Ten Boy Summer

Ten Boy Summer were a four-piece emo band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin that were briefly active around 1993. They only recorded one demo tape, which was never actually released. This is with the exception of one track ("History Of Blank Pages"), which appeared on the A Food Not Bombs Benefit LP compilation that came out in 1994. Thankfully, the full demo has been made available in the internet age by MKEPunk.com, so full credit for this goes there. Now, not to be dismissive of this band or recording, but a major reason that its legacy is intact is due to the inclusion of one particular member, which is none other than guitarist Davey von Bohlen. As you probably figured, this was the band he was in immediately before joining Cap'n Jazz, and later fronted The Promise Ring, two bands that have cemented their legacy as top tier in the emosphere.

To take it back to this demo, the recording quality on this isn't great, but certainly listenable. It's a lot more raw and visceral than those aforementioned projects, as it veers into screamo territory at its crescendos, with shrieked, distorted vocals and melancholic octave chord attacks. For its more melodic parts, it stays in the sort of proto-midwest emo lane that bands such as Greyhouse, Current, and Admiral were also in. Overall this just makes for a very cool document, as it fits into the lineage of the band with the most prolific offshoots in the history of the genre. Enjoy.

Demo (1993)

1. Life Expectancy

2. The Reasons I Don't Talk A Lot

3. Bearskin

4. Guaranteed Satisfaction

5. New Crap No. 637

6. History Of Blank Pages

7. Prom Dance

Textbook Traitors

Textbook Traitors were a five-piece screamo band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin that were around from 2002 to 2005. They played a volatile, fast-paced and frantic style of screamo with some insane vocals. Fans of bands like Orchid, Neil Perry, Jeromes Dream will undoubtedly love this. Vinyl Collections Vol. 1 contains their tracks from their splits with Rats Into Robots and Forensics in addition to two other songs. You Pull The Strings That Make Us Dance, their debut release, is an absolutely incredible 15 minutes of pure chaotic bliss. I highly recommend checking it out, and enjoy.

You Pull The Strings That Make Us Dance (2002)

1. Fine Day To Die

2. Anatomy of a Teenage Hit List

3. Force Fed Voices

4. Siamese Separation Catastrophe

5. From Counting to Calculus

6. This is My Speech Act

2 Legs Bad. 38 Legs Good. (2003)

1. Corn On Macabre - Deleted Scene

2. Textbook Traitors - One Fleeting Moment

3. Crimson Spectre - The Untimely Death Of Mr. Iskra

4. Witchcraft By A Picture - Experiments In Cognition

Textbook Traitors/Rats Into Robots (2003)

1. Textbook Traitors - A Notre Temps (A Toast To Errors)

2. Rats Into Robots - Pretext For War

3. Rats Into Robots - Froze In A Maze

Vinyl Collections Vol. 1 (2004)

1. Just Yesterday

2. Diagram Of How To Take A Punch

3. Barbeque on the Grassy Knoll

4. Revelation 9

5. A Notre Temps (A Toast to Errors)

Forensics/Textbook Traitors (2005)

1. Forensics - Daytime Minutes

2. Forensics - Pulling Rank

3. Textbook Traitors - Diagram Of How To Take A Punch

4. Textbook Traitors - Barbecue On The Grassy Knoll

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

M.I.J.

M.I.J. were a three-piece indie/emo band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin that started in 1993 and ended in 2000. In typical emo fashion, they only put out a few EP's and one album, despite their (relatively) long tenure together. Early on, they played a fast, aggressive style of emocore more akin to a Gravity/Ebullition band than the midwest emo they would later on. By Chewed Smooth Center, it sounds like they got into Jawbreaker's discography, with the bright octave chord guitars and melodic vocals beginning to come through. After years of tweaking their sound, they came through with their one and only album, The Radio Goodnight. This is the sound of a tight band that has crafted these songs to perfection, with the punk rock influence of their past sound mixed with melodies that almost sound poppy, kind of like what The Promise Ring were doing around then too. Most notably about this band was singer/guitarist Jeff Hanson's voice, which he often used in an immaculate falsetto or a melancholic thin whisper, similar to Elliott Smith. This album is one of emo's best-kept secrets, with top-notch songwriting and performances to boot. Following M.I.J., Hanson signed to Kill Rock Stars and put out a few solo albums before sadly passing away in 2009. Enjoy.

