Issue #44 of SBS contains the debuts of mira, portrëit and Newman as well as the powerful 5-way collaboration between Thisismenotthinkingofyou, Yotsuya Kaidan, Healing Powers, I Hate Sex and Ghostlate.

We’ve already seen lots of great split records in 2017 thus far and with the international collaboration between Thisismenotthinkingofyou, Yotsuya Kaidan, Healing Powers, I Hate Sex and Ghostlate - five of the most exciting screamo bands out there - we witness another powerful band fusion packed with five incredible songs by five elite performers. The centerpiece of the 5-way split consists of ’Hyperrealism’ by Yotsuya Kaidan followed by ’An Apparition’ by Healing Powers, two stand-out tracks, which are wrapped by songs of Shaun Hancock’s one-man-project Thisismenotthinkingofyou, Canada’s screamo sweethearts I Hate Sex as well as Ghostlate’s ’A Bouquet That I Held And You’, which makes for a fantastic final. Records will be available on 7 inch via Rubaiyat Records and Samegrey Records.

Newman is a Stockholm-based emoviolence outfit, consisting of members from Vivresavie and Kid, Veral. For their common project, Hedda, Tobias and Vile’s focus lies on short and intense songs, whereat distressed screams perfectly interact with the chaos, inflamed by the furious instrumental department of the band. A neat prologue paves the way for its follow-ups, two short-winded songs, which are characterized by some changes in tempo and with lines like "It's warping, the scenery surrounding me builds itself up again. Each feeling, reinvented, felt again.“ the threepiece is capable of creating an oppressive symbiosis between music and lyrics.

"I don't know if you noticed but lately I've been drifting aimlessly, disillusioned. My friends leaving me for someone better - bizarro days - I’ve lost count, I don't care, big deal!!"

Based in Bremen, mira includes former members of Manku Kapak and ilill. Those former projects clearly become noticeable within the three songs of their self-titled debut as well as the band’s fascination for emotional punk music of the nineteen-nineties. Since their very first recordings from last year’s fall, the four-piece turned some setscrews, polished their song material and finally established a sophisticated sound pattern, quite close to Emo’s blueprints from three decades ago. Mira consist of Johannes, Malte, Nico and Lela - and they are 300 light years away from earth.

"But no matter how far I've come, how far I run, how high I fly. I can't deny the pain."

With merely burbling guitar chords, portrëit’s first song starts cautious, as Guckert’s screamed vocals abruptly burst through the melancholic sound and all of a sudden you’ll find yourself within one of the strongest emoviolence debut records of the previous years. Recorded in their rehearsal room during a couple of weeks in February, the two tracks of the demo have a playtime of slightly more than 14 minutes, whereas bassist Sonja, drummer Timo and guitarist Dirk were able to merge them into one coherent piece of dark, violent art and without letting chaos gain the upper hand the foursome from Giessen convinced us with their well-balanced song-structure. Definitely watch out for the demo tape, which will be available via Dingleberry Records anytime soon as well as for the group’s upcoming shows with Coma Regalia and Drei Affen.

For SBS #40 we collected four brilliant releases, including a conceptional Extended Play by atmospheric screamo group, They Sleep We Live, the debut of Elle, a recently founded screamy punk supergroup from California, the very first song of Kelut, a six headed emoviolence outfit from Illinois and a fantastic split between Yotsuya Kaidan and KAT, both from Ukraine. In other words, you will find something for every taste.

’The last departure, the end of a history. Leaving footsteps behind that won’t fade away.’ It’s the very first line, that already implies the significance of Escaping The Measures Of Time. They Sleep We Live from Bremen created a conceptional Extended Play, in which they make a statement ’to a life, that gets measured in time, making you forget that you're alive and leaves you in doubts about your own existence.’. Musically Nico, Fabian, Jens and Dirk offer a pleasant and atmospheric sound, spanning the spectrum between post-rock and screamo. With great attention to detail, Escaping The Measures Of Time follows the band’s split with Sweden’s Vi som älskade varandra så mycket and will be co-released on one-sided 12 inch vinyl through Pike Records, Dingleberry Records, Samegrey Records, Koepfen Records, Zegema Beach Records and Framcode Records.

