Blame Art - Aneuma
B Tier
Aneuma is Blame Art’s first ever LP and is another entry in the longstanding tradition of Post-Rock-tinged Emo from Italy. They aren’t quite as Screamo as Raein, but not quite as soft as someone like KC Milian, balancing out quite well by using distortion and screaming more for aura than for ferocity. Most songs are over seven minutes, allowing the songs to slowly unravel themselves. Perhaps this is more Emo-tinged-Post-Rock, but it’s something you should give a listen to if you enjoy the marriage of these two epic genres.
November Letters - There's A Dead Bird In My Eye, And I'm Always Looking Past It.
B Tier
After last year's debut EP, November Letters released their first ever LP, a tour de force of acoustic Emo. The additional band members allow for more complexity in the arrangements and a broader exploration of quiet-loud dynamics. Like any good acoustic music, the human voice is paramount to its quality, and November Letters delivers on that front again with a sincere performance and personal lyrics.
no more sports - hey wayne
B Tier
no more sports is the perfect example of post-irony; named so because there are too many Emo bands with sports references, they carry on the sports band name tradition while taking great influence from those same acts. Mathy guitar twinkles, slightly juvenile songwriting approach and the feeling of catharsis can all be found on this astounding nine minute EP. The band also released an even shorter s/t EP this year which is also excellent. This could be one of Detroit's best Emo bands in years, and that's quite the accomplishment!
Celebration Guns - Enough Already
B Tier
Longtime underrated Emos from Phoenix, Celebration Guns has had a banner year; they released an eye-opening split with Swiss Army Wife and Avec Plaisir and their own EP some months later. We're here to talk about the latter, Enough Already. Their trademark Math Rock / Midwest Emo combo is as potent as ever with some really intricate riffs. I'd call this Emo Revival Revival, but their prolific discography proves that the Revival never needed a Revival.
Увага - Сум'яття
B Tier
Увага is a Ukranian Emo project that began life as a very traditional Emocore act before morphing into what we find on this album - mathy Midwest Emo in the vein of early Emo Revival artists. Intricate, twinkly riffs are the bread and butter of this album, though the rhythm instruments do an admirable job keeping pace. There are only two minor gripes I have: 1) the vocal performance is quite underwhelming and bland, and 2) the compositions, while pretty and satisfying, aren’t too original. The music is so good that it doesn't matter if it's a bit derivative.