MONDRARY

Band: MONDRARY
For fans of: Mouthing, Nuvolascura, Blind Girls, Febuary, Welcome The Plague Year, Clay Birds, and Shoganai.
Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Metallic Hardcore / Emo / Screamo / Skramz / Emo-violence

Related artists: ?.
Country: Baltimore, Maryland U.S.A.
Years Active: 2024-present

Label(s): Self Released

     I only heard MONDRARY at the tail-end of 2024 despite their debut six-track EP '...and the trees fell quiet' coming out in April. Don't worry I certainly made it for my lateness by jamming the shit out of it during November and December. Their chaotic/screamy and sometimes post-hardcore/singy combo is a welcome curveball from the typical screamo tropes. Sure they've still got annihilating screams, frantic freakouts, and angular instrumentals, but the constant question of "is this crazy bit going to lead into a quiet bit?" tends to leave me near the edge of my literal and figurative seat.

     Tracks one to three are combine for just five-and-a-half minutes of material but holy smokes is a lot compacted down into that little time cube. Opener "Pins" is 59 seconds of eerie, gorgeous instrumentals that lead into "Needles" which dices up the opener in no time, relying on jarring rhythms and lotsa screaming until that first emo/post-rock break at the 40-second mark, with the back-half of the song dipping back into anger and violence. Title track "...and the trees fell quiet" is another banger with two sneaky soft bits wrapped around the first inclusion of dual vocals. Things really get nuts on the backend of this release, as track four's "Bleed Me Dry, Sapphire!" puts the vocals at the forefront with a catchy, sassy, and wicked intro while the final moments of the song have the screaming coming apart at the seems in the most volatile fashion imaginable. "Paraffin" is another song that goes for jugular and is vintage screamo using dark and ominous tones...fuckin' love it. Closer "Animus" is arguably the most put-together song on the album, with many shifts and excellent transitions that create a seamless piece of work, with my favourite section being introductory build once the vocals chime in and the throat-shredding conclusion.

     This was definitely a slept on release but they'll likely make more waves as I've heard some of the band's new material and it is fantastic. Expect that summer/fall 2025!

________________________________________

DISCOGRAPHY

2024 - ...and the trees fell quiet digital EP (stream/donate/download here)

________________________________________

(2024) MONDRARY - "Bleed Me Dry, Sapphire" (from '...and the trees fell quiet')

https://youtu.be/6G8FOhOQYeE

(2024) MONDRARY - "Paraffin" (from '...and the trees fell quiet')

https://youtu.be/0KIl7U7HzRg

(2024) MONDRARY - "Animus" (from '...and the trees fell quiet')

https://youtu.be/ZUyR1OO2dA4

________________________________________

*** PODCAST #174 Best of 2024 (Dave Cullen) ***

    It's that time. That time that the Daves discuss 2024. The good (music), the bad (hairlines), and the totally irrelevant (Norman's guitar education). Some things we rambled on about: the Sponge Bob octave, touring Japan with Oaktails, Norman gets the guitar bug, losing hair, breakdown of the year, pirate screamo, mathcore space battles, the cusp of not enough, post-hardcore boy from 2003, train station vs. Driveyourplowoverthebonesofthedead, Telos tears, Gxllium! being held hostage by a guitar, art ineligibility, etc. Bands played in this podcast: Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow, Shoganai, Sinema, and Smush. Listen to podcast #174 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.

CROWNING
Bandcamp

1 Norman's Top 10 EPs + Splits

SHOGANAI "Carving" (Norman)

2 Cullen's First 10

SINEMA "Don't Just Stand There" (Cullen)

3 Norman's Top 10 LPs

SMUSH "Goodnight Moon" (Norman)

4 Cullen's Second 10

OUR FUTURE IS AN ABSOLUTE SHADOW "Mimitwo" (Cullen)

5 Additional Shoutouts

~no music

~Dave

____________________________________________________________________

PODCAST #174 linked here

_____________________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL LINKS

Best of 2023

Best of 2022

Best of 2021

CAMELIA

Band: CAMELIA
For fans of: Øjne, Dagerman, Radura, Alas, La Quiete, Raein, Keratin, Suis La Lune, Återstod, Via Fondo, Crossed, and Shizune.
Genres: Punk / Post-Rock / Post-Hardcore / Emo / Twinkly Emo / Screamo / Skramz

Related artists: ?.
Country: Lombardy ITALY
Years Active: 2024-present

Label(s): Self Released / Self Versed Records

      CAMELIA's 'insieme.' was sent to me a few months prior to it's release in January of 2025 and I was instantly hooked. They had a single jam available back in 2023 titled "favole" which gives a decent tease as what's to come, especially instrumentally, but I def dig the recent screamier vocals and would recommend visiting this track after the LP.

