gxllium - Breakup Songs
B+ Tier
One of the most bonkers releases of the entire year, Breakup Songs is Gxllium playing their signature frenzied combination of Emoviolence, Mathcore, Grind and Sass with some of the most menacing breakdowns of 2024. If you’ve already heard their debut LP or split with onewaymirror, nothing here is going to surprise you, but it will still slay you.
Respire - Hiraeth
B+ Tier
Simply put, this album is gorgeous. The Post-Rock soundscapes the band crafts in each song are dense, filled with rich sonic textures and heaps of grandiosity. The strings and horns in each song contrast the Blackgaze-inspired-Screamo perfectly, giving them a balanced sound that doesn’t stray too far into chaos territory. The band is the crown jewel of Toronto’s Screamo scene and with yet another epic release, they further their reputation in The Great White North. However, I’d argue there’s perhaps a bit more sizzle than steak on this record.
we'rethecurrency - For the Hearing of My Heart
B+ Tier
One of the biggest surprises of the year comes by way of 5th Waver Emos we’rethecurrency who deliver on their second-ever EP. Despite the demo-level production values, the band pulls out all the stops with ambitious arrangements featuring acoustic guitars, trumpets, spoken word sections, melodic and melancholic clean vocals and some sorrowful screams. Traditional Midwest Emo instrumentation with early Screamo flourishes seems to be their blueprint, but the band isn't tethered to any specific idea of what Emo is supposed to be. This is without a doubt one of the most cathartic releases of 2024.
SeeYouSpaceCowboy - Coup de Grâce
B+ Tier
Starting off as a Whitebelt Hardcore band and spending the majority of their career injecting 2000s-era Emo-Pop and Post-Hardcore into the mix, SeeYouSpaceCowboy’s newest release is for the fans of the Third Wave. With Sassy clean vocals, filthy screams and tons of personality, the singer is truly front and center in the mix, but the band does an excellent job utilizing the polished 2000s soundfont to craft memorable tracks. To top things off, the band took great care to make the album flow smoothly. This album stands a head above most other recent Scene Revival releases.
Carpool - My Life In Subtitles
B+ Tier
With an admirable dedication to melody and a heart-on-your-sleeve attitude, the Emo-Pop enthusiasts from Rochester never fail to disappoint. This album is no different with many new classics to sing your lungs out to. There is a nice variety in the songs on here, so most tracks wind up being distinct in some way. Besides lacking a bit in originality and having a somewhat choppy flow, this record offers fans old and new a new collection of catchy tracks to listen to.
