Parkview were a band from Philadelphia, active in the first half of the aughts. They were releasing between 2002 and 2003 and I don't think they made it as far as 2005, though I can't be certain. For the time period in which they existed, their sound is not unusual in composition, but in ratio. Many of their emo pop contemporaries dabbled with the sounds of 90s midwest emo; Parkview made it half of their sonic palette. The connection is fitting because either through production limitations or design, they were not as excessively polished as one might assume given their era.
The band's only full length album is 2003's Breatherapy, an excellent combination of 2000s emo pop with 90s midwest emo and pop punk. They had at least two EPs prior to that with some overlap in what songs were included, though I don't know if those songs were rerecorded for the album or remain in their original form. In 2002 they had an EP called fortunately, unfortunately with five songs, and a four song EP before that in what I believe to be the same year. Sadly, I haven't been able to find either EP and only have the LP.
Grace Like Gravity were a band from Denver, Colorado, active in the early 2000s and possibly before or after, as I'll get to. Last.FM claims they broke up shortly after the release of their EP, which implies they called it quits in 2005. They played a blend of pop punk, mainstream post-hardcore, and emo pop. While the era of their existence implies a certain connection to the strongest currents in emo at the time, they really have more of the 90s emo punk scene in them, which is to say these guys were closer to Eleventeen than Hawthorne Heights. They played with Midtown and Fall Out Boy, which gives you an idea of where they were coming from.
Their first album was in 2004, nothing we say leaves this room. Its combination of emo pop and post-hardcore works quite well, and the addition of some hardcore vocals give it an edge a lot of their contemporaries lacked. Album closer "liar campaign' is a real highlight. In 2005 they released an EP called No Sense of Urgency, which is aiming for something different. The band swerves towards the kind of pop punk/dance punk that one might expect from Panic! At The Disco. The EP lacks that extreme level of polish and doesn't fully commit to the change, retaining a lot of their previous characteristics, but it's still an indication that they might have been headed in a different sonic direction.
Their third release is where things get vague. The Eisenhower Plan is, theoretically, their second album. There are two problems with this. First off, they are supposed to have disbanded in 2005, and the album was released in 2016. Secondly, it sounds nothing like the EP. I don't know for sure what's going on and I haven't been able to find any information on the LP at all, it just appeared on streaming along with the rest of the band's discography; however, according to Spotify, it was added a year after the other two releases, which have a date of 2015.
I don't think this is really a second album; not one that was released in 2016, anyway. I think The Eisenhower Plan is either an unreleased second album, recorded before the band broke up, or it may be their actual first album. This theory is completely unsubstantiated, but I find it compelling based on the album's sound, which does not at all follow from the EP and even lacks so much of the 2000s emo influence from nothing we say leaves this room. Compared to that album, Eisenhower might as well be MxPx. That's an exaggeration, of course, but it illustrates the divide.The purer emo-pop punk of Eisenhower could be an indication of earlier work. Or, maybe the band really did get back together and drop a whole new album eleven years after their previous release, who knows.
Thanks to life.love.regret86 for pointing me in this band's direction.
Steven Shoelace is an artist from Portland, Oregon, active beginning in 2021 and releasing new material as of this post. His music sits at an intersection between bedroom pop, lofi indie rock, emo pop, and midwest screamo. This is a simplification and perhaps even an oversimplification because his attachment to genre is far from slavish and can shift pretty dramatically between releases. In output, he is as I described, but in ethos he is experimental.
Classifying his discography is a bit difficult because he hasn't stated in his releases what is considered an EP or an album, so I'm going by track number. There are a number tracks and compilations dating back to 2021 on Soundcloud, including an album, uneven shoelace. However, it looks like his first official release is the "i need you" single in 2022, with two other releases following that same year: the cat medallion EP and a second EP, SCARY! His first full-length, IN HELL, dropped 2023; his most current release came in 2024, Garden Snakes. I also have a release called Scary Cat (or Scaredy Cat on the CD label) which appears to be the first two EPs combined.
Big thanks to Steven for sending the physical releases over. I don't believe I have ever scanned a note included by an artist, but this one was so quintessentially emo in form and content that I knew I had to.
Dina were a band from Liverpool, active from the late 90s to what appears to be 2004, though their timeline is somewhat vague. Over the course of their career, their sound gradually shifted from midwest emo-adjacent emo pop to punk, though they never completely lost their emo leanings. Although they remained an emo band to a variable extent over the length of their existence, they were mostly associated with the UK punk scene of the time, at one point touring with Leatherface.
Their first release (that I have, that is; see below) was Grampus Eight Versus Dina, a split EP with another Liverpool band in 1999. Collective Zine described the production as "pretty rough," which is putting it mildly. I think my copy has been done no favors by CDr rot as well. 2001 saw two releases, and while I believe that the 7" split with The Atlantic Monthly was released first, I can't say that with complete confidence. It features the song 'Sea Murmur,' the lyrics of which provided the name for the band's first full-length; it's Dina's most midwest emo song, and unsurprisingly my favorite track from them. It also appeared on the Erdata Ishee compilation.
