Awesome Knives by Grammer,

Awesome Knives | Grammer

1. Astronaww, Man

2. Coy Wolf

3. Quit (Your Job)

4. Friends in the Hotel Industry

5. Cigarette Regimen

New Release from local emo/twinkle band Grammer, melds the twinkle/emo with a spacy "inevitable happiness" kind of feel. The production, (This release recorded by local record label, Drunk Dad Records), is very well done, a vocals take a mix between a breathless singing raspy scream vocals known well to the emo genre. When it comes to instrumentation, well played guitars dance around the tracks, providing both a punk feel to the songs, such as "Quit (Your Job)", and yet also the twinkle love as seen in "Cigarette Regimen". Bass is driving and well heard. Drums (by none other than 417's very own Alex Harris(Dirk Frazel, Dirt Nap, Flawless, etc)) are something anyone will enjoy listening to. Saying something about the final song on the release, "Cigarette Regimen", this version of Grammer,'s song is so much more happy sounding than the original. This entire release is an overall happy-ish emo release, if that's possible. Check it out though, it's an amazing five songs, and watch these guys live sometime, I love em. 

Favorite Track: Cigarette Regimen

Bandcamp

Common Wealth|Goods Split

Common Wealth / Goods Split

1. November - Common Wealth

2. Wither/Fade - Common Wealth

3. Depart - Goods

4. Beautiful - Goods

Released off of Deaf Negative Records, the common wealth/goods split is a four song melodic hardcore/throwback emo release. Common Wealth, starting off the release, throws out a fast paced, hard hitting song, "November", which to me, seems to be the best song off this release. Although i'm a huge fan of Goods, I'm really digging the Common Wealth side of this split. 

When it comes to the goods half of the split, they follow the flow of the melodic hardcore/throwback emo of the songs, and I'm really digging "Depart". Really love Kegan's vocals. Overall, these two bands really matched well together, making this a really cool split to listen to. Check it out, you can find their sides of the split on their respective bandcamps. 

favorite song overall: November
Favorite Common Wealth Song: November
Favorite Goods Song: Depart

Bandcamp

S/T by East Beast

S/T | East Beast

1. Burn

2. Ruthless

3. No Competition

4. Minds Like Mine

5. My Third Eye

I found this Boston hardcore band, East Beast in the back ally of the hardcore bandcamp tag. This self titled release is the last thing this band has put out, and it was back in 2012, so I'm not sure if they are still making music or not, but after listening to it, I really hope they are. East Beast is a hard hitting fast paced release that kept me entertained in the full 5 minutes that it played. The vocalist's vocals were a nice change to the hardcore i've been listening to. Production is really good overall from this release, and the songwriting is strong with this band. Check it out, it's something I'll be listening to for a while.

Favorite Track: Minds Like Mine

Bandcamp

Demo 2012 by Pizza Breath

Demo 2012 | Pizza Breath

1. Intro/Dropout

2. Untitled

3. Anti-social/Apathy

Local  skate punk/hardcore band Pizza Breath's 2012 Demo is a Pizza Breath that you won't be finding at their local shows. The lineup from 2012 is way different, as well as their sound, but I think it's fun to go back and look at this release, so here we go. First off: Mixing wise, what the hell happened there. This is such a quiet release it's almost funny. Joe's vocals dominate the entire band. I mean, he's a really loud singer normally, but still, like damn. Anyway, if you can get past all of that, you've still got some awesome music.This release is really grungy and totally hardcore-punk. It's at a low tempo throughout, and what you can hear of the instruments is stock for the most part. I for one love Pizza Breath. My bands play with them a lot and they are all really awesome guys. 

Favorite Track: Anti- Social/Apathy

Bandcamp

Father Figures Split by Marcy

Father Figures Split | Marcy

Single Track Release

Milwaukee skramz/punk band Marcy's release, Father Figures Split is a seven and a half minute non-stop release filled with heavy hitting instrumentation and high screeching vocals. Contradicting to the release title, I don't believe this is a split. As I said it's only one song, and it all flows pretty seamlessly. Plus it sounds like the same band throughout. The songs flow as if you were watching a band play through their set list as fast as they can, and even though it's a really lo-fi release, what you can hear from the guitars is something that's fun to listen to. For sure a skramz band. Check it out.

Bandcamp

Place of Suffering by ALIENATE YOU

Place of Suffering | ALIENATE YOU

Single off of the upcoming EP: "Only Truth Remains" due March 2014

Alright so Missouri band ALIENATE YOU release a single to get hype for their upcoming EP, and they're doing just that. I got to see ALIENATE YOU at a show recently, and even though it was like their second show ever they had people moving like no other. Their vocalist has amazing stage presence, and everyone is really good at the instruments that they play. Can't wait to see their full release. So anyway, vocals are something I want to mention. They are those old fashioned kind of hardcore vocals, the kind that are more punk and don't really encompass screaming, but more like that angry talking shit that sounds really good. Production is really good, they put some time into this. Check it out, and be on the lookout for "Only Truth Remains" in March. One of the new rising stars from my area.

