Archipiélagos

From: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Genre: Emo, Math Rock, Instrumental

For Fans Of: American Football, Sharks Keep Moving, The Mercury Program

I know what you're thinking, "How can an instrumental band ever be tr00 emo? Without those puberty ridden, voice cracking, whiny vocals, how can I get sad to this?!?!" Well, rest assured, because Archipiélagos prove that you can convey emotion as powerfully only using instruments just as well as a vocalist can. And oh boy, do they ever pull it off. Each track makes me want to ride a bike or take a long drive on one of those movie-esque windy, sunny days and stare dramatically at things, rethinking every life decision I've ever made. I'm positive that movie would be a sad movie, or at least one of those weird happy-sad indie movies that causes you to wonder whether you're supposed to smile or cry. Basically, tangent aside, this record is really, really good at what it sets out to do. The lack of lyrics actually works better for me on some emotional level due to the fact that it leaves a lot of the emotion generated up to listener interpretation, making this a record that everybody should be able to connect with in one way or another. I was also blown away by Archipiélagos's ability to transition from more crowded, math rock oriented sections, to much more cut back, minimalist sections akin to American Football (There's even some horn on track 2!). Overall this record is one small emotional trip for those who wish to avoid lyrics and just vibe with the music a bit.

Free Tunes: https://archipielagos.bandcamp.com/

Remo Drive

From: Minnesota

Genre: Emo, Alternative, Post Punk

For Fans Of: Balance and Composure (they just remind me of them a bit, I don't know why), I can't really think of anything else, they're pretty unique.

Are you ready to get sad? If your answer is yes, then good, because with Remo Drive, it's time to get sad. Placing these guys, as mentioned above, is difficult for me (which I mean in the best way possible). They obviously have sort of an emo backbone, but fail to fully meet the standard of what I think of when I think of emo bands. Instead they mix some very loud to soft post punk/post hardcore-ish type sections, and even have a few sections of songs that sound they like belong on a Matador Records release. Now is any of this a bad thing? Absolutely not. This unique blend of styles shows that Remo Drive is a band that refuses to be pinned down and is more than happy to explore their influences a little bit and move a bit out of their comfort zone, and that totally rules. I've stated before that for me, I personally get sick of the millions of bands within emo nowadays who seem to just want to be as close to Algernon Cadwallader as possible. That's why Remo Drive's willingness to transcend genre boundaries and really explore multiple genres is so refreshing. I definitely believe these guys are a band that everyone should be following closely, Also what the hell is what up with Lost State records? Those guys have just been knocking it out of the park with their releases. Seriously an absolutely killer label at this point that I can really trust to put out solid releases. Final thing, but I feel like an Oddities/Remo Drive split would be insanely awesome, but that's just me. Anyways, after all the rambling, just check these guys out. You'll love it.

Free(!!!!) Tunes: https://remodrive.bandcamp.com/