Ransom Tree

Before there was Bellador, there was Ransom Tree, an emo pop band active around 2000. The band would release a single EP before changing their name to Bellador and releasing The Day's Intent in 2003. While the EP is mostly an emo pop release, there are plenty of signs pointing to where the band was heading. This is most keenly felt in the twelve-minute closer, "this isn't kansas," which with only a bit more polish could have easily been a track fit for Bellador's album.

Ransom Tree's only release before becoming Bellador is 2000's Pictures and Everything. They also contributed a track to The Chronicles of the Heart Vol. 1 compilation.

Pictures and Everything

Compilation Track

Bellador

Nothing makes me happier than unearthing an example of 90s-style midwest emo, which means this is a very happy post indeed. The emo dead zone gives up yet another one of its buried gems in the form of Bellador, a band from Jackson, MS, active in the early aughts. They were another midwest emo band that missed the second wave by a hair, and they were truly excellent.

If D.S. Sutton were carrying the torch for Sunny Day Real Estate, then Bellador were hauling a whole damn bonfire for Mineral—specifically, EndSerenading. Track four, "An Instrumental," sounds like it could easily be slotted somewhere into Mineral's second LP, complete with vocals straining for that same catharsis that Chris Simpson sought. Bellador's sound is a bit more polished than Mineral's, which means they sometimes sound like early-The Gloria Record, a comparison furthered by the occasional deployment of keys.

Prior to forming Bellador, the band was an emo pop outfit called Ransom Tree. Bellador's only release is 2003's The Day's Intent, though they have since put a couple unreleased songs up on streaming platforms.

The Day's Intent