KEPONE

Ugly Dance

1994

Skin

1995

Discogs

Artist Biography

US alt rock band comprising Michael Bishop (bass/vocals; ex-GWAR), Tim Harriss (guitar/vocals) and former Honor Role drummer Seth Harris (later replaced by Ed Trask). Formed in the early 90s, they took their name from the pesticide that was manufactured by the Allied Signal Corporation of Hopewell, Virginia, in the 70s, and caused the company’s employees severe neurological damage (this incident was also the subject of a Dead Kennedys song, ‘Kepone Factory’). The band’s deliberate, anthemic rock style was unveiled with the 1994 release of Ugly Dance for Quarterstick Records. A potent collision of punk pop with the distinctive employment of dual lead vocals, it followed on from their excellent 1993 singles, ‘Henry’ and ‘295’. The latter single was released on Jello Biafra’s (ex-Dead Kennedys) Alternative Tentacles Records - supplying ample evidence of Kepone’s original inspiration. Skin and Kepone were further slices of the band’s endearingly offbeat alternative rock. 

Ugly Dance
 
Tracklist  

1	Loud	3:27
2	Dickie Boys	2:08
3	Leadbreath	2:48
4	Brainflower	3:42
5	Some Pig	2:36
6	Henry	5:49
7	Sith Talk	3:28
8	Fly Bop	0:55
9	Wrong	5:01
10	Eenie Meenie	1:38
11	Sick River	3:14
12	Silly Sally	3:00
13	Ugly Dance	3:40

 Skin

 Tracklist

1	Knifethrower	3:01
2	Velveteen	2:20
3	Blue-Devil	5:55
4	Stay Down	2:31
5	Ed's Sad Party	2:41
6	Idiot Ball Drop	2:18
7	Superfucker	3:29
8	Prisoners	3:55
9	Left Eskimo	2:59
10	Thin Solution	4:25

CALABASH CASE Parading Constantly 1998

Although I don't really like using the word "emo" when describing music, San Diego's Calabash Case fits the bill. However, it's not overbearing, there are some great guitar/bass hooks, and the vocals are tight and remind me of earlier Fugazi. Quiet at times, and at others, loud, and all around a good release. If you're into the 90's emo/hardcore/screamo genres, I'd highly recommend this.

Discogs

Tracklist

1	Grey & Green
2	Jim's Music Potion
3	All The Guys In Lino
4	You Spell It Anna
5	Bluegrass
6	Flavorful
7	Phamlet
8	Bury Jerry
9	You Carry M.J.
10	With A Little Help From Friends

FUEL Monuments To Excess 1995

Apparently and surprisingly, I have never posted this fantastic compilation of music from Fuel, whose first release hit the scene back in 1989 on cassette, and simply titled "Fuel!." In 1990, Fuel released a split 7 inch (luckily I still have my copy) with Phleg Camp and in '91 recorded a split 7 inch with Angry Son. Below is a nice review of this comp.

Wikipedia

Discogs

AllMusic Review by Jack Rabid 

Ten years ago when emo was young, this late San Francisco four were the West Coast's answer to the peaking D.C. Dischord roster of Fugazi and other such bands. This second reissue of their lone 1990 self-titled LP, originally on the Rough Trade subsidiary Sixth International (with seven bonus tracks from four 7" releases), is a good example of where it all began. Jim Allison and Mike Kirsch's vocals are brutally shouted, tunefully, with great angst and an antagonistic sense of wrong. The band is as resolute, fast, and edgy as its lyrics (clue: a picture of Woody Guthrie with his "This machine kills fascists" guitar graces the inner sleeve), and is at its best when its Adolescents-derived So-Cal soaring leads step up. It all has that stamp of authenticity to it, of people inspired by a new movement to say and play something bestial and important. It has the urgency that a substantial chunk of underground post-punk/post-hardcore music had during the second half of the '80s. Now it doesn't seem so unique, but that's what happens when you and others make a mold that is later overcopied. This original version of emo was a lot more hardcore, a lot more out there and intense than the sometimes more polite version of today's more easily replicated kind. This required a total physical and emotional charge. (P.O. Box 460402; San Francisco, CA 94146-0402) 

Tracklist

1	Disengaged
2	2:52 (Instrumental)
3	Some Gods
4	Remains To Be Seen
5	Cue To You
6	The Name Is...
7	Why Can't You See
8	Actualized
9	Habit
10	Not Up For Sale
11	Take Effect
12	Untitled (Instrumental)
13	Incomplete
14	Fuel Hymn (Activate)
15	Turn On
16	Why Can't You (Shield Your Eyes)
17	The Name Is...
18	For Lack Of Better Words (Shine)

BRAWL Thalidomide 1996

Noise rock from Northern Ireland. Remember Fuel's release "Monuments to Excess?" If you like Fuel (not the cheesy band from the early 00's) you'll probably like this, as "Thalidomide" contains similar drumming style and guitar riffs.

