The Grey AM

The Grey AM were a band out of Herndon, PA, active from the late 90s to the early 2000s. Their first and only LP is a great work of emo pop that draws a lot from post-hardcore. They often sound like a poppier version of Boys Life, which I suppose means that they also sound sort of like The Farewell Bend. Starting with the With Matches Lit EP in 1999, their sound shifted ever more into the post-hardcore direction while still retaining a very emo pop sense of choruses and hooks. It's an emo pop take on the Dischord sound, essentially, and especially on Breathe On Your Own Time they kind of sound like if Twelve Hour Turn wrote pop punk songs. In some ways, they were working in a similar sphere to the post-hardcore\emocore bands of the early 2000s like Life at These Speeds.

Their 1998 LP Move the Monuments East is, in my opinion, their strongest work and should appeal to anyone who is a fan of 90s emo. 1999 saw the release of With Matches Lit, followed by two splits over the next couple years. 2003s Breathe On Your Own Time would be the band's last recording.

 Move the Monuments East and the split with Mid Carson July are made available in FLAC courtesy of How Nothing Feels.

Move The Monuments East + With Matches Lit + Breathe On Your Own Time + Splits and Compilation Track

Mid Carson July & The Grey AM

This Forever Hope

This Forever Hope were a band out of Virginia, active in the early 2000s. Their music is primarily indie rock with some emo elements, notably drawing from emo pop\pop punk. They include varied instrumentation, with frequent backing strings and piano and some nice acoustic work. According to Interpunk, 2003's Letters to the Captives is their second release, but I can't find any trace of the first, or any evidence there were more releases after.

letters to the captives

Rydia

Rydia were a band out of Valley Cottage, NY, active in the early 2000s. They played the kind of emo pop that skirted the line of pop punk with a dash of midwest emo influence, similar to Derail or Ettison Clio. They must have done some touring despite their apparently brief existence; in the liner notes for their EP, they thank Senses Fail, Armor for Sleep, Fall Out Boy, and Hot Rod Circuit among others, a real who's who of bands in the genre at that time.

Their only official release appears to be the Pictures Left Behind EP, released in 2003. They also put up a handful of songs on Soundclick. Their bio on that site claims that Pictures Left Behind was released on vinyl, but I can't find any evidence of that version. Additionally, I have files for a second EP, also dated to 2003, called Kiss Me, I Dare You. I have no information on this EP at all save for the fact it exists, and don't know if it ever received a physical release, or if it was intended to be a demo.

Pictures Left Behind + Singles + Kiss Me, I Dare You

Full Surrender

Full Surrender were an acoustic emo band active from 1998 to around 2005. They were possibly from New Jersey, given that's where their label, Jerk Records, was based. Their music is sometimes classified as acoustic screamo, but that's kind of a stretch. There's just not enough screaming to justify calling it that. Their music is essentially acoustic midwest emo with occasional sections of screaming and harder chords. They aren't too different from quite a few midwest emo bands in that sense, especially the ones from the mid-90s who weren't all that distant from their hardcore roots. They are definitely screamo-influenced, but saying they're an acoustic screamo band is going to set the wrong expectations.

Someone from the band posted a brief eulogy for Full Surrender on the band's Last.FM page, but it's light on details. As I said, I'm not certain the band was from NJ, but their label was, and that's also where the second EP was recorded. Their discography seems to mainly consist of two official EPs: 2003's Lines in the Dark, and 2004's The Distance Between. There is also a CDr of unreleased material dated to 2004; this review from 2003 is based on a three song demo, and judging by the track names, it's a separate release. Two of the songs mentioned are on the EPs, but one is not, though I suppose it's possible that the unknown track three from the four song CDr is actually the song "On Soldiers and Enemies" mentioned in the review. The review also links an MP3.com profile for the band, so who knows what they may have had up there. Given the band was formed in 1998, there may be other releases prior to 2003.

Lines in the Dark + the distance between

Unreleased CDr

Serene

Serene were a midwest emo band who were active between 2000 to somewhere around 2005. According to blog commenter Jacob B., the original lineup of the band was from Seattle (explaining the Enigk connection) and then gained members from New York through Jesse Sprinkle, which makes sense; both LPs were recorded in Dansville, NY. This still doesn't explain why the band eventually changed their name to Serene UK, which is an odd choice for an American band. For some reason, Last.FM claims they were originally from Grove City, PA, which I now assume is erroneous.

Over the course of their releases, Serene's sound would progress from softer-edged midwest emo towards a more polished indie rock aesthetic. Serene had a really spacy, layered sound with buried vocals and a dreamy feeling. The album cover for the first two releases is a perfect summation of the sound.

Their discography is interesting in that it's a bit hard to classify their first album. Beggars of the Sea was released in 2000 on Jeremy Enigk's Lewis Hollow, which is essentially his personal label. It's a full album and polished enough, especially by emo standards, but the band treated it like a demo. I came across it on Ebay being sold by someone who had bought it in a lot of CDs submitted for consideration to Christian rock label Bulletproof Music, and when later signed to Arena Rock, Serene rerecorded most of the songs on Beggars for their self-titled release. The second LP, Serene, is comprised mainly of songs from the first album in new versions, though three songs didn't make the cut (the hidden track was named "Internationals" when rerecorded). The band also had a split release but both songs from it appear on the album, though I'd be curious to know if they appear in their original, Beggars of the Sea incarnation or the versions for the S/T. 2004's The Oak Land EP is the band's last full release, barring a track that ended up on a 2007 compilation. For this release, the band changed their name to Serene UK, and their sound is changed as well. There's a little midwest emo left at this point, but not a whole lot.

On the whole, Beggars of the Sea is my favorite Serene release. It has a raw sound and energy that the later releases lack, even including some shouting that was dropped in the rerecording. The songs that are missing from the second record are good ones, too, although "shy and withdrawn" would find its way to a comp. That said, you can't go wrong with Serene either. The sheer ambience of that album is so lush and easy to get lost in.

Serene Discography