thiscouldneverwork - Someday, Not Today

C+ Tier

Debut record from Reno Screamo band thiscouldneverwork, Someday, Not Today is a dark, moody 15-minute adventure. The band displays tons of talent for songwriting and for instrumental virtuosity, but there’s just something about this album that didn’t quite click with me. We’d better keep a look out for this band - Nevada’s Screamo scene is starting to heat up!

Jingwei - Jingwei

C+ Tier

Jingwei is a brand new Midwest Screamo project from Nick Strutsman, a controversial figure in Emo that played in Merchant Ships and Park Jefferson. While the songwriting is excellent and the guitarwork on here is as superb as you'd expect, there are only six songs on here totaling six minutes of runtime. Unlike a select few Emoviolence releases with similar runtimes, musical ideas are on here are not recorded at breakneck speeds. While this is a promising debut for the Emo virtuoso, there needs to be a bit more substance before I can rate this any higher.

Microwave - Let's Start Degeneracy

C+ Tier

Although Microwave has always had a penchant for mixing Emo with Alternative, they’ve tipped the scales away from Emo in recent times. Regardless, Let's Start Degeneracy is a relatively chill album that has all the sad vibes, but it's heavily saturated with somewhat bland poppiness outside of the true gems on this album. Despite the unevenness of the tracks, this album is worth a listen if just for style points alone.

Rob Ford Explorer - nil

C+ Tier

Hyper-technical and rough around the edges, this six-minute four-song sprint is reminiscent of older see through person, but possibly a bit more unhinged and unfocused. Regardless, this EP shows promise and I am looking forward to what the band does next.