5 Bands To Start Listening To #1

Posted: by Henderson

1) Hampshire
Hampshire is a punk rock band from Michigan, who caught my attention with their spooky video for “Windows”. Halloween seems to be a theme for these guys, and it fits their haunting atmosphere perfectly.  Hampshire consistently bring sweet riffs, emotional vocals and catchy rhythms. When they break it down and the screams come out things really get exciting. They sound kinda like Brand New and Alkaline Trio stirred up in a pot. Their upcoming  7″ is due this Halloween on Save Your Generation Records. Check out their new track, “Perfect Enough” for a nice taste.

2) Runaway Brother
When I first listened to Runaway Brother, I was dumbfounded. Tracks like “My Bracelet” sounded just like Say Anything, except a little different. More energetic, a little bouncier, better maybe? Runaway Brother’s early stuff was indeed heavily inspired by the vocalist Jacob’s love for Say Anything, but as the band as matured the songwriting has become more of a collaborative process. I learned when talking to them for a recent interview that they’ve been hard at work on an LP which will be released on Tiny Engines later this year. It has been a labor of love for these guys so I expect nothing less than greatness. Here’s an acoustic video of one of tracks from the upcoming album to hold us over until it’s release.

3) Henrietta
Add another great Southern emo/indie band to the list. Henrietta has taken a leap forward with their solid new LP. The smooth vocals bring a tender emotional feel and the mathy instrumentals will have you tapping your toes while you sing along. “The Trick Is Not Minding” is out on now Animal Style Records and you can stream the whole thing for free here! Isn’t the internet great.

4) The Color and Sound
Massachusetts’ The Color and Sound are true pop punk. Sometimes they’ll add a ton of pop and sometimes only a dash, but the punk energy is always there. Listing influences as varied as Manchester Orchestra and Katy Perry, this crew is not afraid to mix things up. This may be exactly what makes their sound so unique. After an excellent debut EP and a cool video for “Graves”, things have really started to pick up for TCAS. They’ve signed to Black Numbers, released 3 excellent acoustic videos (1, 2, 3), and let me know in a recent interview that they’ll be releasing a new EP soon. Excited to hear how this ever changing sound has evolved.

 5) Free Throw
Nashville’s Free Throw have already released two excellent EPs full of emotional jams and intense vocals. Their most recent release, “Lavender Town”, was a nominee for our Best EP of 2013. Their Lil Elephant video for “Now Kith” is also particularly awesome. They’ve recently signed to Count Your Lucky Stars Records and will releasing their debut LP, “Those Days Are Gone”, on 9/16. With those two sweet records already under their belt I’m of course excited, but after they released the first two singles, “Tongue Tied” and especially “Two Beers In“, I’m counting down the minutes until this thing drops.

 

Thanks for reading! Check out these bands and let me know what you think.
– Hendo