I Breathe the Underground

The Top 20 Greatest Underground Debuts Pt. 4

And now, the finale of the Top 20 Greatest Underground Debuts! View Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.

5. Dropkick Murphys - Do or Die - Before Al Barr's grungy vocals entered the picture, DKM was fronted by now Street Dogs front man Mike McColgan. Do or Die was an animal all its own compared to the Murphys of today, riding waves of in-your-face street punk with a regular twinge of the Celtic punk so adamantly displayed in more recent Murphys albums. DKM might have turned out a very different band today had Mike McColgan not joined the Boston Fire Department. Then again, Street Dogs might be a decent representation of a very different DKM.

Download 10 - Barroom Hero

4. Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends - You haven't heard a record that more desperately requires a sing-along than TBS' Tell All Your Friends. Following the departure of Brand New's Jesse Lacey and preceeding the departure of Straylight Run's John Nolan, TBS was a complete unit, cranking out emo masterpieces filled with a new kind of teenage angst. Unlike today's TBS, Nolan's vocals seemed to stand out just as well as Adam Lazarra's had, creating the most potent and emotional combination I've heard to this day.

Download 06 Ghost Man On Third

3. Further Seems Forever - The Moon Is Down - Hey, remember how Chris Carraba formed Dashboard Confessional and made a bajillion dollars? Yeah, he was in Further Seems Forever before that ever happened. And they were incredible. The Moon Is Down is still one of the most powerful collections of songs I've ever heard, showcasing Carraba's vocals amidst spectacular drums and sentimental melodies. If you've never heard these guys, you better check 'em out. Just don't listen to any of their other albums, because this is the only one worthwhile.

Download 06 New Year's Project

2. Saves the Day - Can't Slow Down - They did slow down. But damn it all if they weren't lightning fast back then, cranking out tune after tune of sexually-frustrated emo-core with Lifetime-esque prowess. Three phrases to describe this album: short, fast, to the point. Much the opposite of my blog posts. Efficient punk rock with honest and violent, yet attractive lyrics that somehow felt comforting amidst the chaos and catchiness of the music. Still one of my favorite spins on my iTunes.

Download 07 Always Ten Feet Tall

1. Alkaline Trio - Goddamnit - What is there to say about Goddamnit that I haven't already written in detail? Not only is this the greatest debut album of all time -- it's simply the greatest album of all time. Disagree? Feel free to put your favorite album up against mine in the comments. As a warning -- I will argue Goddamnit's rightful place in punk history to the death.

Download 03 San Francisco

Two Tongues Are Better Than One

With February 3rd quickly approaching, I'm getting the jitters.

A few months ago, I posted a blog regarding the formation of and imminent debut album drop from Two Tongues. Since that last post, the brainchild of Say Anything's Max Bemis and Saves the Day's Chris Conley has heated up, causing quite a stir on the band's MySpace page. The debut self-titled album on Vagrant Records will hit shelves on February 3rd, and the MySpace gods have generously offered us two new songs from that album, band art, and an insightful EPK -- as well as a shitload of Two Tongues merchandise.

Thank god we can finally put a face on this wonderful musical concoction from heaven. Bemis comments on Two Tongues:

"The Two Tongues record is really an expression of the yin and yang; how two 'opposite' souls stimulate and battle each other in any truly loving relationship."

Don't worry, ladies. Conley and Bemis' relationship doesn't extend beyond the art and the friendship.

If you haven't visited the band's MySpace page in awhile, be sure to head over there and check out the wonderful new music they've posted. Oh yeah, and get psyched for February 3rd. I'm too excited to sleep!

Check out both sides of the coin below.

Download 03 Say Anything - The Writhing South

Download (02) You Vandal - Saves the Day

"Know the parasites burn beneath the lights / For once, for once in your life."
- Two Tongues, "Crawl"

...So Here They Come to Save the Day

Between Chuck Palahniuk's new novel and the brand spanking new Indiana Jones movie premiering tomorrow, I didn't think my excitement could grow any bigger. Then, it did. It grew so big that it hemorrhaged and exploded into a glorious thunderstorm of ecstasy and delight.

For a few months now, I've been reading the delicious teasing of Saves the Day's Chris Conley, touching ever so gently on the side project he'd been cooking up with Say Anything's Max Bemis. I didn't want to blog about it until something concrete finally poked its head through the gray clouds of obscurity, but now the sun is shining like an emotive beacon and the birds are chirping in harmonic unison.

