Macseal - Permanent Repeat

B- Tier

Macseal's metamorphosis from Midwest Emo band with strong melodies to Power Pop band with strong Emo ties is complete on their sophomore LP. Regardless, the acoustic guitar-laden tracks have a bright quality to them and feature subtle intricacies for curious ears. This album is perhaps the catchiest one of the year on average, each track possessing some earworm melody or other. However, with the shedding of their old musical personality, the songs tend to have shallow emotional resonance, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give this one a shot.

chase usa (fka Chase Plato) - Honey Baby: I Love It When You Call Me That !

B- Tier

An ambitious experiment, this debut LP from Chase Plato combines raw and gritty Midwest Emo with the spiritedness of Pop-Punk and blends it together with unorthodox Hip Hop elements. The vocals are usually rapped or sung through a filter of some sort, but I have to emphasize that this isn’t Emo-Rap proper, which has its own genre conventions more closely related to Hip Hop. This seems to be grounded in Punk, even with the fun production flourishes. The only negative is that this release is a bit disjointed, a consequence of their visionary trajectory.

Balance and Composure - with you in spirit

B- Tier

Soft Grunge stalwarts Balance and Composure released their first major record in eight years this year and boy did they milk the anticipation for months. That said, the band returns with their signature dreamy songwriting and production, along with some lush soundscapes. The vocals are melodic and ethereal, though perhaps overly-processed. B&C fans will have a lot to like on here, but it probably won't convert non-fans. I'd also recommend giving this a shot if you know nothing about the group.

Capillary - Capillary

B- Tier

A potent combination of Emo and Post-Hardcore, this is a debut release from the fabled New Jersey scene. Capillary's s/t EP is a sub-15 emotional, melodic and driving record that will remind you of the special days of the early 00s Vans Warped scene, for better or for worse. Whether wearing their influence on their sleeves is neither a good or bad thing, so it depends on what you're looking for. I can't wait to hear what they put out next - hopefully with even better production and a bit more originality.

The Requiem - A Cure To Poison The World

B- Tier

Okay, let's get the obvious out of the way - this band is MCR worship, nearly to the level of Save Face, if a bit less dramatic. After releasing a series of well-received singles over the last couple of years, The Requiem finally unleash their debut LP. Having utterly obvious influences isn't always a bad thing, especially if you have the skills to confidently expand upon the sound as well as The Requiem does. You know what to find on here - Bullets-era Post-Hardcore x Emo-Pop, bombastic vocal melodies against expertly-produced screams and a true revival of that early Mallcore sound.