2014 has begotten a lot of fantastic music and as the year draws to an end, we can celebrate another superior release.

Viva, Viva Belgrado!

With Flores, Carne, the Spanish screamo collective from Cordoba delivers one of the most ambitious and most beautifully records of the current year. It contains ten wonderful tracks with atmospheric and beautiful melodies, alongside heartbreaking vocals. Every single one of them contributes to the special atmosphere, which constitutes the beauty of the record.

Viva Belgrado are leading you through excitingly varying soundscapes in which you can lose yourself easily. It’s the most striking reason why this record feels so rich in variety.

The LP includes cumbersome emo parts, as well as stormy and epic post rock riffs. The changing sound structures are combined with skramzy vocals. Whispered spoken word is mixed up with impetuous and heart-wrenching screams, sometimes reminding me of a Heaven in Her Arms and La Quiete.

Every song connects fluently to the next one, so that the whole album results in one overwhelming coherent piece of music.

The LP will be released on vinyl via several labels, including Koepfen Records, releasing also the Dearest/Wherebirdsmeettodie Split.

“Kalopsia” is the debut full-length of Crows-An-Wra from Cornwall, which are according to the band “9 new tracks of spacey prog screamo”. The record has been released through a collaboration of five different labels.

The first thing, which occurred to me, is the artwork of the cover. Just like the foregone selftitled EP, the cover was created by Justin B Nelson and features a colorful abstract painting, whereat colors and shapes have a strong resemblance to those seen on the EP cover. One might think that it’s a cut-out from the demon of the EPs cover, showing a different perspective. I really like this idea.

The record starts with a one-minute long intro, which also is the title track of the album. “Perseus” connects fluently, capturing the sound of the intro. After a few seconds, spacy guitars and a mighty Bassline combined with vocals and drums take over, creating an atmosphere of departure. The next track on the LP “Vibrant Colours” starts off in a furious manner. Fast and distorted guitars shredding all the way until alternating screaming and spoken words break through the wall of sound. On to “Constraint In Secrets”. This one offers some spoken vocals too, flanked by frazzling guitars and driving drums while the follow-up “Dismay! The Seconds Slow” fascinates with Indie-ish melodies. The song “Heavy Heads” is characterized by beautiful female vocals, which are accompanied by the sound of an acoustic guitar. After two minutes, “Blossom” breaks through the calmness. Smashing drums and twinkling guitars relieving the lullaby-character of its forerunner. From now on female vocals and rough screams are combined to a beautiful chant, building the highlight on this amazing album. Although the last two tracks are easily overshadowed by the brilliant interplay of “Heavy Heads (i)” and “Blossom (ii)”, they mark a good closure to an overall beautiful sophomore full length album.

You better listen to “Kalopsia” if you haven’t already.

„До свидания…отпусти меня летать…“

Eaglehaslanded is a screamo outfit from Serbia, which was founded in 2012.

The band’s singer Stefan Ćirić and the guitarist Djidji grew up in the surrounding region of Belgrade. As the country was shattered by the war, the Ćirić family immigrated to Russia, where Nemanja was born. After living there for several years, Stefan and Nemanja Ćirić finally returned to Belgrade.

The EP, which was released in June 2014 via Shivery Productions, is opened with a scenic intro called “Leaving The Church In Ashes“. It starts with the sound of three clattering empty bottles and after a few seconds a dark guitar riff and a manic voice drop in. This one sound pretty disturbing and spooky, borrowing samples from an old American movie (“The Warriors”).

The following song is capturing the mood of the intro and continuing in the same manner. The vocals are brutal and off the wall while bass and drums come swinging at you. The lyrics are quite depressive, describing the way you feel being caught in regrets and how it can change oneself. The next track „White City lies” begins calm and dreamy till harsh screams set in and the song gathers speed. Halfway through, Eaglehaslanded is slowing things down without losing any intensity. “Raul And Julia (Lizards And Queens)” connects perfectly. It is the beautiful interpretation of a farewell song that does without many words. The EP concludes with “Uvijek Sam Usamljen Ja”, an old Yugoslavian folk song, which makes way for the pushing vocals and the rough screamo sound.

In my eyes, European screamo is so exciting and vibrant as it has never been before. The new selftitled EP of Eaglehaslanded is definitely another proof for that.

“Don’t expect forgiveness from me, I’ve already buried your orchids underground my tears are so sour that my eyes burn, inhaling poison from your breath, I feel nothing. No words, only broken promises…”

“I have no idea where you are from or who you actually are.
But I guess you already have someone who is better than me.
And thats fine!”

