Sophie's Floorboard: hardcore

The Rest Of Me / Speed Trials (2022)

Tuesday, 10 February 2026

Feels Like Heaven

Feels Like Heaven are a five-piece melodic hardcore band from Stockholm, Sweden that was formed in 2022 by three members of Speedway. Their debut album Within Dreams came out on January 1st, 2026, and it is one hell of a way to kick off a year. The album features these bright, crisp guitars that intertwine between shimmering arpeggios, octave-based riffs, and full major 7th chords, giving them a melodic edge atop pounding drums reminiscent of Title Fight or Basement, hints of More Than Life, while other moments harken back to the angular, confessional intimacy of Embrace or Rites of Spring, with vocals that ride the line between gruff and airy. It's a brisk listen, between 10 songs not one of them hit the full three-minute mark, so it's well worth your time to give this a listen (the run during the first half is especially impeccable). Enjoy.

Extended Play (2022)

1. Runaway Dogs

2. Bright Angel Trail

3. When I Touch The Ground

4. Do You Feel It?

1. The Rest Of Me

2. Speed Trials

Within Dreams (2026)

1. World Clock

2. Volvo (On The Road)

3. Box Man

5. Sandra Bullock

6. All That I've Got

7. Heavenly Feeling

8. Around The Bend

9. Video Loss

10. Take The Rain

House Burning Down (1987)

Thursday, 18 December 2025

Beefeater

Beefeater were a four-piece post-hardcore band from Washington, DC that were active between 1984 and 1986. As such, they were a vital part of the "Revolution Summer" movement that saw DC punk bands move into more innovative and melodic territory, with an emphasis on pointedly political and introspective lyricism. As such, it (unintentionally) became the birthplace of "emo" with bands like Rites Of Spring and Embrace. I don't think Beefeater are quite in the same sonic category as them, but this boundary-pushing ideology is certainly shared, as they injected a variety of genre influences from funk, dub, and jazz into the raw attack of a hardcore band heavily inspired by Bad Brains and Minutemen. Their riffs are windingly discordant, their rhythms frenetically off-kilter, and Squip's vocal delivery is as manically dynamic as they come. They released one EP and two albums, with the two LP's both put out by Dischord and later compiled onto one release (along with bonus compilation songs). I say this a lot but it is astounding that I missed putting here until now; they're one of the most under-appreciated and radical bands to come out of the 80's DC scene, and returning to them now after so many years has been joyous to say the least. Enjoy.

Plays For Lovers (1985)

1. Trash Funk

2. Reagonomix

3. Song For Lucky

4. 4 3 2 1

5. Mr. Silverbird

6. Manic D.

7. Mourning

8. Satyagraha

9. A Dog Day

10. Red Carpet

11. Assholes Among Us

12. Beefeater

13. Fred's Song (Slam Dancing)

14. I Miss You

15. Out Of The Woods

Need A Job (1986)

1. In America

2. Need A Job

3. Laurel Grove

4. Apartheid

5. Gov't Worker

6. Better'n Me

1. Introlude

2. Just Things

3. Bedlam Rainforest

4. Interlude

5. Move Me Strong

6. Interlude

7. One Soul Down

8. Ain't Got No Time (Kenny's Piece)

9. Interlude

10. Sinking Me

11. Dover Beach (Tomas' Piece)

12. Insurrection Chant

13. 40 Sonnets On Plants (Dug's Piece)

14. With You Always

15. Fredittude (Fred's Piece)

16. Live The Life

Plays For Lovers & House Burning Down (1992)

1. Trash Funk

2. Reagonomix

3. Song For Lucky

4. 4 3 2 1

5. Mr. Silverbird

6. Manic D.

7. Mourning

8. Satyagraha

9. A Dog Day

10. Red Carpet

11. Assholes Among Us

12. Beefeater

13. Fred's Song (Slam Dancing)

14. I Miss You

15. Out Of The Woods

16. Wars In Space

17. Just Things

18. Bedlam Rainforest

19. Move Me Strong

20. One Soul Down

21. Ain't Got No Time

22. Sinking Me

23. Dover Beach

24. Insurrection Chant

25. 40 Sonnets On Plants

26. With You Always

27. Freditude

28. Live The Life

29. Blind Leads Blind

Note: Compilation including both LPs and compilation tracks "Wars In Space" and "Blind Leads Blind"

