The Kerosene Kids

The Kerosene Kids were a band from Phoenix, Arizona, formed in 2003. The point at which they became inactive is a bit hazy because they didn't so much breakup as mutate; after a lineup change, the band would become, for a brief period, The Seasons Company, after which more lineup changes would eventually make them into The Maine. The Kerosene Kids were apparently a high school band, though you wouldn't know to listen to them, given their general polish. They played the emo pop of the early 2000s, call it post-hardcore pop or mall emo or whatever you like, but you know what it sounds like. These guys bring a little more screaming to the mix than you might usually hear, though.

The band's only release is The Dialogue Between My Head And Heart, which most sources place in 2008. However, this doesn't seem possible to me. The Maine would release their first album in 2008, and had released an EP a year earlier. That means I don't think this EP could have been released later than 2006. There's a short clip of TKK playing live from 2005, so if The Seasons Company existed in the short time between that and the first Maine EP in 2007 (this image suggests they were around long enough to put out a split) then The Dialogue must have been released sometime between the band's inception in 2003 and 2005, and I lean towards 2005.

The EP is the only known release for the band; I'm calling it an EP and not an album based on the liner notes, which thank Mathew Grabe for 'recording our EP.' I am assuming they are referring to this EP, as I haven't seen a speck of evidence there is any other. That said, the liner notes also thank anyone who bought 'a demo,' so there must be more material out there (another reason to think the album released around 2005). I have seen references to at least one demo track that was on Purevolume. Until any of these things surface, The Dialogue Between My Head And Heart is all I can make available.

The Dialogue Between My Head And Heart

Albion

 From the city of Cheb in the Czech Republic came Albion, formed in 1996 and active until 2005. According to this blog post and its frustratingly broken download link, the band reformed in the early 2010s with a change in sound. This is supported by the most recent bit of music I can find from them, this 2005 music video for their song 'Different Love.' I don't know when or if the band actually reunited or what they did or didn't record on that occasion, but they were headed in a very mainstream direction after their first—and as far as I can tell, only—LP.

Prior to that, they tried on three different shades of emo. Their first release, a 1998 split 12" with Kevorkian, a hardcore band that shared members with Albion, is emocore with a strong midwest emo influence. On 1999's Mim, the midwest emo would come to dominate, and that 7" is the band's most classically 90s midwest emo release. In 2002 they would put out Synthpathy, one of the more unique takes on the midwest emo sound you'll hear, featuring, as the name implies, a lot of synths. It hints at the indie rock\pop direction the band would thereafter embrace.

Since the latter years of the band's discography are mostly a mystery to the internet, I've focused on their early emo discography. I've included the split 12", the 7", and the album, along with a 2001 compilation track that is pre-synth and sounds like it could have easily fit on the 7".

The compilation track is made available courtesy of How Nothing Feels.

Albion Early Discography

A New Spelling Of My Name

Hailing from Washington D.C., A New Spelling of My Name were a band partially comprised of members from the great Midvale. They were active from 2005 until possibly somewhere around 2007, though this is conjecture based on incomplete website archives. Finding any further information has proven difficult. Sonically, the band existed at the intersection of midwest emo, post-hardcore, and indie rock. I've seen comparisons made to Mineral, which is somewhat apt at times, though not consistently (this Ebay listing recommends the album for fans of R.E.M., which… is definitely something). 

The first thing that comes to my mind when listening to ANSOMN is that their descendants are bands like Cloud Gavin. This is dark and heavy music, broken up by sporadic use of acoustic guitar. At times it sounds really contemporary, which I think says a lot for how much this sound would influence current bands, even if that influence probably comes from other places—A New Spelling Of My Name remains, sadly, obscure. Here's hoping this post makes them a little more known.

The band's one and only release was 2005's The Fraud and Folly of Good Intentions. The info on this album out there is a bit confusing because the two best sources both have issues: The listing on Discogs is missing the first track, which is named on the disc label but not in the lyrics insert, and the copy on Internet Archive is missing the ninth track.

the fraud and folly of good intentions

Jennifer Eight

 Jennifer Eight were a band from Germany, active in the mid-90s. My attempts to find out more about them have been stymied by a near-total lack of online sources and the language barrier. I do know that members of the band would go on to form the equally non-prolific Audreys Dance. While Jennifer Eight play a cross between emo and emocore, similar to bands like Still Life or Current, their future direction in Audreys Dance can be heard in their tendency to borrow the occasional sounds from midwest emo.

The band's only release appears to be 1997's Spooky.

Spooky

Ultramagg

Ultramagg were a band from Texas, active from 1996 (they were previously known as Pull My Finger) to maybe around 2005; they broke up after their second album, but I don't know exactly when. On their first two releases, their sound was emo pop reminiscent of The Promise Ring or M.I.J., very 90s in style. On their last release, they morphed into a much slicker, bubblegum pop punk\indie rock that I would call somewhat Weezer-esque. It's this last album that is the only thing available on streaming. The first album and EP are much harder to come by, hence this post.

The band's first release was a self-titled album in 1997, not too long after ditching their original name and garage punk sound for emo pop. In 1999 they released an EP, Summer's Not Over, and contributed a track to The Emo Diaries Chapter Three. A full five years later, they released their second album, Script&Production, in 2004, which showcases a change in direction that ended up being a dead end, as the band would break up at some point after.

S/T + summer's not over