"Pills for the people and profit for the capitol. We lost our empathy. We lost our consciousness. We lost our autonomy. The balance, more far away than ever.“

A few days back, recently founded screamy punk supergroup, Elle, really surprised us with the release of their sensational self titled debut EP. Based in Oakland, CA, the band, which assembles members of Beau Navire, Loma Prieta and Yearbooks, uncovered their first five songs out of nowhere. Elle extracts elements of indie punk, post-hardcore, emo, screamo and combines them to a unique blend. Right from the opening track called 'The clearing’, the fourpiece invites you to immerse yourself into their sound, which reminds me of a hybrid between ‚Self Portrait‘ and Yearbooks „inside’. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Comadre’s Jack Shirley at Atomic Garden, the Extended Play will be available on one sided 12’’ vinyl limited to 500 copies through Condition Records.

"Feel the heat from our bodies. Still as the trees. The fabric that holds me together. No matter how fragile our minds can be. The clearing, the purge, the place where you said follow. Framed tightly, we were folded into each other."

Hailing from Illinois, Kelut is a six-headed emoviolence collective, consisting of Tyler, Hugh, Scott, Miles, Tony and Ryan. When they play together it sounds like a symphony of well structured chaos, initiated by metallic guitar riffs and two-part vocals, whereas the listener can enjoy the flawless combination of high- and low-pitched vocals. The band from Peoria, which includes three members of Yusuke, is able to deliver an intense sound package, without invoking the standards of mainstream screamo. As Riflessioni Opposte Producono Risultati Diversi could be seen as an appetizer for what comes next, we eagerly wait to hear more of Kelut.

"Le tormente nella bocca delle speranze. Ti ho chiesto come si mettere una faccia che si puo vestire, ti ho chiesto se hai saputo che cos'è come avere un'altra facciae tu mi rispondi che tu non sai niente.“

By now Odessa’s Yotsuya Kaidan are no longer a sleeper. Quite the opposite - they really delivered with their previously released EP ‚Tired Of Tomorrow's You‘ and their top-notch split with Det är därför vi bygger städer from Sweden. Their new track called 'Тантал‘ is part of a common project with Кат and really fits in seamlessly with their earlier releases as it was written during the same period of time as their older songs. The song, which starts quite melodic, contains a few changes in tempo and convinces with its complex song structures. After almost six minutes the way is paved for the second half of the split. Hailing from Kharkiv, Кат contributes two additional tracks, that do not fail to surprise. Their fresh sound is characterized by the interplay of clean and screamy vocals, harmonizing perfectly with the instrumental background. Polished by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios, this highly recommendable split will be available on 7 inch vinyl, out this winter.

"This is about friendship. This is for friendship.“

Actually, this Extended Play was already released back in 2005, the year of the band’s breakup, just two years upon their formation. After their reunion at Miss The Stars Festival in Berlin several weeks ago, the band from Stockholm put it on bandcamp. Reason enough for us to talk it over. Getting better with every song, the EP reaches its highlight within the closing song called Embrace. It’s epochal, full of passion and features premium vocals, with Ina carrying her heart on her sleeve. The EP is a sleeping colossus, as it’s probably never got as much attention as it deserved. It should be noticed as a European screamo classic and I hope their reunion is just the first step in a process to reach this recognition. There might be some upcoming content, which involves this great band. Keep your eyes peeled.

‘I think it's time we blow this scene, get everybody and the stuff together... Okay, three, two, one, let's jam!’ For this collaboration, two of the most exciting European screamo bands teamed up. Released by the usual labels, the split unfortunately just includes two songs in total but what you can hear is incredibly good. For me, it didn’t take long to fall in love with the new gem of the Ukrainian band, which opens the split in a furious way. Right away from the start you are taken in by their terrific guitar-work, while the song steadily builds up to its climax. The song by the Swedes absolutely doesn’t lag behind and sums up for an absolute quality record. A++

“Я потерял тебя В странную летнюю ночь Которая перетекла в пасмурное утро Сейчас ты далеко В твоих глазах отражаются улицы Парижа.”