Demo (1993)
1. Distraction
2. Wait
3. My Seed
4. Relay
5. Graffin
6. Loss

Chewed Smooth Center (1995)

1. Distilled

2. With Time Badderlocks

3. Whistle On A Lackaday

4. Algia Butterfly

5. First Water

6. Propelled Soft Skies

7. Leafy Green

8. Running

9. Sand Path

300 Miles (1996)

1. Do You Miss?

2. Lamp Light

3. 300 Miles

4. Untitled

The Radio Goodnight (1999)

1. Say It In Words

2. The Radio Goodnight

3. Right Downtown

4. West

5. Sometimes In Sleep

6. The Last Time Was

7. The Swingtown Pledge

8. Do You Miss?

9. Your Stories

10. Again Today

7 Angels 7 Plagues

7 Angels 7 Plagues were a five-piece metalcore band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin that were around from 1999 to 2002, and then reunited in 2005 for charity shows. They only released one EP and one LP, but have maintained a strong legacy since then. This is due in part to both releases being mind-shattering, but also the involvement of its members in other notable bands, including Misery Signals, Burning Empires, Dead To Fall, and Martyr A.D. Sonically, 7A7P took influence from the increasing surgence of metalcore, with heavy, drop-tuning riffs reigning supreme, but with enough melodic breaks and passages to keep interesting. They also had different vocalists on each release, thus the shrieked vocal style on their EP and the guttural growls on the LP. Enjoy.

Until The Day Breathes And The Shadows Flee (2000)

1. Silent Deaths, Crowded Lives

2. Dandelion

3. Sweet Princess Thief

4. Until The Day Breathes And The Shadows Flee

5. A Farewell To A Perfect Score (My Apology)

Jhazmyne's Lullaby (2001)

1. A Farewell To A Perfect Score

2. Someday

3. The Commentator's Despair

4. The Afternoon

5. Away With Words

6. Dandelion

7. Arcadia Fades (Jhazmyne's Lullaby Pt. II)

8. Silent Deaths, Crowded Lives

9. Jhazmyne's Lullaby

Scowler

Scowler are a five-piece post-hardcore/screamo band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin that formed in 2012. It's just come to my attention that this band released a new (and final) song last year, which in turn made me realize I haven't posted them yet. They put an EP a few years back, How To Find Light, which was absolutely incredible. The band crafts this unique sound that sort of takes influence from Glassjaw, but pushes the screamo aspect of it to 11. It's an incredibly intense and blistering listen, and I highly recommend checking it. The follow-up to their debut came a year later, which was a split with the also-incredible Youth Funeral. On a complete side note, their last LP was phenomenal, right?? As for Scowler, they hadn't really been active since that 2014 split. However, last May, they released a new song that went completely under my radar until now. As expected, Scowler kills it once again.  Unfortunately, that song will be their last. Anyway, this band is highly recommended, enjoy.

How To Find Light (2013)

1. Tell Us, Mr. Sir

2. Specifically, In Waves

3. Johnny Razor

4. Lost Pages

5. Heavy Throat

Scowler/Youth Funeral (2014)

1. Scowler - Break

2. Scowler - Interlude

3. Scowler - Maybe If I Sit Here Long Enough I'll Disappear

4. Youth Funeral - How The Dark Presses

5. Youth Funeral - Stolen Poems

Whatever (2016)

1. Whatever

Bandcamp

Rainer Maria

Rainer Maria are a three-piece indie/emo band from Madison, Wisconsin that formed in 1995 and broke up in 2006. However, between 2014 and 2015 they've done a handful reunion shows, so if we're lucky there will be another in 2016. The main focus though is their recorded material, which they were quite productive with. They put out a slew of full-lengths, as well as a few EP's and one live album, almost all of which were with Polyvinyl (which was also home to Joan of Arc, American Football, and Owen).

Rainer Maria fit the "emo" tag in the sense that they incorporated clean, arpeggiated guitars, slowly-driven intricate rhythms, but certainly had much more to them. For one, this is probably one of the tightest three-piece bands I can think of, where each instrument contributes so much to every individual song, and come together to form some really beautiful tones. The vocals are incredible, mostly female-sung, though earlier on they did feature dual male/female vocals, adding another layer to an already finely-tuned machine. In my opinion, they could be mentioned on the same level as bands like Sunny Day Real Estate, though sadly never gained quite as much recognition. Still, they're an unbelievable band that have a very strong following of their own. I would highly recommend this band to not only any fan of "emo" (though fans of "emo revival" bands do take note, Rainer Maria were a big influence on a lot of them), but any fan of good, guitar-based indie rock. Enjoy.

