American Football–LP2
Genre: Emo, Indie Rock, Math Rock
FFO: Owen, Owls, Into It Over It
17 years ago, an Illinoise trio known as American Football released a self-titled record that has come to gain recognition as a flagship record of the emo genre along with Sunny Day Real Estate‘s Diary.
The group disbanded before any true success was achieved, and frontman Mike Kinsella continued to perform music under the Owen moniker shifting his teen angst towards a more mature, folk-based venture.
2014 saw an unexpected reunion of repressings and sold out, one-off performances.
2016 sees the sophomore LP fans never expected.
Kinsella and the boys revitalize the angst and twinkley, euphoric atmosphere of the cult classic predecessor but find an appropriate way to apply such elements to their adult, family-oriented lives.
Goes Cube–Shadows Swallowed the Flood
Genre: Alternative Metal, Sludge Metal, Hardcore Punk, Post Rock
FFO: Torche, Black Tusk, Deftones
New York-based, Alternative Metal trio Goes Cube drop their third (and sadly last)LP filled with unique genre-bending, rock solid songwriting.
Shadows Swallowed the Flood is a hard record to pigeonhole even for a genre-obsessed blogger such as myself.
The heavy moments are crushing, the melodic movements are pristine and glimmering with etheral ambiance, and the faster pieces display an intense, raw punk rock vibe.
Each of the albums ten tracks boast a different yet cohesive flavor making Shadows Swallowed the Flood one of 2016’s strongest entries to date.
Khemmis–Hunted
Genre: Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, Rock
FFO: Pallbearer, The Sword, Yob
Denver-based Doom outfit Khemmis shine with a revtitalized, ironically optimistic take on the genre.
Hunted, the group’s sophomore effort, matches the crushing riffage of their counterparts, but brings about a nostalgically bright classic Rock energy to the mix.
NxWorries–Yes Lawd!
Genre: R&B, Soul, Funk, Hip Hop
FFO: Frank Ocean, D’angelo, Kendrick Lamar
MC Anderson .Paak and beat master Knxwledge pair up for a unique record in 2016’s realm of Hip Hop.
Nostalgia is a key element in both vocal presentation and production ranging from ’90s R&B, Motown, Funk, and even ’80s era synthpop.
Planes Mistaken For Stars–Prey
Genre: Post Hardcore, Emo, Punk Rock
FFO: Coliseum, Harm Wulf, Wovenhand
After a ten year break, Illinois-based Post Hardcore outfit Planes Mistaken for Stars make quite the comeback with a fourth LP picking up exactly where Mercy left off.
Prey boasts ten tracks of hard-hitting, Post Hardcore tracks laced with melody and equipped with a dark melancholic setting.
The quartet’s take on the genre may be a hard pill to swallow for younger listeners, but fans of the group and the era captured in particular will be more pleased with the quartet’s triumphant return.