Strangers As Heroes

Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, Strangers As Heroes were active as a band from what looks like 2000 to around 2001, though I think they may have been around in the late 90s. Somehow, their website is still active. Their sound is emo pop, but they hit a little too soon to be part of the third wave. Instead, they are heavily influenced by 90s-style pop punk and emo pop; fans of Derail, Notaword, or Greater Than Less Than will find a lot to like here (Punk Planet once described this particular vein of emo pop as "Get Up & Save The Stryder Kids"). These are catchy, energetic songs that bounce along with the kind of emo pop verve that would soon after be replaced with that polished early 2000s sound.

Besides 2000's This Is Not A Result Of Chemistry EP, Strangers As Heroes also had a split with a band called Keaton, Athens Party 2000, as well as a couple songs on a compilation and some demos and acoustic versions on MP3.Com. Additionally, the band released an EP, I'll Make the Call, and You'll Die, in 2001 on their own label. Their website also mentions a compilation that label was supposed to be release, but I don't know if that project ever saw fruition.  All I have right now are both EPs and an acoustic track.

This Is Not A Result Of Chemistry

'Dumped for the Trio'

I'll Make the Call, and You'll Die

Ashes

 Ashes were a band from Maryland, active in the early and mid-90s. They played a cross of emocore and post-hardcore that gradually became a bit more pop-oriented as their releases progressed, though I wouldn't call them an outright emo pop band at any stage. The smooth female vocals are the poppiest aspect of the music, juxtaposed with some emocore-style male shouting. They are reminiscent of Copper or Junction, and I always thought it was a shame that this style of music didn't really live past the mid-90s. The midwest emo\emo pop that it inspired is all great, of course, but any time you hear this particular combination you can almost always date it to somewhere around the early 90s.

Ashes' last release was in 1998, I presume posthumously. Wisconsin Avenue Tour is supposed to serve as a discography; the problem is that it's not a very good one. For starters, the track listing is two songs short. To make matters worse, according to Discogs the track listing is incorrect not only on the back tray insert, but also in the liner notes. I don't have the band's other physical releases so I'm trusting Discogs to have it right.

The discography is also missing several tracks: some compilations tracks and I think at least a couple tracks from early demos. Most of these I haven't been able to find, but I've included two compilation tracks in the download.

Wisconsin Avenue Tour + Compilation Tracks

Jenhitt

Jenhitt were a band who may have been from Maryland, based on their contact info. At the very least, one of their members was attending UMD in 1997. It's very difficult to find any concrete info on this band besides the lineup and some of their later projects. In the early portion of their discography, they played energetic, punchy emo pop similar to bands like Eldritch Anisette, Servo, or The Pennikurvers, though Jenhitt are usually a little more laid back. By the time of their second album, the band started to bring more midwest emo into the fold.

The best look at the band's discography comes from their Bandcamp page, where their works are hosted as part of another project; there is still a compilation track missing, though. The band's first release was the Music For The Royal Fireworks album in 1996 (Discogs says 95), followed by two 7"s and the …Is In Houston EP in 1997. Later that same year, the band would release In The Cold Light Of Winter. The band probably stuck together for a little while after that as they were putting out compilation tracks in 1998. They contributed one last compilation track in 2000, but I don't know if that was posthumously or not. There's also an additional track on the Bandcamp that's either from an unknown compilation or was previously unreleased.

In The Cold Light Of Winter

Jenhitt on Bandcamp

oliver

 In the conversation about European contributions to emo, the focus tends to be on places that had\have emo scenes that produced albums at least relatively well known elsewhere, most notably the UK and Germany. But emo is for everyone and can come from anywhere, and Italy has been producing great emo and post-hardcore acts for decades now: bands like Fine Before You Came, And So Your Life Is Ruined, and Regarde.

Oliver were a similar band from Italy. Their first release is a split from that year with the emo pop band Waker (which seems to be Waker's only release). Oliver's sound is actually quite interesting, especially for 2000. They sort of split the difference between Cap'n Jazz and American Football, the two sides of the Kinsella sound—balancing Cap'n Jazz's freewheeling id with American Football's noodly, placid ego. The result is mathy and beautiful midwest emo pop. Whoever added this album to Discogs must not have put the CD in a drive, because there are actually ten tracks on the split. The last track isn't mentioned at all in the liner notes, but judging by the vocals and its placement I think it's another Oliver song.

I had thought that this split was Oliver's only recorded work, but as it turns out, I was wrong. The band would release a full album in 2005, Little Human Detail. In the five years since the split, the band developed its sound in a post-punk direction while keeping their emo roots. Considering the gap between the album and the split, I find it likely that Oliver have other releases as well, but have yet to unearth them.

a split recording

Little Human Detail