a million bright ambassadors of mooooorning
I think everything here has something interesting about it and is basically good, but it either lacks the universal 'wow!' factor of the Worth Your Time list, I haven't listened to it enough to have strong thoughts on it, or it's only really appreciable if you already like its genre and want things that strictly adhere to those conventions. There's also a lot of them.
New Hell
Greet Death
Emo | Shoegaze | Slowcore
This is really nice! Moody and atmospheric without being bleak or dull, chunky walls of guitars. This was a lot more melodic and approachable than I expected, and I like the singer's voice. Really good!
Sample: You're Gonna Hate What You've Done
Gem of the West
SENTRIES
Art Rock | Noise Rock | Post-Punk
Some nice post-punk with standouts in The Cowboy's Carcass and Nails. Has some abrasive moments, with walls of noise, grungy shouting, and dissonant electronics, but overall more melodic than most post-punk I come across. Pretty dark, good at imposing a suffocating atmosphere and loosing it, but the coffee is a little too bitter for me.
Sample: The Cowboy's Carcass
i felt like a sketch
key vs. locket
Midwest Emo | Math Pop
Very clean twinkly emo, maybe bordering on plain. Saying that, though, very competent with some nice understated pianos and noisy guitars in there. Delicate, lush, and warmly melancholic. But lacking a little in that bite that really gets me going.
Sample: symptom
GOODNIGHT HYPNOPOMP
STOMACH BOOK
Indietronica | Dark Cabaret | Emo
PHEWWW, really skirts the line between being endearingly quirky and being annoying. Quite cheesy, definitely unique. Really like My Diorama though, wish the rest was a little more melodic like it. Probably would've been into this a lot when I was younger. Slight Nero's Day at Disneyland energy?
Listened to this more and it grew on me. Yeah, I'm endeared. Good kind of demented.
Sample: My Diorama
Have You Heard Of The High Elves
Lord Snow
Emo | Math Rock
This one was nice! Just some very competent screamy emo with a nice fuzzy wall of sound. I'd need to listen more to pick out particular tracks as standouts, but overall I enjoyed this one.
Sample: Selfish Sleep
Apiary
Gingerbee
Chamber Pop | Art Rock | Emo
Pretty nice! Definitely cute, with its twinkly little piano and whimsical strings and trumpets. For that, though, nothing singularly stands out that grabs my attention, and the vocals don't quite grip me. Screamo elements don't blend super well with the rest of it either. Good drawing background music, though.
Sample: Petal Dance
Racing Mount Pleasant
Racing Mount Pleasant
Chamber Pop | Post-Rock | Slowcore
Highly rated on RYM, so I checked this out. And it's fine. I mean, it's not bad. Really leans on the brass to give it these big crescendos though, with the vocals being pretty subdued and overall progression being muted and slow, and not in a way that can consistently hold my interest like Codeine.
Sample: Racing Mount Pleasant
Frances The Mute
The Mars Volta
Progressive Rock | Art Rock | Post-Hardcore
The Mars Volta have been a longstanding favourite of mine, but I've been getting even more into them recently and decided to branch out from my usual fare of Comatorium into Frances the Mute—an album I 'know' is good but overlooked somewhat. Well, it clicked. The lyrics are nuts, to say nothing of the outrageous experimentalism of the instruments, going all over the place with latin and jazz influences, and the pitch-black concept of the story tickles me too. Just top shelf stuff.
Sample: L'Via L'Viaquez
Doggies
Aaron's Book Club
Indie Rock | Chamber Pop | Emo
Trying to get back into listening to music regularly. Well, here's this offering, with genre tags like they're tailored for me. Has some really nice moments and emo progressions, but then lulls into the quieter stuff a little too much for me—still good though.
Sample: My Friend's Dogs
Young Machetes
The Blood Brothers
Post-Hardcore | Sasscore | Art Punk
Certainly interesting. Not sure if I think it's great or if it's a little too much on the edge. Listen to me, 'too much on the edge'. Yeah, it's dumb, it rocks, it's fun.
Sample: Set Fire to the Face on Fire
Breakfast For Pathetics
Tired Lion
Indie Rock | Pop Punk | Emo
Pretty sure I found this one scrounging for potentials for Trivia. Doesn't fit for her, but it's really good. Like really good. High energy bangers that scratch my 'late 90s edgy teenage girl summer' itch, a bit like That Dog.