Let’s continue SBS #33 with another split. Recommended by Mathcore Index, the Ontarian liaison between Terry Green and Huge Cosmic contains two tracks each band. While Huge Cosmic’s style could be described as a blend of indie-shoegaze and MLIW inspired post-hardcore, Terry Green from Mississauga are playing excellently mathy screamo. The sound created by Adrian, Matt, Louis and Adam is full of energy and could be a perfect fit for your summer soundtrack – not least because of the strong amount of melodious parts. The split is available on cassette via Canadian based label, Zegema Beach Records.

“I’m ripping off my skin, the skin that I don’t fit in. Just for you to see and show just were I’ve been. Seeing you is always torture. It's something I admit but what I won’t admit Is I’m sorry.”

Kepler are an amazing new emo punk outfit from Mühlheim, Germany, and their selftitled demo is really well made. They are playing an exciting mixture somewhere between emo, screamo and post-hardcore. Since, three of the four songs contain strong hit potential, I kinda loved the EP from the first listen on. The songs are catchy and full of diverse sound structures. No matter if screamed or clean, the vocals are almost always on point and perfectly harmonize with the instrumental background. Kepler is Andy, Leon, Micha and Tomekk and I can’t wait to hear more of them.

"...we are friends / we are lovers / we are indefinable / we are clammy firework / ready to surprise / we are selfish / we are selfless / we are nothing in between / we are beautiful mess / and this is what it means to be invisible to the rest of the world."

Already two years around, Yotsuya Kaidan is an emoviolence quartet from Odessa, Ukraine, with members of Mariesena. Tired Of Tommorrow’s You is their very first release and it’s well-made in every respect. Partly, this can be attributed to the work of Will Killingsworth, who mixed and mastered the four tracks at Dead Air Studios. But he couldn’t have done such a good job without an appropriate foundation, delivered by the band itself. The composition of the songs, which were written in an abandoned shoe factory, answers the claim of an outstanding screamo record. On point and garnished with brilliant lyrics, declaimed in the band’s native language.

“You and I are dying - tasmanian tigers. I urgently need to take you - tasmanian tigers. Jaws twinkle like black holes. This is our dance for the sake of the revolution...”

During one of many conversations at Miss the Stars Fest in Berlin a few weeks ago someone told me that there are little screamo bands in France. Monte Ida from Rennes is just another proof, that this is not true. Mastered by Comadre’s Jack Shirley at The Atomic Garden, the four songs Extended Play is full of breathtaking melodies. Their sound is quite unique and it’s pure pleasure to listen to those songs again and again. Monte Ida is Cédric, Quentin and Pierre-Marie and they are a French Screamo outfit, which is worth listening to. Best regards to Henrik of Kishote. ;-)

“Turn off the light / Ghosts revealed to my eyes / Separate what’s dead and what’s not / Take the broken pieces / Imagine what must breathe then fix it / Put yourself in the skin that others worn before you and wasted”

To be absolutely honest: I didn’t like this release at first. Not that surprisingly, replies Stefan Ciric, the vocalist of the band. According to him, the songs are also pretty different for the band itself. Anyway, I gave those songs a second chance and I’m glad that I did. After a few extra spins, the seven new songs of Belgrade based emoviolence triumvirate Eaglehaslanded grew on me. And so it happens that their new selftitled EP is their fifth straight release, which found its way onto this little blog. Mirage/Мираж is the highlight track on the EP and probably one of the best songs Eaglehaslanded has ever written. This seven inch is definitely another must listen.

OH MY FUCKING GOSH. Already after a few seconds of the opening track, frauenhofer insel, and I’m totally blown away by the sound of this recently founded threepiece. The following five tracks are brilliant as well, getting every emo heart beat faster. Also mixed and mastered by Mr. Killingsworth, their tremendous interpretation of emotional punk music makes you want to bang yer head. For this exciting project from Nuremberg/Erlangen Todlowski teamed up with Julian of Masada. What a combination, what a surprise. Favorite Track: vampires

"Es bleibt dabei: All my friends are vampires. I didn't know they were vampires. Turned out to be a vampire myself in the devil town. (ob ich schon wandelte) im finsteren Tal (fürchte ich) Struktur als Selbstzweck (stets eine) eine erratene Pointe ein offensichtlicher Twist."