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

The Crush

 The Crush were a band from Minneapolis, active in the very early 2000s. Their sound was a cross between melodic hardcore and emo pop, similar to bands like Jawbreaker and Lifetime. The Crush released their work well after the mid-90s heyday of that sound, though apparently they garnered some attention regardless, opening for a Green Day tour. This brush with fame must not have been enough to sustain the band, however, because 2002's This Is Where I Cross My Fingers was their last release.

The band released one other album earlier in 2001, Tonight Will Ruin Tomorrow, as well as two 7" records that I haven't been able to find.

Tonight Will Ruin Tomorrow + Here Is Where I Cross My Fingers

Day of Less

Day of Less were a band from Salt Lake City, active from around 2001 to 2006. The band released their first LP, Ad Hoc, in 2002, and on it their sound is a cross between midwest emo, emo pop, and hardcore. Given the time period, I should clarify that this mixture does not actually make them sound like the early 'mall emo' bands that were using roughly the same formula. Day of Less are pulling from the 90s, and what makes them stand out is just how much midwest emo they employ, to the point I'd say that Ad Hoc is mostly a midwest emo-pop album, similar something like Christiansen or #1 Defender. Prior to the album, the band released a split with The Great Anti-Listen called snapshot in time that features the same sort of sound.

Three years later the band would put out their second album, Porcaria, in which they left behind their emo influences in favor of the hardcore. This was the band's last release.

Ad Hoc

Notaword

 For my 100th band post on the blog, I intended to focus on something special—naturally, I     completely forgot and continued on as usual. So, for the 101st post, I'm going to put up the works of legendary emo pop band Notaword, whose 1999 album You Can Only Grow So Much eluded me for quite some time, long before I started this blog. Now I finally have a physical copy.

In my experience, Notaword tend to be fairly well known among emo aficionado's. Some of their works are included in the 'long live emo' collection and they've made the rounds within the usual circles. So while I've had a digital copy for a long time, I always longed to have a high-quality rip of the LP because it's just so good.

Notaword were formed in 1996 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Their closest contemporary in sound and therefore the band they are endlessly compared to is The Get Up Kids, especially pre-Something To Write Home About The Get Up Kids. They share that midwest-pop-punk sound. But Notaword never experienced the same level of success (few emo bands did), which probably accounts for them calling it quits not long after the turn of the millennium. Last.FM says they broke up in 2001, but they released a compilation track in 2003, though that may have been posthumously.

In 1998, the band released two 7", New Car/How Far and These Things Take Time…. In 1999 they released You Can Only Grow So Much, and then in 2000 put out Four From Fortieth. The download below is almost a discography, but according to Discogs there's a compilation track from 1998 called "C14" that I've been unable to find.

You Can Only Grow So Much + Four From Fortieth + 7"s and Rarities