The second 2001 release was Electricity Gave Me A Heart Murmur, the first LP and the one most appreciated by the emo community. It's a blend of midwest emo, emo pop, and indie rock, with clear influences from the UK punk scene. It's a pretty laid back album and usually, though not purely, focused on mood rather than energy, which wouldn't be that notable if it weren't for their second album. In 2002 the band contributed an acoustic track to the Postcards From The Heartland compilation, and then 2003 saw their last release, their second full-length Work the Switch. Moving away from the sound of the first album, it's heavier, faster, and fits more neatly within the scene of their contemporaries. Think Hooton Three Car, Blocko, or Servo, and you're in the right ballpark.
My collection is sadly incomplete, and all attempts to contact former bandmembers have thus far failed (I can't even find a picture of them that isn't in the album art). Multiple releases remain unrecovered. There was a CDr called The Owl which had six songs, five of which made their way to Work The Switch, but that leaves one unaccounted for. There was also what appears to be an EP, Lenny the Lion MC, which featured "4 songs off our first demo," implying that there were more than four songs on that demo, and that demo might only be the first of an unknown number. The three songs from the split with Grampus Eight are also from that demo, so which tracks (if any) overlap and which are missing is anyone's guess.
Most confusing of all, there is a release listed as CANT SAY SPLIT 7". The song which the band supposedly contributed to this split is "??????????????" It is unclear if the split was called Can't Say or if it was a split with a band of that name, but it was to be released by Wallride Records. That label is based in Maryland, so it's possible this was planned as a split between Dina and Can't Say from Baltimore. Whatever the case, I don't think it ever came to be.
The Minor Fall were a band from Leeds, active from 2004 to 2007. There are no working archives of their website, but fortunately their bio is preserved on the Leeds Music Scene website:
The Minor Fall formed in June of 2004 after many drinks with friends and lingering maudlin conversations about how great everything was in 1999. All four members of the band had been plying their trade in various other bands for a while, namely D-rail, And None of Them Knew They Were Robots, Laura Audio and Send More Paramedics, and the germ of an idea was born that the boys in the band wanted to do something more melodic, more influenced by the likes of Minus the Bear, Get Up Kids, Saves the Day and classic Deep Elm/Jade Tree, whilst singer Jenn wanted to try her hand at doing lead vocals for a change.
I've said before that it feels like I mention The Get Up Kids every other post, but their first two albums really were just that influential on the emo scene. The Minor Fall take more from Four Minute Mile than Something To Write Home About, leaning into the midwest emo influences just as that first album did. They also bring quite a bit of post-hardcore to the table as well, with some well-placed riffs and the occasional burst of hardcore vocals.
The band's first release was a demo in 2004, which is fortunately preserved on Soundcloud. In 2005 they followed it up with their only album release, which is self-titled. There is a compilation track called "Ivory Sirens" which is attributed to them, but I tracked down a copy (big thanks to RASSO for providing the compilation) and it appears to be from a different band entirely, which was coincidentally active at the same time in the UK. Either that or they briefly tried a different vocalist and a total change in sound, which seems unlikely.
Berkeley were a band from Donegal, Ireland, active from 1999 until what appears to be 2008. The exact timeline is a mystery, especially their beginning. The band's own biography, preserved in archives of their website, says they were formed in 2001. But I have scans of the band's first release and it clearly says '2000' on the back cover, and the news posts on the website go back to 1999. It's possible the band was trying to downplay their early work by claiming a later formation date, since, as I'll discuss below, their first EP is not representative of what would become their sound. The website would remain up until 2011, but the last news post was made in November of 2007, so I'm betting they called it quits sometime in 2008. I can't be 100% sure of any of this, however, so don't take it as gospel.
The band's initial release, the ironically titled the best of, is a self-recorded EP that is basically a demo, showcasing a band just beginning to find their sound. It has little resemblance to the rest of their discography, being more alternative\indie rock than anything else, and is, frankly, not very good. But that's okay, because it was their first attempt and their next, 2002's New Star, is excellent, recorded in Chicago with Steve Albini. The band found their footing with a blend of post-hardcore and emo pop, and would carry that sound forward to their next releases.
Their first full-length, also recorded under Albini's stewardship, was 2002's hopes, prayers and bubblegum. The next release was in 2003, a single called Follow Through, featuring the same recording of the title track as the album in slightly shortened form, as well as two additional unique tracks; I assume it was put out to promote the previous year's LP, and the new songs sound like they may have been extra tracks cut from hopes, prayers and bubblegum.
After that, there is long gap in their discography between 2003 and 2006. Based on info from the website, it seems like they had some earlier version of it that I currently haven't been able to find; it was relaunched in 2005, with news of the upcoming second LP. If they released anything during that time, I can't find evidence of it. The second album was intended to be released early in 2006 but was delayed for unspecified reasons. Instead, the band would contribute to a split single with Giveamanakick. When eventually released, the second LP, in moments, is largely consistent with their previous releases despite the time passed, and features slightly more influence from post-punk.
Portions of Berkeley's discography are made available courtesy of How Nothing Feels.