I'd like to start you out with the original blog teaser, the original page of which I've linked above:

"Question: So I heard a rumor that you and David were doing a side project with Max and Coby from Say Anything, Is there any truth to this? If so, Are you guys planning to tour together in the future?

Answer: david and I recorded a full-length with max and coby in january.  max and I share lead vocals and we each play guitar.  david plays bass and coby plays drums.  the songs were 50-50 compositions between me and max (max would write the bridge to my songs, and vice versa) and david wrote one song.  we don't have a name for the side project yet, but we have a finished album.  there are eleven original songs and one cover of a song by ween called "even if you don't".  we're in the process of getting a deal to distribute the music, although right now there is no time set in stone for the release of the album.  we'll keep you posted.  if the album comes out this year, there's a small chance we will tour in support of the CD.  so keep your ears peeled!

Answered by chris on Apr 7th 2008"

Although they don't appear to be attached to a label yet, something has surfaced. And that something is awesome. I can only imagine the bidding war that's going on behind closed doors.

The band, cleverly called Two Tongues (I guess there's something to be said for keeping things artistically simple every once in awhile), is finally on the myspace board -- but more importantly, they've released the first song from the new album, which is fully recorded and ready to find a home. Called "Crawl," the song is the perfect combination of Bemis' slow, driving riffs and Conley's lighter, emo-er (? - I don't care, I'm using it) clean guitar arpeggio-rambling (which wasn't really a staple of Saves the Day's music until more recently -- it still isn't incredibly prominent, but it definitely evokes Conley's musical tendencies more than Bemis').
 Between Conley's industry-legendary rough high-end and Bemis' rising-star gruff low-end, the vocal combination is nothing short of spectacular. I can't imagine these guys will be long finding a label.

Now, for the love of pete, let's just hope Saves the Day and Say Anything can co-exist independently of Two Tongues. Could you imagine the scandal if this new side project broke the other two bands up? Woof.

"Do you know what I would do? / I would play 'can you drag yourself 200 miles with just your fingernails?' / A little game that I made up. / Do you know that I never ever lose? / There is nothing to keep me from coming back to you."

- Chris Conley, "A Drag in D Flat"

Video Made the Radio Stars Epic

I tend to listen albums to death. If it's pretty strong, it'll stay in my rotation for at least a couple weeks. If it's an awesome break-out album, it can stay as long as several months. If it's a legend, years.

It's much harder to keep my attention for more than a few days with an individual song, devoid of its context and complements. A few songs have managed to really stick with me, no matter what mood I'm in. For instance, Say Anything's "Admit It!" Saves the Day's "Sell My Old Clothes, I'm Off to Heaven." Boys Night Out's "Up With Me." Moneen's "Tonight I'm Gone." Circa Survive's "Handshakes at Sunrise." You get the picture.

The song has to be pretty epic.

The songs I deem epic and all-time playworthy rarely ever come paired with a music video. Until today.

I've been following Set Your Goals since they started breaking into the scene and blurring the line between pop and hardcore. It's hard to believe it has already been two years since the band's freshman full-length, Mutiny!, was released. Apparently, they've been touring pretty hard because, as of yet, I haven't heard plans for the next album. I'm sure it's in the works.

But, surprisingly late of the album's original release date, they've made a new video. I couldn't be happier to announce it accompanies a song not unlike the ones I describe at the top.

'Echoes' is the final track on Mutiny!, a melancholy anthem about the pain of losing a loved one. The song's overall message is hopeful, and the video does some serious justice to the song. Keeping with the theme, the characters all hold up obituaries and pictures at the end, signifying the loss of a loved one and giving the song some extra personality.

Set Your Goals has brought a breath of fresh air from the negativity of the hardcore scene, spewing positively-spun lyrics a la Gorilla Biscuits. Albeit for me to complain about the lyrics of an artist (I happen to enjoy the depressive nature of lyrics, especially when the words themselves are aesthetically pleasing), but you have to admit, it's ballsy to even try to spin a positive message musically nowadays (at least one that isn't smug and self-righteous), and even more impressive to actually pull it off.

Great job on the video boys. Next, could we work on dropping a new album?

"I am looking up now, death can’t change us."
- Set Your Goals, "Echoes"