Rainer Maria (1996)

1. Summer & Longer

2. I Love You Too

3. Rain Yr Hand

4. Portland

5. Ian

6. Made In Secret

Past Worn Searching (1997)

1. Tinfoil

2. Half Past April

3. Viva Anger, Viva Hate

4. Always More Often

5. Sickbed

6. Never In Anger

7. New York 1955

8. Homeopathy

9. Put Me To Sleep

Look Now Look Again (1999)

1. Rise

2. Planetary

3. Broken Radio

4. Feeling Neglected?

5. Breakfast Of Champions

6. The Reason The Night Is Long

7. Lost, Dropped And Cancelled

8. Centrifuge

9. I'm Melting

Atlantic (1999)

1. There Will Be No Night

2. Atlantic

3. Soul Singer

A Better Version Of Me (2001)

1. Artificial Light

2. Thought I Was

3. Ceremony

4. The Seven Sisters

5. Save My Skin

6. The Contents Of Lincoln's Pockets

7. Atropine

8. Spit And Fire

9. Hell And High Water

Ears Ring (2002)

1. Ears Ring

2. Alchemy

3. Automatic

Long Knives Drawn (2003)

1. Mystery And Misery

2. Long Knives

3. Ears Ring

4. The Double Life

5. The Awful Truth Of Loving

6. The Imperatives

7. Floors

8. CT Catholic

9. Situation: Relation

Anyone In Love With You (Already Knows) (2004)

1. Tinfoil (Live)

2. Soul Singer (Live)

3. Mystery And Misery (Live)

4. Artificial Light (Live)

5. The Reason The Night Is Long (Live)

6. The Seven Sisters (Live)

7. The Contents Of Lincoln's Pockets (Live)

8. Spit And Fire (Live)

9. Long Knives (Live)

10. Thought I Was (Live)

11. Rise (Live)

Catastrophe Keeps Us Together (2006)

1. Catastrophe

2. Life Of Leisure

3. Burn

4. Bottle

5. Terrified

6. Cities Above

7. Already Lost

8. Clear And True

9. I'll Make You Mine

10. Southpaw

11. I'll Keep It With Mine

Rainer Maria (2017)

1. Broke Open Love

2. Suicides And Lazy Files

3. Lower Worlds

4. Forest Mattress

5. Blackbird

6. Possession

7. Ornaments of Empty

8. Communicator

9. Hellebore

The Promise Ring

First off, I want to apologize for not being very active in the last two months or so. I've just been really busy and kind of put the blog to the side for a while. Excuses aside, I've got a few posts that will be added within the next week or so, and I'll get around to responding to all of your messages this week as well, since I also let those pile up in my state of procrastination. So again, sorry for disappearing for a while, but I'll try and keep this more updated in the future.

The Promise Ring were a four-piece emo/indie band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin that formed in 1995. They began just as singer/guitarist Davey von Bohlen's other band Cap'n Jazz were coming to an end. Despite the shared member, The Promise Ring always had more in common with bands like Jimmy Eat World or Braid than Cap'n Jazz and its numerous offspring (American Football, Joan of Arc, etc.) For one, The Promise Ring are very poppy. Their songs are fairly structured, with strong, sing-along choruses and lyrics that get stuck in your head. As they grew, this become more and more true, with Very Emergency being a quintessential power pop album, and their final album Wood/Water coming close to a full-on indie pop record featuring a lot of acoustic guitar. However, their earlier work features some mid-tempo songs and gentle guitar arpeggios in the vein of Sunny Day Real Estate and such. But what really defines this band is their second album, Nothing Feels Good, which is generally regarded as their best work, and for good reason. The songs on it are catchy, the instrumentation hoppy, and the production is tight and crisp. This could easily be considered one of the great albums of the 90's in the way Nirvana's Nevermind or Weezer's Pinkerton are. If you listen to one thing by this band, make sure it's Nothing Feels Good.

