dark Isn't Smart, Kid!
09. Pretend. Release. The Close.
10. It's Cold In The Shade, Let's Move to the Sun...
11. I Still Feel Her: Part I
12. A City Called Coma: Part II

If You Like: Dance Gavin Dance, The Fall Of Troy, Fiore

Emarosa dropped Chris and picked up Jonny Craig from Dance Gavin Dance. They essentially stopped the screaming. I personally think they should have changed their name again, because the remnants of old Emarosa only hold them back from reaching their potential (at least for people who prefer Chris). Relativity is objectively a good album, but relative to This Is Your Way Out, I think it's a bit disappointing. I mean, they even named it 'Relativity'. I would recommend this album if you've never really listened to Emarosa or you prefer progressive to post-hardcore. I did see them live with Jonny, and I though they sounded much better than on the album. The instruments seemed to stand out more than on the cd, which is good because they're more developed and melodic than the older Emarosa stuff, with a couple exceptions. Hopefully their 2010 release is a little more distinctive. Definitely worth seeing live. 6/10

Corsets Are Cages

Tracklist:
01. Jesus Plays A Firebird
02. Too Close For Missiles, I'm Switching To Guns
03. Utah, But I'm Taller

If You Like: Here I Come Falling, Four Letter Lie, akissforjersey

Nice, short demo. These guys changed their name to Emarosa in 2007, and you can definitely hear that it's similar. It's impossible for me to listen to these songs without immediately following with This Is Your Way Out. I think that the actual music sounds better in these demos than in TIYWO, but the vocals aren't as developed. I wish they had a more legitimate release, it would have been excellent. 8/10

Emarosa - This Is Your Way Out

Tracklist:
01. He Is The Water
02. I Am Waves
03. Armageddon
04. Utah
05. Breather
06. Casablanca
07. Epoch Coda

If You Like: A Skylit Drive, agraceful, A Day To Remember, Oceana

It seems appropriate to begin with the album 'This Is Your Way Out' by Emarosa. Just to avoid confusion, I think I switched the first two tracks when labeling the files, but the order above is right.
This is one of my favorite post-hardcore albums (yes, I'm a genre-labeling freak). Chris Roetter, their vocalist at the time, is one of my favorites and is the main reason this album is so good. Armageddon and Epoch Coda really show his range and vocal abilities. It's a shame he's not in the band anymore, but luckily, he's now in Agraceful. Agraceful is on Scream the Prayer Tour until August 2nd, which I will probably go to. Back to Emarosa... The guitars also sound great, but are much simpler than a lot of similar bands that I think try too hard. Emarosa really makes it work though... think Blink-182 with distortion: simple but amazing. I don't think the drums stand out too much, Lukas (drummer) just does his job.
'Utah' is a great re-recording of 'Utah, But I'm Taller' by Corsets Are Cages, the pre-Emarosa band. 'Breather' is my favorite interlude-type song, and 'Epoch Coda' has been in my top 10 songs for over 2 years. They are experts at creating epic music that still has all the characteristics of typical post-hardcore bands, which is what really makes them stand out. They also have the whole Christian theme going, which I think has been rampant lately, but it's subtle. I give this album a 9/10.

First Review

Old and Gray - She's Buried Deep

As the title says, this was my first "official" review. I wrote the review in April after one of the band members asked me to. They uploaded it to a site called jamendo. You can download it and read my review there, my username was ktdlmnop and there's a picture of Circle Takes The Square's As The Roots Undo above my name.

My friend's blog...

This is JM's blog, he records and uploads all his music himself. It's like ambient post-rock electronic noise. A lot of the songs/albums are under different artist names, like Forty Two Peaceful, Tame The Lions, and God Is A Whale. Anyway, if you're into that, and even if you aren't, check it out.

jmclarkmusic.blogspot.com

Beating A Dead Horse...

To everyone who knows me, I apologize. I've probably referenced this site about 100,000 times. But I'm going to bring it up once again, because it pisses me off. Bright Eyes and The All-American Rejects (although I hate to use them in the same sentence) aren't emo. The Saddest Landscape, Loma Prieta, and Rain (from France) are. This is an important clarification for me because most of my favorite bands are screamo, and that has a illusory meaning until "emo" is de-bastardized.

This site is written by normal people, so it's a little biased but still informative. youdontknowemo.

Welcome

Hi,

Yes, the title is a reference to Emarosa's album. I made this blog mainly to bring music to people and review it, in case someone cares to know what I think. I'll probably put up links to other stuff too. I'm going to try to post something every day or two, but once I start college it might get harder to do that. We'll see. Here's the link to some music I already have uploaded, of course you need to delete it after 24 hours since it's only for sampling and then go buy shirts, cds, or go see the band play if they come near you..

Requests are welcome, if any links go down let me know :)


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