PREMIERE: Wavelets - Cannonball
Gainesville still has some legs kicking beneath it, people. Not only is the city gearing up for The Fest’s tenth-annual run in October, that month also marks the debut release from five-piece indie outfit Wavelets. While it shares members with fellow Florida scene-staple Dikembe, the band takes notes from the area’s gritty, DIY roots and turns the punk down a notch, creating a mellower take on shared themes. The raw vocals that carry "Cannonball" clear the way for a group send-off and tight instrumentals to close out track and album both. Pre-orders will be up for Athaletics later this month, out via Tiny Engines.
PREMIERE: Braid - Universe Or Worse
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!!!!!!!! That's my first sentence; let's not argue its grammatical legitimacy. Illinois emo patriarch Braid is back with a 12-inch of new material after more than a decade of side projects and growing cult status. If you like any group that’s claimed modern ties to the genre, this is what made them pick up a guitar. Logistically, the band has built on successful elements from the past—sticking with longtime label Polyvinyl and recording with J. Robbins—while changing it up sound-wise. “Universe Or Worse” features softer-edged vocals and a largely instrumental focus, just in case you needed confirmation that Braid’s still got it. It does, and the proof is out today on the Closer To Closed EP.
DOWNLOAD: Pinsky - Half Full
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Well, I'm not sure if they're named after the poet, but Pinsky certainly has a knack for eloquence. The Portland, ME foursome is entering an emo scene fraught with noodle-happy circle jerking and has managed to escape with its own sound in tact. They aren't themes we haven't heard before—on the contrary, the band sticks pretty faithfully to influences like Braid and Hot Rod Circuit—but the delivery is refreshingly straightforward. "It's about how you laugh it off" is a sentiment that still rings true long after my emo days have come and gone, and it's a nice reminder that concise doesn't have to mean simple. "Half Full" is from Pinsky's upcoming LP Losing Touch, available for preorder here and released July 5 on Sinking Ship.
DOWNLOAD: Ex Wife - Visions
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How do I love Ex Wife? Let me count the ways. They are from New Brunswick. Their first album, Everything Was Beautiful, was just that and shamefully overlooked. There is a literal mass of swooning ladies left standing after each performance. They are humble and humbling. Their minimalist take on punk and emo does right by both genres. They are quite possibly breaking up, and as such, their newest, the June EP, will serve as that album later fans stumble upon and curse themselves for not discovering sooner. They entered quietly and will leave much the same, but not without having raised the bar and not without the dedicated mourning the loss. Find "Visions" and the rest of the fantastic June EP here.
DOWNLOAD: My Heart To Joy - Steady Habits
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Well, there couldn't be a more fitting sendoff to Topshelf anniversary week. Connecticut's My Heart To Joy recently announced the end of their own five-year tenure, saying goodbye with a New Haven show in March and a final date still to be announced. "Steady Habits" is off 3-song EP Reasons To Be and proves plenty more polished than 2009's much adored Seasons In Verse. A little extra shine never hurt anybody, however, and the pop-laced emo still delivers. Grab the 7-inch or digital goods and catch these guys while you still can.
My Heart To Joy - Steady Habits
DOWNLOAD: Grown Ups - Pears
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Topshelf is a little label from Boston with a big collection of superb releases. To celebrate its fifth anniversary, I'm going to be posting a track from their roster each day this week, and you can catch even more where that came from here. Kicking it off is Chicago's Grown Ups, a very solid live act and leaders of the movement to restore emo's good standing. "Pears" is a great example of the group's technical prowess and raw, pop punkish vocals, blending the best of two genres for a more high-quality take than your standard Cap'n Jazz throwback. The influences listed on the band's Myspace seem to sum it up best: Lifetime, The Beatles, weed, girls. And there you have it. You can find LP More Songs here.
DOWNLOAD: Monument - Diamond Age
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Monument is a DC band that reminds us of those simpler, happier times when emo was hardcore's sensitive kid brother (of the sort that could fend for himself). Infused with all matter of asides, from math to noise to a fuzzy blanket of lo-fi over excellent vocals, "Diamond Age" is an energetic and skilled track that harks back to some solid roots. 12-inch Goes Canoeing is out on Tiny Engines and features much of the same, nodding to the Kinsellas while going a bit more down and dirty pop for a sound that's pleasantly all their own.
DOWNLOAD: La Dispute - How I Feel + First Snow In Grand Rapids
The Midwest's La Dispute has posted on its site some lines from an excellent John Berryman poem. There is little more you could do to woo me, aside from offering up a track to a for-charity Christmas album and putting out two of the most lyrically engaging records of the past year. Both songs for download here are from albums on No Sleep, "How I Feel" off a split with Touche Amore (Searching For A Pulse/The Worth Of The World) and a sampling of La Dispute's more standard fare—ambitious emo reminiscent of big bad Bane. "First Snow In Grand Rapids" is found on No Sleep 'Till Christmas 3, the label's record to benefit Resolve. All proceeds are donated to the organization, and the track offers a melodic look at the band stripped of its usual armor.
La Dispute - First Snow In Grand Rapids