Dischord Records

Your Skull Is My Bowl (1983)

Wednesday, 17 December 2025

Honor Role

Honor Role were a four-piece hardcore/post-punk band from Richmond, Virginia that formed in 1982 and disbanded in 1989. During that time they essentially went through an entire reinvention, beginning as a by-the-numbers fast-paced and scrappy hardcore band, before evidently discovering Joy Division and Bauhaus in 1985, which marked their course-correction to a transfixingly winding and melodic sound that proved influential to emo in a similar way that Moss Icon did, with drivingly dark bass lines, tight-knit drum patterns, and ringing, reverberated guitars wrapped around, with an expressive vocal delivery that's reminiscent of T.S.O.L.'s Jack Grisham. Thought never given quite the credit they deserved, they put out a steady stream of solid albums that pushed the envelope of punk rock's possibilities in the late 80's, with all that recorded material eventually ending up on the 1997 compilation Album.

Album contains everything from 1985 on, which includes 1985's Judgement Day single, 1986's Purgatory single, the 1986 LP The Pretty Song, 1988's Craig Olive single, and the 1989 LP Rictus (both albums are included on their own as well here). Their early stuff is decent, but it's nothing ground-breaking, so I suggest starting with Album and then try It Bled Like A Stuck Pig or 1982 (which contains the same songs as the Your Skull Is My Bowl split with better quality) if you're interested in hearing their actual origins. Enjoy.

1. Graven Image - Child Abuse

2. Graven Image - Fascist State

3. Graven Image - Uncomfortable Environment

4. Graven Image - My World

5. Graven Image - Double Life

6. Graven Image - Trigger Happy

7. Honor Role - Living In The 60's

8. Honor Role - Bowling For Bibles

9. Honor Role - War

10. Honor Role - Southern Lifestyle

11. Honor Role - I'm A Nerd

12. Honor Role - Uptown

13. Honor Role - Infanticide

14. Honor Role - Profit Prophets

15. Honor Role - Cap And Gown

It Bled Like A Stuck Pig (1984)

1. An Hour Behind

2. New Hope

3. Bowling For Bibles

4. Chocolate Milk

5. I'm A Nerd

6. Vance Picked Up Dot Over A Bush By The Tail

7. Early Grave

8. B.D.K.O.

9. Dot Is In Your Car & Boy Does She Smell Bad

The Pretty Song (1986)

1. Throwing Rocks

2. Early Grave

3. My Place

4. Go Places

5. Shuffle

6. Six
7. Anonymous Cave

8. Purgatory

9. Clockwork

10. Observation

11. Present Conditions

12. Care Taker

Rictus (1989)

1. Listening To Sally

2. Absolve

3. Following Footprints

4. Swing It / Interlude

5. Skippy

6. Salty Tears

7. So Anyway

8. Thankless Job

9. Familiar And Plain

10. Break The Ice

Album (1997)

1. Listening To Sally

2. Absolve

3. Following Footprints

4. Skippy

5. Salty Tears

6. So Anyway

7. Thankless Job

8. Familiar And Plain

9. Break The Ice

10. Twist

11. Lives Of The Saints #135 (Naked Wife)

12. Throwing Rocks

13. Early Grave

14. My Place

15. Go Places

16. Shuffle

17. Six

18. Anonymous Cave

19. Purgatory

20. Clockwork

21. Observation

22. Present Conditions

23. Care Taker

24. Jank

25. Judgement Day

26. Anonymous Cave

1982 (2006)