     On the aforementioned 'insieme.' album, these five Italians jump between twinkly emo and heavier screamo and everything in-between. The introductory track incredibly titled "Intro" does a great job of lulling the listener into a gorgeous, uphill jam that doesn't fall into that frequent pitfall of being boring and useless. "Fine" goes for jugular immediately but slows itself right before the kill and injects some twinkly screamo without the cheese and pretentiousness. The screaming immediately caught my attention as being thick but high enough in register to fit the Italian style, and really holds its own amidst a flurry of eloquent and impressive instrumentals. "Cancrena" really hits like some of Raein's heavier/older material but with a breakdown or two and I'm all fucking for it. Despite sharing a name "Pensieri I" and "Pensieri II" are quite different, with the former being short and split into a slow/singy first half and pretty wild/screamy second half, while the latter is more of an epic build that rivals Alas, Via Fondo, and Suis La Lune. The miniscule intro to "Specchio" is specchtacular, and everything afterward is nothing short of fantastic, with multiple screamers and a post-hardcore lacquer over that sexy Italian screamo. "Radici" boasts more singing and gang vocals which culminate at 2:33 when the instrumentals kick back in...probably a sing-along live jam. Closer "Casa" clocks in at the band's longest (4:18) and most mature of all the songs, as the flow and restraint shown really helps showcase the harder hitting moments after the 2:30 mark when shit gets wild. Wooooo what a ride.

     Someone needs to press this to vinyl, it's an album of the year contender for sure.

________________________________________

DISCOGRAPHY

2023 - favole single (stream/buy here)

2025 - insieme. cassetteLP (stream/buy here)

________________________________________

(2025) CAMELIA - "Cancrena" (from 'insieme.')

https://youtu.be/ZHGZV5s2nW0

(2025) CAMELIA - "Specchio" (from 'insieme.')

https://youtu.be/briUGBLF5-Y

(2025) CAMELIA - "Pensieri I" (from 'insieme.')

https://youtu.be/7kDQETG1Gb8

(2023) CAMELIA - "favole" (from 'favole')

https://youtu.be/yKnE6s4c5K8

________________________________________

*** PODCAST #173 Johnny Whitney (The Blood Brothers) ***

    This is a life moment. A time when my musical past comes full circle and smashes head-on into my current existence. It's a fuckin' trip, man. I caught up with Johnny Whitney of THE BLOOD BROTHERS arguably one of the most influential vocalists of my lifetime a week and a half after his reunion tour. Still reeling from the outreach from fans all over the U.S and an additional family vacation drive, he took some time out of his schedule to sit down with me for an hour and half. Lotsa gushing. Fuckin' lots. A few things we touched on: 80-minute sets, crying for days, false chord engagement, peaking in your 40s, vocal mantras, feeling vs. thinking about music, tactical inaccuracies coming off as charming flourishes, tour band shoutouts, Blood Brothers' connection to ZBR, inducing vomiting and birthing at shows, touring with Orchid, a short history of Vade, gettin' pissed about Pink Tarantulas, fun vs. not fun music videos, songs The Blood Brothers couldn't recreate live, everyone wants to be The Locust, best Nintendo game, the most dad gifts, etc. Bands played in this podcast: Botch, Gxllium!, The Locust, The Murder City Devils, and Transistor Transistor. Listen to podcast #173 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.

THE BLOOD BROTHERS
Bandcamp

1 Vocals as a Baseball Mitt

BOTCH "God vs. Science" (Johnny)

TRANSISTOR TRANSISTOR "Sweet William" (Dave)

2 7th Grade Vade (a band of children)

THE MURDER CITY DEVILS "Boom Swagger Boom" (Johnny)

3 The Future

THE LOCUST "Moth Eaten Deer Head" (Johnny) [official music video]

GXLLIUM! "Axel Peart" (Dave)

~Dave

____________________________________________________________________

PODCAST #173 linked here

_____________________________________________________________________

The Blood Brothers OMSB Review

*** BRAININAVAT exclusive song premiere ***

BRAININAVAT

"devouring"
exclusive song premiere

For fans of: Daniel Striped Tiger, Llewelyn, Bravo Fucking Bravo, Wolves and Lowmeninyellowcoats

Bandcamp (coming soon)

releases February 7th, 2025 on Tomb Tree

      BRAININAVAT is a new band from Ohio featuring at least one ex-member of Lowmeninyellowcoats (who readers of this blog are likely familiar with and missing hard), but shifts much more toward angular noise rock than technical screamo. Other notable bands the members have been in are CityCop, Griphook, Vita Bassa, Backtalk, Glass Bones and Quitr, and today I'm premiering their first single "devouring" from their self-titled EP releasing Friday Feb. 7th on Tomb Tree via 50 cassettes.

