Bandera

Another Canadian Emo/Post-Hardcore band that hits the spot right here! Rockin' three piece out of Toronto. This scene is not making a big ruckus but the more bands I find in it the more impressed I continue to get with it. (For example: Ancestors.) Bandera has overtaken all of the others for me though and fit in with a lot of the Italian Emo groups that I listen to on a regular basis.

I think one of the things I enjoy most about this band is I cannot really play the "it sounds like..." game I always do. If I did I would just be reaching for the tiniest of influences and comparisons from all over the place. Actually I take that back. The thing I enjoy most are the excellent song titles. "Boogie Knights: Rock the Shocktopus.", "Don't Stop, or my Mom will shoot." and etcetera.

Anyway that's unimportant. I've been excited about this band for awhile. A few months back when I was visiting Toronto I started hearing about them from Darryl, who's in the band, and I remember thinking how it sounded awesome. He used to be in Tonnn (who I also hadn't heard at that point but did shortly after), and Eric from Red Hot Daggers was in the band as well. I knew I could expect great things from them. Awhile later he sent me some live recordings that sounded just as amazing as I was hoping for. Every once and awhile I'd throw them on and be pleasantly surprised and reminded that my hunch was correct--This band was gonna rule. Then I heard these mastered recordings and I think my appreciation of the band just doubled.

This are really groovin emo jams. It`s impossible to sit or stand still listening to it. The guitar pulls you around with addictive hooks, as you become completely absorbed and hooked on a section of the song, it switches to another which is just as addictive. Though it's got a really grooving feeling and it makes me want to jive about it still has some aggression to it. The vocals are shouted around the guitar and lend the songs a sense of urgency.

You can also grab the live recordings from their myspace. You should do that. They sound good but when you put them up against the crisp and beautiful master recordings you'll find yourself throwing away that "if it's punk it shouldn't be mastered" aesthetic and go right for the mastered version!

In summary. These kids rule, this band rules.

Listen & Grab Live Demo Here
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RD

Archives - Decline

Sometime last year I stumbled upon (or someone showed me, I cant remember) this great band from Scotland. This release came out in 2009 after which they broke up, which really is a shame. I have trouble describing their sound, they are a screamo band much like funeral diner, but much less gloomy (musically, not lyrically) and very pretty. I often find that after listening to them I will have some part of some song stuck in my head for hours, very catchy stuff. If you like screamo and have not heard of these guys I encourage you to download this.

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Azure / Cerulean split

I want to start off this post by saying, Hi! I'm new! I also am looking forward to contributing to this awesome blog my friend created. I know that this was just updated yesterday but that is my band, so it clearly doesn't count for anything other then shameless self promotion. To hopefully make up for it I want to share this gem I found a while back.

From what I can tell through the information I found on the internet these two bands were a big part of the german 90's emo scene (something I did not know even existed.) The awesome thing about these two bands is that they really are nothing alike other then the fact like they are both emo. Kind of like the Sinaloa Ampere split. Azure seem to take their influence (or developed a similar convergent style) from the early 90's ottawa emo scene (One Eyed God Prophecy, Union of Uranus, etc.) Their two songs are laden with d-beats, crushingly slow beautiful parts and a very dirty heavy feel. Cerulean on the other hand will be best for fans of mineral. They only have one track on the split but it is amazingly beautiful.

Both of these bands have more releases, unfortunately I can't find them for the life of me, so this will have to make do for now. Enjoy!

-JT

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Todos Caeran

A pal of mine will be joining this blog and maybe that will help keep it going a little more regular. He's a purveyor of good Emo. Hey, grammatical nazi's is that an appropriate use of "purveyor" ? That's killing me. He also is a member of an amazing emo band "Todos Caeran."

Todos Caeran is a part of a series of etchings done by the painter Francisco Goya called "Los Caprichos." (Someone please start a band by that name if no one already has and tour with Todos.) If you're not familiar with Goya's works I highly recommend it; they're critical, powerful and even perverse at times. If you knew the guys in this band you would almost think it an unnatural name for them--But I think they chose their name out of respect. If you knew any of their old bands they raped everything good about music, much like the anal rape happening in the image of Todos Caeran.

Kidding aside many people in our hometown have followed these guys through multiple bands--They have stuck together and flowed between styles trying to find their comfort niche and the second they found it they exploded out of the blocks. They exploded out in a fury of emo that is in the vein of Funeral Diner--The buildups and soft sections are there but once they get geared up there's no stopping them. It's edgier, and more intense than what you'd expect of a band that gets compared to Funeral Diner so much--That or I just don't listen to enough Funeral Diner to know what I'm talking about. That's a high possibility.

These may be some of the nicest guys you will ever meet but their music is not playing the same nice games you will get from them. The longer they play together the tighter they get and the music they're writing now is definitely worth a listen. Do not miss your chance to buy the tape from Bart Records, neither. The artwork is extremely badass with four separate covers making up one awesome image. So buy four! Quick plug for Bart Records here, too. Grab anything off this label I think he's yet to release a single bad thing.

Myspace
Bart Records
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Union Young America

Here's a Canadian treat from the 90's. Union Young America hail from Guelph, Ontario and were around in the mid 90's. They play emo with a charged energetic sound and those vocals that sit somewhere between a throaty yell and whiny singing that I love so. That also depends on the song, though. "Dem's Be Fightin Words" is a slow burner with an aggressive sound. The vocals are throatier and do not have that whining quality on the other tracks. Or "What You Know" the final track has a sung chorus and almost crustier vocals with a shrill scream. This "Kill The Man In Everything" 7" is all of the current available material of the band. From the sounds of it these guys had a distinct sound but a good variety to their songs. It makes me wish there was more out there.
Two of the members went on to a group called "Thunder & Lightning" which I unfortunately do not appreciate in the same way. That being said there are other associated projects that I've yet to listen to.

All three tracks are available on the Myspace if you'd rather listen to them before downloading.

Myspace
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