Bandcamp

Rabid Visions by Purgatory

Rabid Visions | Purgatory

1. Execution

2. Mindless

3. Territory

4. Rabid Visions

Purgatory is a hardcore band with heavy metal aspects from Nebraska. Rabid Visions is the band's newest release, and is a short one, clocking in at nine minutes. Production is really well done, and mixing was done well. Vocals are metal-esq, not the kind you'll find in the normal hardcore scene. Kinda reminds me of Harms Way. Anyway, if it wasn't for the breakdowns, this would be a metal album, and if it added some clean vocals, it would be metalcore. You've got your chugs throughout most of the release, and there is some scattered double bass peddle, making a nice addition instead of the constant double bass peddle that you find in metalcore bands. In  Rabid Visions there is this sick breakdown that I really enjoyed listening to and that came out of no where. Check this release out, everyone in the band is really good at what they do. 

Favorite Track: Rabid Visions

Bandcamp

My Fault, Sorry by Goods

My Fault, Sorry | Goods

Single

"I really hate to say this, but not even our love could save us, I've gone on without you"

Emo band Goods from Indiana's single release, "My Fault, Sorry" is a short minute and a half release that anyone who loves the genre will dig. I really dig the vocals, and at the time this was release, Goods was a two piece band, as far as I'm aware. Vocals remind me of Title Fight, and the guitar playing is good for being the only instrument with the drums. Drumming is really something that I enjoyed listening to, and as this is a short track, I was able to listen to it multiple times and enjoy each aspect of the song differently every time. Check this band out, they are releasing a split coming up with Common Wealth through Deaf Neg Records. 

Bandcamp

Danger Room Demos by New Madrid

Danger Room Demos | New Madrid

1. Mudlounge Girls

2. Asshole

3. Eye Will (Will U)

4. Cruisin' on the Brown Sound

5. How I'm Hurting You

6. Coongod

7. Piggy Needs a Dustin'

New Madrid is a shoegaze/rockabilly/surf-esq band from Springfield Missouri. New Madrid's releases are all lo-fi, and yet still easy to listen to. Run times on all the songs are long, Danger Room Demos clocking in at around 30 minutes. Vocals are far back in the mix, and what I can make out of them remind me of a lower end Dirt Nap vocal style. Instrumentation is loud, and bass is heavy, which I really enjoyed sitting back and listening to. There are some neat guitar riffs in here, and on a whole the release is really chill. The only downside is that it is a very long release to listen to, and the songs are a bit repetitive. However, each song is different so it's not like they all sound the same. So check it out. 

Favorite track: "Cruisin on the Brown Sound"

Bandcamp

Wolves by Messengers

Wolves | Messengers

1. Wolves

2. Chapter One: Release

3. Chapter Two: Recover

4. Judgement

5. Unworthy

6. Children (Featuring Marina Chiarletto)

7. Kings & Queens

Spirit filled melodic hardcore/metalcore-esq band Messengers from the 417's first release, Wolves gave me more than I was expecting. I'm not exactly one for Christian-core, but even with the lyrics, I really love Wolves. First off, production is done amazingly, the kind of production you see in mainstream bands with big production value.  Local studio Chi Rho studios is to thank for that. Next, instrumentation and song writing is great, songs flow together, and I didn't find much repetition. 

Don't even get me started on the vocals.

The vocal talent for the vocalist (Juan) amazed me. I knew he was good, but the lows and hi's this guy has are sick. The best part is he uses his lows intermittently, sticking to his hi fry-esq vocals most of the time, so when he does throw in those deep, cathartic lows, it's amazing. I don't think I can describe it well enough, so check this release out. Especially "Judgement."

As for the rest of the instrumentation, it's mixed quite well, so nothing stands out overly. Everyone is really talented at their instruments, and I dig the drums. The featuring of the female vocals kinda chilled out the ending to the release, but on a whole it's really angry, even for a "Spirit filled" release. To wrap it up, check out "Judgement". The breakdown is something I want to see live. Also, got to meet some of these guys at a local show, and they were some seriously nice dudes. 

Favorite track: Judgement

Bandcamp

Friendship America--Rare Crystals

Friendship America "Rare Crystals"

"Drums/ladykilling"

Check it. This ep/demo is for all you drama queens that can't get over the sad summers you've had in high school. Songs about wishing the girl(Lauren)/guy(Tony) would've picked you over the jerk they did pick. All delivered in a fast, lo-fi, pop-punk, synth-pop sound. Fun for the sad, and sad for fun. Also on No Fun Allowed Records. Florida is sounding more tolerable now.

Check it out if you like Mixtapes (you know, that really cool pop-[more emphasis on the]punk band with that girl guitarist?)

Favorite song: Bummer Summer

Bandcamp

-Eight Million Kami-

Eight Million Kami--Eight Million Kami

Does that make Sixteen Million Kami?

Is supposed to twice as emotional oppose to if it was named something else?

What could possibly be in need of 16 million gods?

Maybe I'm missing something.

Some really cool twinkle-instrumental stuff I found on bandcamp. I've started to not care for instrumental stuff lately because what I've been finding lately is boring, simpleton riffs repeated a stupid amount of times at doesn't go anywhere for about 9 minutes (myself guilty) and none of it sticks. Eight Million Kami is from somewhere, Florida and belong to DIY (or die) record label No Fun Allowed Records. The instrumentation of this ep/demo is what I'm always lookin' for; crazy, dirty, out of control, but at the same time it's a composition and actually MOVES you. On the song "Root Division" there's this crazy bleep-bloop solo that's so uniquely-weird, with the beautiful vamp beneath it, it makes you feel the turmoil in your life because of this weird synthesizer sound. Great stuff to listen if your bored of your day job at Wal-Mart and you want to feel (somewhat) cultured. 

Favorite song: Root Division

Bandcamp