Sample: Breakfast For Pathetics
Live At Party In The Park
Bear Cavalry
Math Rock | Dance Punk | Emo
I don't know why I have this or where I got this but it bangs. I think I just like 'midwest emo but British' as a niche, the British have fun when they're emo.
Sample: Roman Summer
Golden Calf
Small Leaks Sink Ships
Indie Rock | Art Rock | Midwest Emo
I tried getting into this band through their debut but it didn't click. This feels more gracefully refined into their fun technical-weirdness and did. weird places though certainly. I like the guy's voice. Might work for Swift even, if it only was cabaret.
Sample: Dancing Devil
Defining Attempts at Structure
Shuriken
Emo | Noise Pop | Shoegaze
another banger from this youtube channel. pretty abrasive, used this as drawing bg music so wasnt paying too much attention but it was good
Sample: Infra-Testuara
Cities
Anberlin
Emo | Alternative Rock | Pop Punk
I am the target audience of this. Bretty good? Yeah, es bretty good. Last track stands out particularly. Leans close-ish to Homesick For Space at some points, which is nice too.
Sample: [*Fin]
For When You Are Or Are Not
Serka
Emo | Math Rock | Indie Rock
takes a minute to get out of everyday noodly midwest territory (does lean more hardcore than twinkly tho which is neat) then the third song hits and it's good
Sample: H + 10 - 110
More Bad Times
Ed's Redeeming Qualities
Anti-Folk | Singer-Songwriter | Twee
10/10 for the Bob song. and the boy i work with
Light Chasers
Cloud Cult
Chamber Pop | Indie Rock | Concept Album
I think I underestimated this as dated/hokey because of the album cover but it's actually super solid and sweet. Might bump this onto the Worth Your Time list if it sticks enough.
Rope and Ladder
Rope and Ladder
Progressive Rock | Post-Hardcore | Rock Opera
Music is nice but plot drives me up the wall. (It's a 'the elites are corrupt, time to raise a revolution and kill them!! wait but uhh then we're the elites and... oops I didn't consider this part?!', though there's more going on which is pretty interesting if they'd just whack their MC with humble pies a bit more). Dear Hunter influence really heavy on its sleeve but I don't mind that obviously.
Get Better
Lemuria
Pop Punk | Emo | Indie Rock
Super solid. Cute and whimsical with a really strong warmth. Does the male/female emo indie pop punk duet thing that I'm apparently weak to.
Love Keeps Kicking
Martha
Indie Rock | Pop Punk | Power Punk
Very spunky. Kind of the lovechild of generic american pop punk and the UK johnny foreigner/los camps scene. Love Keeps Kicking is standout though.
Island Fire
Whale Bones
Indie Rock | Post-Hardcore
Hold on, only first impressions, but this is kind of really good? If you're a filthy Dear Hunter stan like me. Where'd I even find this
Sample: Island Fire
Defeater
Defeater
Emo | Post-Hardcore | Melodic Hardcore
Was only background listening but this was noticeably good. Gotta come back and give it a proper shake.
Sample: Dealer / Debtor
If We Can't Trust The Doctors
Blanche
Alt-Country | Americana | Gothic Country
ok this album is one that just sits in my library and comes on shuffle now and again and I always enjoy it but never have much to say about it, However, Garbage Picker is great, that's a 9/10 song. Might have more on this if I ever listen to it properly.
Sample: Garbage Picker
Ghost
Radical Face
Indie Folk | Folk Pop | Chamber Folk
Post-Arcade-Fire Youtubecore if there ever was any. Really nice energy though, for adjy fans who don't mind the indie woodblocks going clattaclattaclattaclapclap.
Sample: Haunted
Funeral Car
Desert City Soundtrack
Emo | Indie Rock | Piano Rock
Been sitting on this a while but better than I give it credit for. Still not amazing but bretty good.
Sample: Casket
Long Day's Flight 'Till Tomorrow
Kåre & The Cavemen
Neo-Psychedelia | Soft Rock
Really interesting — extremely sweet but drags on a bit. Would be an universal rec if it was a bit shorter. Very warm and chill. Look into associated acts of this one.
Sample: Gallery Oslo
「今夜絶対」
イツエ
J-Rock | Indie Rock | Alt Rock
Really close to being generic J-Rock but generic J-Rock is already pretty good.
Sample: 10番目の月
Pre-Emptive False Rapture
Chrome Hoof
Experimental Rock | Avant-Prog | Noise Rock
Kind of bad but might work for Reyl. Singer has a nice voice, it's just the avant stuff being avant.
Sample: Spokes of Uridium