Discogs

  
Tracklist
 

1	Grunt	3:36
2	Outrage	3:22
3	Stand In Line	4:23
4	Fire Brigade	2:27
5	Opinion	3:42
6	H.D.O.	4:26

NEW WET KOJAK self titled 1995

Discogs

Artist Biography by Heather Phares

New York's arty, jazz-inflected rock five-piece New Wet Kojak formed in 1995, when Girls Against Boys members Scott McCloud and Johnny Temple recruited guitarist/engineer Geoff Turner (formerly of Grey Matter), drummer Nick Pelleciotto (a former member of Edsel), and saxophonist Charles Bennington, all of whom hailed from GVSB's hometown, Washington, D.C. That year the group released its self-titled debut album on Touch & Go Records, and despite infrequent gigging and McCloud and Temple's commitment to Girls Against Boys, New Wet Kojak released their follow-up, Nasty International, in 1997. The group switched to Beggars Banquet for its third album, Do Things, which arrived in spring 2000. Beggars also released an EP in 2001 and another album in 2003, This Is the Glamorous. 

Tracklist  

1	Stick Out Your Tongue	3:17
2	Sexy Postcard	3:18
3	You Got Some Dog	4:05
4	Freak Now	3:35
5	Thought You Was	2:29
6	Tito, Tito	1:26
7	Your Tongue (Remix)	2:52
8	Me Acuerdo De Ti	4:05
9	Unbuckled	4:19
10	Shake You Down	5:19

THE MISSION Carved In Sand 1990

Discogs

Artist Biography by Steve Huey

Described by critics as melodramatic and bombastic, the Mission, as they were known in their native U.K. (their name had to be changed in America owing to a Philadelphia R&B band with the same moniker), nonetheless attracted a core audience of goth rock fans. The Mission was formed in 1986 by guitarist/singer Wayne Hussey and bassist Craig Adams, who both left the Sisters of Mercy to do so. (Hussey had also played with the Walkie Talkies and Dead or Alive.) The two recruited Artery guitarist Simon Hinkler and former Red Lorry Yellow Lorry drummer Mick Brown and called themselves the Sisterhood, to which Sisters of Mercy leader Andrew Eldritch objected strenuously. The Mission released two successful independent singles in the U.K. and signed to Mercury in 1986. The group soon completed its debut album, God's Own Medicine, which went on to produce a handful of U.K. hits, while critics found much of the record to be reminiscent of Led Zeppelin and Yes. Although the band toured extensively in the U.K. and America; Adams had to return home from the latter leg after suffering from exhaustion. Produced by Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, their third album Children, widened the band's audience, reaching number two on the U.K. album charts. 1990's Carved in Sand shed some of the Mission's Zep fascination for more refined songwriting. Hinkler left the band midway through the supporting tour and was eventually replaced permanently by Paul Etchells. Meanwhile, several Mission members backed Slade members Noddy Holder and Jim Lea on the Christmas charity single "Merry Xmas Everybody."

By 1992, Hussey was the only original member left; following the 1994 Sum and Substance retrospective, he recorded the 1995 album Neverland with a new Mission lineup. Blue followed a year later, with the greatest-hits retrospective Resurrection appearing in fall 1999. The 2001 album Aura was followed by a world tour that slowly saw the new line-up dissolving. By the time God Is a Bullet arrived courtesy of the 2007 version of the band, Hussey was living in Brazil. He announced that the Mission would actively promote the album through early 2008, after which he would be focusing on solo work. His first release to fall into this category was Bare, a Hussey album largely made up of cover versions which appeared before the end of that year. Next, an album of outtakes from the God Is a Bullet sessions was issued in 2010, under the name Dum Dum Bullets, before Curios -- an album of covers and original material -- appeared in 2011 under the Hussey-Regan moniker, re-kindling Hussey's creative relationship with the All About Eve founder Julianne Regan. For much of 2011 and 2012, Hussey appeared live under The Mission name in celebration of their 25th anniversary and by 2013 fans of the band were awaiting a rumored tenth studio album which was expected that September. 

Tracklist 

1	Amelia	2:53
2	Into The Blue	4:14
3	Butterfly On A Wheel	5:43
4	Sea Of Love	5:20
5	Deliverance	6:04
6	Grapes Of Wrath	4:19
7	Belief	7:35
8	Paradise (Will Shine Like The Moon)	3:52
9	Hungry As The Hunter	5:16
10	Lovely	1:56

DRIP TANK

 Slake

1992

 

Sprawl

1992

 by request

 San Diego band known for playing in 7 Elevens. Great alternative rock. Highly recommended!

Discogs 

Slake

Tracklist

1	What The Hell	1:06
2	Outside	1:55
3	PBJ	1:56
4	Quencher	3:04
5	Thinking Of You	4:01
6	3-Men	3:34
7	Sense	4:40
8	Feel Low	2:56
9	Muddbogg	1:26
10	Pinball	2:28
11	Captain Crunch Countdown	5:42
12	Miserable	3:02

 Sprawl

Tracklist

1	Happy Radio
2	Furniture
3	Mad At Me
4	Stool
5	Suspended
6	Circumstance
7	Fire
8	Skull Fracture
9	Shithouse
10	Motherlode

VERSUS Two Cents Plus Tax 1998

by request

 

Discogs 

 

Tracklist  

0	Oriental-American	4:34
1	Atomic Kid	4:03
2	Dumb Fun	3:22
3	Never Be O.K.	4:11
4	Morning Glory	6:53
5	Radar Follows You	4:34
6	Underground	3:58
7	Spastic Reaction	3:26
8	Crazy-Maker (I'm Still In Love With Your Eyes)	6:25
9	Jack And Jill	3:53
10	Mouth Of Heaven	5:39