Stimulis

 

 Sometimes I don't have much to say in one of these posts, though in this case it's not necessarily for lack of insight so much as the fact I just don't know much about this band. Stimulis existed between 2002 and 2005. Their Myspace page says they were from Charlotte, NC, but I think that isn't correct. Last.FM claims Lehigh Valley, PA, and is backed up by this article, so the stuff on Myspace could either not be from them at all, or some of it is and some of it isn't (when Myspace moved over to the modern version of the site, old pages were often combined). The EP I have was recorded in Delaware, though that isn't necessarily indicative of a geographical connection. They had a demo CD, and it's unclear if the No Such Thing As Perfect EP is that demo or a separate release. They may have had a self-titled release after the EP but, again, this could be a different band. Their website went offline sometime in the back half of 2004, while that article is from 2005, so it's hard to say exactly when the band ended.

The music is the emo pop typical of the time period, with the occasional stylistic flourish nodding towards midwest emo. 2004's No Such Thing As Perfect may be their only release, if it is the demo mentioned on their website, and if the tracks on Myspace are from a different band, and if they never recorded that post-EP demo the article mentions. Given those caveats, it's hard to claim this EP represents their discography.

No Such Thing As Perfect

The Ivory Coast

 The Ivory Coast were a band from Boston, active from 1998 to July of 2003. Like their fellow Bostonians in The Shyness Clinic and (originally) Jejune, they combined the sounds of indie rock with midwest emo and emo pop. Their early discography has a great deal of emo in its makeup, but The Ivory Coast were around just long enough to make the jump to a bigger label in Polyvinyl, and their style shifted in accordance, letting the indie rock mostly take things over.

In 1999 the band put out a demo or promo called Japanada. Last.FM claims the band's subsequent first album was finished in 1998 but not released until two years later, though that's the only source I have for that tidbit. However, considering all four songs on the Japanada demo/promo are the same versions found on the full album, perhaps that is indeed the case and they were shopping those particular tracks around in search of a label (Japanada was not listed on any version of their website I still have access to, indicating they did not consider it an official EP). That album, The Rush of Oncoming Traffic from 2000, is my personal favorite of the band's releases, what I consider to be a frequently overlooked indie emo gem (in another connection to Jejune, it was released on Big Wheel Recreation). That same year the band also released a 7" single, Lake Placid 1986, which hints at their forthcoming change in sound. Listening to the single, the differences from the album seem substantial enough that it would be odd for such a change to happen within so short a time, adding some credence to the idea that the album was recorded years earlier. One of the tracks for the single somehow found its way onto the great German compilation Achtung Autobahn. In 2001, the band would end their career with their second album, Clouds, as well as an appearance on the Polyvinyl compilation ReDirection.

The Ivory Coast Discography

Olympic Year

Olympic Year were a band from San Jose, active in the early 2000s, possibly from 2001, when their website came online, to 2005, which is the last year it was updated. I don't have much more information than that, their name makes them difficult to search and their website archives are incomplete. Their sound was a combination of indie rock and emo pop, sometimes leaning more towards one than the other, depending on the song. I think they sometimes sound like a more indie rock-focused version of Filmmaker.

Between their formation and 2003 the band had a single or demo called Binary with two songs on it, one of which was rerecorded for the LP. In 2003 they released their first album, Smile. That rerecorded track, "Turn Around," is the best song on the album, so they made the right call in carrying it forward (I'm calling it rerecorded, but that's an assumption—it could be the original version from Binary). In 2004 the band put out an EP, What Makes A Home, and called it quits sometime in the following year.

The What Makes A Home EP is made available courtesy of Cornelius Smithington.

Smile + What Makes A Home

Recess Theory

 Recess Theory were a band from Florida, active for a couple years in the late 90s, with their first release coming in 1998 and their last in '99. They made it into the new millennium in a sense, changing their name to Legends of Rodeo and leaving the emo genre behind thereafter. I don't have much more information than that about them, as there are no working archives of their websites. Their sound was midwest emo combined with emo pop, similar to what Braid was doing at the same time, though I would say Recess Theory leaned heavier on the midwest emo side of things than Braid ever did, taking a lot from Mineral and at times, especially on their split release, reminding me of Sunday's Best.

Their first release was a split with Reflector in 1998. 1999 saw their only two other releases, a split CD with Further Seems Forever, from the 27th state, and their only album release, they would walk into the picture. I don't know if the band considered it an EP or a full LP and have seen conflicting information. There is also a compilation track, but while it has a slightly different title than its counterpart on the album, it's the same recording.

Recess Theory

January Star

January Star were a band from Ibbenbüren, active from the late 90s to the early aughts. While always dedicated to emo, they changed their sound slightly with each release, morphing between genres gradually. They began life as a melodic hardcore\pop punk act, their first, self-titled EP in 1997 being a rough-edged slice of pop punk. By 1998 they had transitioned to midwest emo, the Pneumatic 7" sounding a lot like a more midwest emo-focused Four Minute Mile-era Get Up Kids. Perhaps logically, their next progression took them in the direction of Jimmy Eat World's seminal Clarity. 2000's Home Without A Heart, the band's only full-length effort, takes most of its cues from Clarity, while retaining a lot of midwest emo influences from elsewhere. Their last release, the Some Brighter Days EP in 2001, swerves heavily into the emo pop side of their sound (if Home Without A Heart is their Clarity, then Some Brighter Days is their Bleed American).

By 2003 the band's website was taken over by another project, The Boys No Good, a hardcore band, and while it refers to January Star as still being active, it seems like there was no further activity on that side of things. At some point the site started to redirect to the website for the band Force of Change, so members were probably shared on that end too. Whatever the case, the website went offline in 2005 and I presume January Star ceased to be sometime between then and 2002.

January Star Discography