The band had the following to say about the track:

This was the first track written with Cody, our drummer, and you can hear that energy. At this point we weren’t sure if this was going to be more mathy/noodly, more thoughtful, or visceral, but it ended up being all of that. This track set the tone on the way we write songs, physically and emotionally. 

Lyrically this song is about dealing with the weight of a loved one’s death, the feeling of walking into a room and feeling like a freak because all you can think about is a ghost. The song ends with me trying to find meaning in this because we must go on. This is what every song on this record is about—trying to make friends with our ghosts and forgiving oneself for letting them down.

(2025) BRAININAVAT "devouring" (from 'braininavat')

https://youtu.be/6Oyq9007ogs

     Clocking in at 2:02, the EP's third track "devouring" wastes no time letting you know that slow and relaxed are not how this band generally operates. After nearly a minute of lightning, the band slows it down a tad and injects some nice start'n'stops before reverting back to breakneck speed. The grooves are very noticeable amidst the chaos and the bass is primarily to thank for that, although each instrument is great at holding their own. The yelled/screamed vocals rule and I certainly appreciate the inclusion of dual vocals for which I am always a sucker. Even if they suck. Which is not the case here. At all. Badass.

OSCURA CULTO

Band: OSCURA CULTO
For fans of: Akimbo, Belladone, Die Abete, Moxiebeat, Tigershark, Minerva Superduty, Black Love, and Nous Etions.
Genres: Punk / Rock / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Metal / Screamo / Noise / Black Metal / Thrash / Doom / Sludge

Related artists: ?.
Country: Madrid SPAIN
Years Active: 2020-present

Label(s): Self Released / Catábasis Records / Dingleberry Records / Pifia Records / Navalla / Hombre Montaña / Noizeland Records / Fresh Outbreak

      OSCURA CULTO are a duo play post-hardcore/screamo/rock, capturing a sound not easily comparable. I think the best I can do is label them the European Akimbo which is a hella compliment. Kinda sludgy, sorta doomy, occasionally upbeat and sometimes downright black metal, this band follows no clear trajectory.

     The band's 2021 debut EP 'Ascension' begins their discography with an excellent first jab. The production is crisp and the songs bare much resemblance to their later work although perhaps a bit more in-your-face and less introspective, and there's more of a punk vibe at times than post-hardcore. The opener is great for letting you know what's coming and the EP peaks on second track "Cave" which is an exceptionally driving song with equal dosing of dark hardcore atmosphere and playful rock/metal riffs complete with excellent screamed/yelled vocals.

     The duo's sophomore release is titled 'Invocación' and it follows a theme with the song titles: "The Moon", "The Shed", "The Party", "The Ritual", and "The Mask". Track for track I'd argue that this is the band's strongest release to date with "The Moon", "The Shed", and "The Mask" being my faves. "The Moon" opens the EP and shows the improvements in guitar which still drive like crazy, but also include excellent melodic nuances and riffs that are much grander in scale. "The Shed" is based around a very pleasing but brooding guitar section and closer "The Mask" centers around a swirling/danceable riff that teeters between beauty and chaos.

     2024's 'Ceniza' is the EP that got me interested in the band, as this feels like a continuation of their sound with subtle refinements. "Súplica" has a section just before the halfway point that I swear sounds like a cover of a Gorilla Biscuits song and injects some nice clean vocals near the end. It's closer "Sanación" that takes the cake for me, with perhaps an additional vocalist that lays down as of the one-minute mark, as the last half sounds like Crossed with the screams coming in searing hot. (I checked, it's definitely Miguel from Crossed)

     This band was a pretty random find but I def dig the sound and will be on the lookout for their next release, hopefully an LP!

________________________________________

DISCOGRAPHY

2021 - Ascension EP (stream/donate/download here)

2022 - Invocaci​ó​n EP (stream/donate/download here)

2024 - Ceniza 10"EP (stream/buy here) [buy 10" from Zegema Beach Records]

________________________________________

(2024) OSCURA CULTO - "Sanación" (from 'Ceniza')

https://youtu.be/wfRHxTqbpNE

(2022) OSCURA CULTO - "The Shed" (from 'Invocaci​ó​n')

https://youtu.be/xd9lOtuBq-s

(2022) OSCURA CULTO - "The Mask" (from 'Invocaci​ó​n')

https://youtu.be/x4V7SLmo0jg

(2021) OSCURA CULTO - "Cave" (from 'Ascension')

https://youtu.be/ndzZIinOruU

________________________________________

ADDITIONAL LINKS

"The Moon" official music video

https://youtu.be/JVQqY4j2JZ0

'Ascension' full EP official music video

https://youtu.be/v73-ak8og_Y

________________________________________