Currently we all get flooded by a wave of new releases. 52 Hertz got in line and released their first EP called “Somnolence” a few days ago.

The EP begins with “Every Bruise Is A Hickey From The Universe.” Without wasting any time, the rough vocals of Heinzel start bursting in. Opposing the calm sound of guitar and drums the vocals begin to crack. As the song moves on towards the end, twinkling guitars and rolling drums swell to accompany the vocals. The lyrics are matching the emo melodies perfectly and topping of the start of “Somnolence”.

The follow-up, “Purr”, is a re-done of the band’s song “Curr” off their previous demo. In addition to a change of name the sound has changed as well. “Purr” sounds clearer and more sophisticated without losing its asperity, though. But one thing remained: this catchy song is fun and its melodies cheering up to sing along. “Kufte” also leaves nothing to be desired. Rough and clean vocals alternating while driving drums and playful guitar riffs arranging a beautiful song structure. The next song “Shyonara” is characterized by a moving bassline and the jazzy sound of the twinkling guitar which both move along till the end. The clean vocals of Mike fit in perfectly and just like the opening track of the EP, “Shyronara” features some classy emo lyrics. “Perfectly Unhappy” connects fluently. It might be my favorite on this brilliant debut EP. I really enjoyed this track from the very first second as the architecture of the song is so wonderful. Besides its complexity, “Perfectly Unhappy” can convince with smart changes of tempo and beautiful harmonies. The lyrics of the song are quite philosophical, capturing a quote by Dalai Lama and Nobel Peace Prize winner Tendzin Gyatsho.

“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”

As “Somnolence” gets better and better with every listen, this EP should be part of everybody’s soundtrack for the summer.

The EP will be released via Shivery Productions, Don’t Shoot The Messenger, Tief in Marcellos Schuld and Flood Floorshows later this summer. It will be pressed on colored one sided 12’’ limited to 500 pieces and comes up with a B-Side screenprint.

Actually, the EP should be only available for streaming till the release on vinyl. Not until then, the name-your-price-download should be possible. Due to the absentmindedness of Heinzel, Mike and Gregor you already can download the EP for free.

After a sensational Demo and an underappreciated EP, Shirokuma from Söderhamn, Sweden just released their debut full length “sun won’t set” on the UK label Dogknight Productions.

The lineup of the Brighton based Label is packed with great bands, such as We Came Out Like Tigers, Old Gray or You’ll Live. But for all that, there is no need to hide for the Swedish screamo fourpiece which was founded back in 2012. In my opinion Shirokuma ranks among the best European screamo bands these days.

“A Cloud Painted” opens the record with intensity and cryptic, ocean related lyrics. The next songs “Cold, Cold Hands” and “To Seek Out My Very Own Sun”, as well as “Okami” fit in seamlessly with the opening track, making up for an awesome start of the LP. „Four Rivers“ is probably the best track on the album. Architecture and arrangement of the track are just brilliant. After an atmospheric intro, the desperate vocals of Jonathan drop in, persisting in the background. But after a while, drums and vocals gather pace, building-up to a sweeping screamo hymn, which ends on a beautiful piano-solo. The poetic lyrics harmonize perfectly with the sad but beautiful soundscape.

“Sometimes we get lost,

Sometimes our lighthouse won’t shine,

Sometimes we have to say goodbye”

The next song on the LP ”Chiaroscuro” can convince with exciting drumming and smart changes of tempo. Cheerful guitar riffs alongside moving drums creating a perfect setting for the heart-piercing vocals. The followup, „Falling Leaves From A Dying Tree“, gives no chance to take a breath, ensuring, to keep the level of the previous songs. Lyrically, the Band is sticking to the point. The record culminates in the terrific “Blue circles turning black”. The second to last track starts with a bracing, indie-ish guitar riff and a sick drumline, which maintains till the end. Even when the lyrics are dark and pretty distraught, the band is able to create a sound full of hope and confidence. The song grows with every single second till it collides and turns into a powerful chorus. At the very end, Shirokuma are serving a calm and dreamy instrumental song, which tops this stellar record off perfectly.

“Lost by the sea

Tied back to back

Blue circles turning black”

In my eyes “Sun won’t set” is the most ambitious and focused release by Shirokuma and with 2014 halfway through, “Sun won’t set” clearly should be a contender for every end-of-the-year-list.