1. Livin' In The 60's

2. Bowling For Bibles

3. War

4. Southern Lifestyle

5. I'm A Nerd

6. Uptown

7. Infanticide

8. Profit Prophets

9. Cap And Gown

Die, Emperor! Die!/Burned Out Bright (2003)

Saturday, 29 November 2025

Burned Out Bright

Burned Out Bright were a three-piece hardcore/emo band from Houston, Texas that were active approximately from 2000 to 2003. They harnessed a handful of styles in their short tenure together, mixing the skippy, noodly elements of emo with the rise-and-fall and syncopated dynamics of post-hardcore, all conveyed through the passionate, raw delivery of screamo with interspersed sung/screamed vocals. Their output was minimal but certainly impactful, with a split, a posthumous EP, their final live set, and a demo. Members of this band went on to form Fire Team Charlie (highly recommended) and The Walls You've Built. Enjoy.

Demo (2003)

1. The Coin Lied

2. In Memory

3. Rise Over Run

4. We Awake Disheartened

1. Die, Emperor! Die! - Six Feet Beneath My Heart

2. Burned Out Bright - Gold Metal For Charlie

10+25+03 The End. (2003)

1. Rise Over Run

2. Gold Medal For Charlie

3. Untitled

4. The Coin Lied

5. In Memory

6. This Isn't The Tenka-Ichi-Budokai (I Hate Myself cover)

7. We Awake Disheartened

Burned Out Bright (2004)

1. Crossing The Fine Line

2. Unit: 01

3. Finally At Ease

4. Sunrise, And The Day To Come

5. House Of Dust

Dead Swans

Dead Swans were a five-piece melodic hardcore band from Brighton, England that were active from 2006 to 2013, with a few reunion shows played in 2016. Since then they're hasn't been any activity that I'm aware of, though vocalist Nick Worthington is currently active with Still In Love, who just released their first LP this year (which also just got featured here). When I was working on that, I realized the major oversight on my part that Dead Swans had yet to make it on here. In all honesty, they're a band I never listened to a ton but certainly enjoyed, as they were one of the premier "melodic hardcore" bands that bridged the 2000's and 2010's (no pun intended, as they were also a Bridge Nine band). They crafted a dark and raw pummelling brand of hardcore that you could say is in a similar vein as American Nightmare, Carry On, and More Than Life, but they're a distinct entity to hold their own, and Nick's scorching vocal delivery and poetic lyricism certainly hold their weight. They're also great with the gang vocals, and who doesn't love a good gang vocal? Anyway, if you're new to this band they're well worth your time, Sleepwalkers is the obvious starting point as its their only LP. Enjoy.

Demo (2007)

1. Tin Heart

2. Preferring The Worst

Southern Blue (2007)

1. Into Dust

2. Lines Of Separation

3. Dead Until Dark

4. 20/07/07

5. The Hanging Sun

Architects/Dead Swans (2008)

1. Architects - We're All Alone

2. Architects - Broken Clocks

3. Dead Swans - In The Half Light

4. Dead Swans - Swallow

It's Starting (2009)

1. Thinking Of You

2. Ivy Archway

3. Fix Me (Black Flag cover)

4. When You Sleep (My Bloody Valentine cover)

Sleepwalkers (2009)

1. Thinking Of You

2. Ascension

3. Ivy Archway

4. Swallow

5. So Far You've Only Made Things Worse

6. 20.07.07

7. Winter Overture

8. Hide And Seek

9. ...And It Seemed So Bright

10. Montpellier To Home

11. Today, Tonight, Tomorrow

12. Tent City

Anxiety And Everything Else (2012)

1. I've Been Trying To Leave

2. Summer Of Hate

3. Dead Until Dark

4. Keep Them Shut

5. Since Day One

6. You Can Only Blame Yourself

7. Southern Blue

Before And Through (2016)

1. Tin Heart (Demo)

2. Preferring The Worst (Demo)

3. Ascension (Demo)

4. Sleepwalkers (Demo)

5. Montpelier To Home (Demo)

6. Preferring The Worst (Live)

7. In The Half Light (Live)

8. 20.07.07 (Live)