The Promise Ring had a fairly long life for a band in their corner of the musical universe. They broke up in 2002 after a seven-year run, with four full-lengths and numerous EP's to show for it. Davey von Bohlen and drummer Dan Didier formed Maritime, who are still active today. And in keeping tradition with the Cap'n Jazz family bands, The Promise Ring have reunited several times as well. They played one show in 2005, and a handful of shows in 2012, but no plans have been made beyond that. Anyway, here's their discography, an essential for any "emo" fan. Enjoy.

First Demo Tape (1995)

1. Jupiter

2. 12 Sweaters Red

3. Mineral Point

Falsetto Keeps Time (1996)

1. A Picture Postcard

2. Saturday

3. Scenes From Parisian Life

The Promise Ring/Texas Is The Reason (1996)

1. The Promise Ring - E. Texas Ave

2. Texas Is The Reason - Blue Boy

30° Everywhere (1996)

1. Everywhere In Denver

2. Red Paint

3. Heart Of A Broken Story

4. Scenes From France

5. Anne You Will Sing

6. My Firetower Flame

7. Between Pacific Coasts

8. A Picture Postcard

9. Somebody's Done For

10. The Sea Of Cortez

11. Run Down The Waterfall

12. We Don't Like Romance

The Horse Latitudes (1997)

1. Watertown Plank

2. Mineral Point

3. A Picture Postcard

4. Saturday

5. Scenes From Parisian Life

6. E. Texas Ave.

7. Miette

8. I Never Trusted The Russians

Nothing Feels Good (1997)

1. Is This Thing On?

2. Perfect Lines

3. Red & Blue Jeans

4. Why Did We Ever Meet

5. Make Me A Chevy

6. How Nothing Feels

7. A Broken Tenor

8. Raspberry Rush

9. Nothing Feels Good

10. Pink Chimneys

11. B Is For Bethlehem

12. Forget Me

Boys + Girls (1998)

1. Tell Everyone We're Dead

2. Good Looking Boys

3. American Girl [Version 02]

Very Emergency (1999)

 1. Happiness Is All The Rage

2. Emergency! Emergency!

3. The Deep South

4. Happy Hour

5. Things Just Getting Good

6. Living Around

7. Jersey Shore

8. Skips A Beat (Over You)

9. Arms And Danger

10. All of My Everythings

Electric Pink (2000)

1. Electric Pink

2. Strictly Television

3. American Girl (V. 01)

4. Make Me A Mixtape

Wood/Water (2002)

1. Size Of Your Life

2. Stop Playing Guitar

3. Suffer Never

4. Become One Anything One Time

5. Wake Up April

6. Get On The Floor

7. Half Year Sun

8. My Life Is At Home

9. Letters To The Far Reaches

10. Bread And Coffee

11. Say Goodbye Good

12. Feed The Night

Hey Mercedes

Hey Mercedes, aka Braid Lite. Not in a bad way, of course. Hey Mercedes were a four-piece indie/alternative/emo band from both Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois. After Braid broke up, three of its members (Bob Nanna, Todd Bell, and Damon Atkinson) formed Hey Mercedes in 1999, and lasted until 2005. Though this band does have a lot in common with Braid, they took the more melodic and poppy side of Braid and really emphasized it. The songs here are catchy, straight-forward, and upbeat. Nanna's distinct voice still drives the songs, and some bright guitars shimmer along with his voice. They put out two great albums that have influential in their own right, regardless of the member's previous affiliation. Enjoy.

Hey Mercedes EP (2000)

1. Bells

2. St. James Street

3. The House Shook

4. Stay Six

Everynight Fire Works (2001)

1. The Frowning Of A Lifetime

2. Every Turn

3. A-List Actress

4. The Slightest Idea

5. Eleven To Your Seven

6. Que Shiraz

7. Our Weekend Starts On Wednesday

8. Haven't Been This Happy

9. What You're Up Against

10. Quit

11. Let's Go Blue

The Weekend EP (2002)

1. Our Weekend Starts On Wednesday

2. Save A Life

3. Everybody's Working For The Weak

4. Wearing A Wire/The Promise

Loses Control (2003)

1. Quality Revenge At Last

2. It's Been A Blast

3. Playing Your Song

4. Knowing When To Stop

5. The Boy Destroyers

6. Unorchestrated

7. Lashing Out

8. Police Police Me

9. Oh Penny

10. The Switch

11. Absolute Zero Drive

12. Go On Drone

Unorchestrated (2005)

1. Roulette Systems

2. Warm Chords

3. Own Up

4. We Lie Half The Time

5. Unorchestrated (Live)