Materic - меж каменных плит (2014)

Genre: Screamo
Country: Russia

Screamo from Russia (of all places) that's rooted into some aspects of shoegaze in terms of their chord progressions and post rock characteristics in terms of songwriting. Kinda generic, but the most important thing to consider here is that it's done much better than a lot of other screamo bands these days. If you're into this style of screamo, you're bound to enjoy at least parts of this record.

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The Brave Little Abacus - just got back from the discomfort—we’re alright (2010)

Genre: Midwest Emo

Country: United States

So this has getting a little more attention lately but it still only has roughly 4000 listeners on last.fm and that's an injustice to one of the best emo albums in recent years. If you're really into Cap'n Jazz style emo (lots of energy, whiny vocals like John Galm from Snowing, a mix of somewhat ambigious lyrics and unabashed honesty) then you're most likely to like this. What makes them sound fresh in a such a derivative scene is that they have some blatant Bomb The Music Industry! influences from the horns and the bouncy synths. It's basically if BTMI! wrote an midwest emo album. I could go on and on about what I love about this album, the lyrics, how well it flows, the well-placed Malcolm in the Middle samples, but I'll leave it as that. If you've got eponymous discomfort, you really should listen to this. Even if you don't, listen to it anyway.

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Pinkshinyultrablast - Everything Else Matters (2015)

Genre: Shoegaze
Country: Russia

Six years of waiting since their EP back in 2009 was certainly well worth the wait. They really evolved and developed their sound into something more vibrant and punchy here. Perhaps you even could say that it has the best rhythm section of any shoegaze album in the past ten years. Shoegaze has the reputation of sounding contemplative and build an atmosphere that just meanders but this album just sounds like they really want to burst and explode. In all honesty, nothing completely new here is done, rather, everything just feels fresh and is well executed. If you're fan of all the shoegaze revival that's becoming more apparent, there's no better time to hop on.

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Swan Dive - Fly Towards the Sun (2013)

Genre: Shoegaze, Punk Rock
Country: United States/United Kingdom

So Brandon Setta of shoegaze band Nothing and Joey Bayes of melodic hardcore band More Than Life got together and wrote some grungy, punky, shoegaze songs back in 2013. Expect something akin to Nothing rather than More Than Life, especially to songs on the Whirr/Nothing split. It kinda sounds like something that would be written in the 90s but by no means is it a poor form of worship from bands in that era. Reverberated vocals are still in play, a hint of angst and melancholy maybe, and some basic elements from shoegaze can be found. If you like Nothing at all, you'll probably find some enjoyment in this.

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Avzhia - Key of Throne (2004)

Genre: Symphonic Black Metal
Country: Mexico

Firstly, I would like to a)apologize for my lack of activity and b)thank Rhyme for staying trve and keeping it alive. Back when I was a youngin', I would be salty as hell when a blog didn't update regularly, but now that I'm an adult I kind of get it. Also, writer's block has been killing me, but FUCK IT, I don't need to overly describe anything to post excellent music. First up is Avzhia, and their 2004 opus Key of Throne. You can tell by the broken English of the title that this absolutely rules. I generally find symphonic black metal to be a little kitschy and over-dramatic for my tastes, but the orchestrations here are perfect; they perfectly accentuate the darkness of the music without adding any unnecessary cheese. The production is excellent, dirty but not TOO dirty, allowing the atmosphere to truly operate at full capacity. Overall a worthwhile release.

yo quiero Avzhia

Gas Chamber - Hemorrhaging Light (2014)

Genre: Powerviolence
Country: United States

This one kind of reminds me of Bucket Full of Teeth's IV. Like in IV, these guys don't play it straight; rather they include sections outside of hardcore. Gas Chamber however chooses to add a psychedelic and progressive flair to their brand of powerviolence to switch things up. These sections aren't as jarring as Bucket Full of Teeth adding ambient sections since they feel more in place so I think this is a lot easier to get a feel for.

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Kairon; IRSE! - Ujubasajuba (2014)

Genre: Shoegaze, Post-Rock
Country: Finland

If you've been on the front page of RYM in the past month or so, you've probably seen a review for this with the caption "BRUTAL POST ROCK" (the author changed it unfortunately). I was pretty hesitant to listen to it considering the cover is mildly unappealing but I gave it a shot anyway since my friend recommended it to me. I think the best way to describe this album is saying that it's essentially a post rock album with progressive leanings with shoegaze production. Kairon; IRSE! don't get lost in forming a huge wall of sound that many shoegaze bands tend to fall under. Rather, they really like to add riffs and solos to support that wall of sound to engage the listener which is how the separate themselves from all the other bands in the scene currently. Even if you're not a fan of shoegaze, there are other characteristics that you can latch onto to and find enjoyment out of it. It's possibly the best album on Bandcamp that's name-your-price as well so get listening!

Name-Your-Price on Bandcamp