9. The Hanging Sun (Live)

10. Southern Blue (Live)

Note: Compilation including demos and live tracks

Still In Love

Still In Love are a five-piece melodic hardcore band from London, England that formed in 2024, comprising former members of Dead Swans, Brutality Will Prevail, and Bring Me The Horizon. Following a pair of EP's last year (which were compiled on a single release this year), their debut LP Recovery Language came out in September of this year via Church Road Records. The album features thick, distorted riffs and vigorous drums that throttle out the occasional blast beat, echoing the blends of heavy music with a melodic edge a la something like Blacklisted. Nick from Dead Swans is also behind their searing, cathartic vocals, so if you're a fan of them this is certainly something work your time to check out. Enjoy.

Withdrawal Symptoms Pt. 1 (2024)

1. Self Portrait

2. The Peace Of Exhaustion

3. Homecoming (relapse)

Withdrawal Symptoms Pt. 2 (2024)

1. It Will Never Be Enough

2. Small Organ

3. Sober

Recovery Language (2025)

1. Tell The Truth

2. Nervous Impulse

3. Preserve & Cherish

4. Feathered Nest

5. Inherit

6. The State Of Things To Come

7. You Have To Let It Go

8. Pillar Of Strength

Friday, 28 November 2025

Osceola

Osceola were a four-piece screamo/hardcore band from Washington, DC and Baltimore, Maryland, that were around from approximately 2007 to 2009. This name might be slightly familiar because they put out a fantastic split with Suis La Lune in 2009 and were part of a great four-way split including Lautrec, Boy Problems, and The Reptilian the year prior. They released a few other splits and an EP in their brief few years, but it wasn't until now that I've really given their full body of work a proper listen with this discography release that dropped in 2023. It's got all their recorded material in one convenient place, and thus makes the best starting point if you're new to them. They're pretty raw, with a chaotic attack that blends melody, dissonance and syncopation behind shouted/screamed vocals, like a weepier At The Drive-In. If you're into L'Antietam or Age Sixteen, this will be up your alley for sure. Enjoy.

Discography (2023)

1. Smile

2. A Place To Die

3. Dendrophilia

4. Overlooked

5. Untitled

6. Intro

7. Drone

8. Don't Taste Me Bro

9. Malax

10. Experiencing

11. Human Frustration

12. Translucent

13. Temporary

14. Deadbeat

15. Final Attempt

16. Unfinished

After The Flatline (2023)

Sunday, 9 February 2025

Sinema

Sinema are a five-piece post-hardcore/screamo/emo band from Denton, Texas that formed in 2023. They've put out one EP, one split, and one album up to this point. I was recommended this band recently by Jack and wanted to thank him for that, because this is some fantastically eclectic stuff. Sonically, they're a seamless blend of influences, with vocals as stylistically disparate as clean, screamed, and growled; their heavy riffs chug out dissonance inflections, while the more melodic moments feature midwest emo arpeggios and even some post-rock elements. It's a throwback to the MySpace sounds of 20 years ago, but assimilated into something distinctly modern. I've find myself listening to this quite a bit lately, and they've quickly become one of the newer bands I'm most excited about, they're working with a unique energy here. Give them a try, After The Flatline is my personal favourite of theirs, as it leans towards the more emocore side of their sound, but the album and split are worth a shot as well. Take this with a grain of salt, but if you're into bands including Alexisonfire, You And I, Thursday, and Saosin, check this out. Enjoy.

1. Stutter

2. ...And You Already Forgot

3. Hard To Get By

4. Speak Your Mind

5. I Can't See Through The Mirror

Consider It Your Fault (2024)

1. Sinema - The House Always Wins

2. XheartworksX - Oh, Gone From Me

Fear Of The Fall (2024)

1. 01

2. On A Broken Edge

3. Tears On The Moon

4. 02

5. Weather To Believe

6. Don't Just Stand There

7. I Hold On Twice

8. At Least, Be Human