Human Hands is a Midland emo band that formed in 2010. Four years later, after several splits and a self-titled seven inch, they finally released their first long player. It took a while for them to finish the record, as Clyde, the guitarist of the band, moved from Birmingham, England to Reykjavik, Iceland. But after two and a half years of writing, recording and a short-time hiatus the result is overwhelming.

The record includes six well composed emo songs. Beautiful melodies are combined with vocals somewhere between spoken word and desperate screams, which reminds me strongly of Indian Summer. Human Hands definitely understand their business - every single moment of the record is carefully thought out. The lyrics of the LP are socio-critical, pondering and do not borrow the emo cliché.

The last track “without warning” is my personal highlight of the LP. The intro of the song starts with twinkling guitars, changing slowly over to a shredding sound, while the pulsating drums are creating an anxious and grasping atmosphere. After the 4-minute overture the cracking vocals of Chaz are crashing in. From this point onwards the vocals alternate between spoken word and screaming, while the music perfectly accentuates the desperate tune. You couldn’t have wished for a better final for this record.

Human Hands’ debut full-length is definitely one of the most exciting emo records you will hear in 2014. Highly recommended.

52 Hertz is an emo three piece from Würzburg, Germany, which was founded in late 2013. The band, featuring members from Kapytaen and Folded Flags, released a promising demo including two songs on Shivery Productions earlier this year.

The sound of 52 Hertz is catchy and can be resided somewhere between Algernon Cadwallader and Sport. The rough and melancholic voices of both vocalists are combined to a powerful chant that gives their songs an individual note. While the vocals are accompanied by twinkling guitars and floating drums, the lyrics of the demo are dealing with the fear of losing close people, as well as being caught in the town you live, wasting life and being unsatisfied.

Even though they just released two songs, 52 Hertz already shared stage with TWIABP, Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate)! and Rainmaker among other great bands. Despite being a very recently formed band, their live performances do not fall short of their stage mates’ live quality as I could experience for myself. 52 Hertz find a great balance between a joyful sound creating a pleasant atmosphere and lyrics that speak of a generation’s fears, combining to a wonderful emo piece. You definitely should check them out if you have the chance to see them on one of their upcoming shows.

52 Hertz are currently recording songs for their forthcoming record which will be pressed on vinyl. In the meantime you can stream or download their demo on bandcamp.

Give them a listen or miss a good thing.

“Cause cats don’t live as long as desired.”

Science is made up of mistakes are three hombres from the capitol city of Spain, playing 90s inspired screamo in terms of bands like Saetia and Ampere. The band released their debut EP “The Backbone of the Night” in mid-march on bandcamp. There are no physical copies of the EP yet, but it will be released on cassette via the US DIY-label “Off Cloud Nine” later on.

The lyrics of the EP contain quotes from philosophers and scientists like Johannes Kepler or Edgar Allan Poe. The vocals of Lois are intense and so damn authentic. Not at least because he is literally screaming his heart out. At the same time the guitars create beautiful melodies, which perfectly emphasize the raw emotions of the distressed vocals.

The EP is well made and it gets better and better each time listening to it. You absolutely can hear that they rely on their experiences from their former projects like ¡Silencio, Ahora, Silencio! and Eros+Massacre.

You definitely should give them a listen.

“I wanted to become a theologian, but I realized God can be explained through astronomy.” (Johannes Kepler)

Wherebirdsmeettodie is a screamo three piece from Uniontown, PA. On their debut EP “I’m Alone in This”, which is dedicated to the aggressively depressed, they’re combining heart-wrenching vocals with progressive, dreamy indie guitar riffs. At least since bands like Tiny Moving Parts, Old Gray or You’ll Live, who regained popularity of the Midwest screamo genre, we all know that this combination works quite well.

The lyrics of the EP are poetic and telling stories of pure heartache, nostalgia, lost love and depression. It’s hard to find a highlight song, as the 4 tracks of “I’m Alone in This” are building a beautiful oeuvre.

“Real stars explode, but our love will only fade.”

The EP, which was released on Driftwood Records, is already sold out, but you still have the chance to pick up the European version of the tape released by Shivery Productions. The cassette is limited to 50 copies and comes up with a screenprinted, handsewed sleeve made by Kalmare Print and a folded lyric sheet.

Two month after the european release Wherebirdsmeettodie put two new songs on their bandcamp, which will be released on a split with a german band, which will be announced officially later on. You can stream the new songs as well as “I’m Alone in This” on their bandcamp page. I’m really excited for the bands future and what will come next.