Opening the show are two more great Chicago pop-punk bands, August Premier and The Fold. Get your tickets soon before they’re all gone. Until the show, here’s a video for “5 Years” off Allister’s latest record, Life Behind Machines.

Against Me! – Reinventing Axl Rose
As Friends Rust – A Young Trophy Band In The Parlance Of Our Times
Brendan Benson – Lapalco
The Casket Lottery – Survival Is For Cowards
Finch – What It Is To Burn
Get Up Kids – On A Wire
Hot Hot Heat – Make Up The Breakdown
Hot Water Music – Caution
Interpol – Turn On The Bright Lights
Isis – Oceanic
Jets To Brazil – Perfecting Loneliness
Killswitch Engage – Alive Or Just Breathing
Lucero – Tennessee
Mclusky – Mclusky Do Dallas
The Mercury Program – A Data Learn The Language
New Found Glory – Sticks & Stones
The Notwist – Neon Golden
Pedro The Lion – Control
The Promise Ring – Wood/Water
Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

February 24, 2012 – Promise Ring @ Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI

March 29, 2012 – Masked Intruder @ Beat Kitchen, Chicago, IL

June 29, 2012 – Lipstick Homicide & City Mouse @ Township, Chicago, IL
I couldn’t find any videos from this show, but, trust me, it was great.

August 5, 2012 – At The Drive-In @ Lollapalooza, Grant Park, Chicago, IL

September 15, 2012 – Slapstick @ Riot Fest, Humboldt Park, Chicago, IL

September 15, 2012 – Descendents @ Riot Fest, Humboldt Park, Chicago, IL

October 26, 2012 – Restorations @ The Fest, High Dive, Gainesville, FL

October 27, 2012 – Red Collar @ The Fest, The Top, Gainesville, FL

October 28, 2012 – Erica Freas @ The Fest, CMC, Gainesville, FL

October 28, 2012 – Grade @ The Fest, Florida Theater, Gainesville, FL

10. Luther – Let’s Get You Somewhere Else (Chunksaah)
Luther is a relatively young band from Philadelphia and their latest record, Let’s Get You Somewhere Else, is filled with the sort of punky power-pop that is so catchy it might bore a hole in your brain. Unlike a lot of their regional contemporaries, Luther’s sound is a bit more straightforward and less chaotic but no more less effective. Musically the band channels the likes of Cheap Girls, Knapsack, and that last self-titled Lemonheads album while the vocals remind me of both Chris McCaughan (Lawrence Arms) and Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum). The album was also produced by Pete Steinkopf from The Bouncing Souls. Really, what else do you need to know?
MP3: Luther – Heavy Money

9. Big Awesome – Birdfeeder EP (Self-Released)
The Birdfeeder EP is filled with four songs of the best newfangled emo you’ll find anywhere in 2012. Big Awesome may have only given us 10 minutes of music, but they don’t waste a single moment of it. The band effectively matches lilting basslines, twinklecore guitars and a touch of punk energy in way that accentuates the brevity of the songs here and makes playing this multiple times impossible. The EP ends on the highest note possible as the band belts out, “I spent all my time writing songs that don’t mean anything (so) I will waste no time living life and loving everything.” Fucking perfect.
MP3: Big Awesome – Drawing A Line In The Sand

8. Dikembe – Broad Shoulders (Tiny Engines)
Of all the albums on this list, I’ve had the hardest time writing even just a few sentences about this one. Here goes. Broad Shoulders is the debut full-length from Gainesville, Florida’s Dikembe. It’s a heady blast of Kinsella-esqe emo that sounds as anxious as it is anchored. Sure, there are the requisite twinkling guitars, but it’s the band’s instrumental interplay, especially from the rhythm section, that is especially impressive. The vocals have an almost spoken-not-sung quality that’s also quite unique. I really love this record even though I can’t say exactly why. RIYL: Wavelets, You Blew It, Cap’n Jazz, etc…
MP3: Dikembe – Apology Not Fucking Accepted

7. Hop Along – Get Disowned (Hot Green)
The first time I tried to listen to this album, I didn’t make it through the first song. The next time I listened to it, I was completely blown away. Hop Along is a band that, on Get Disowned, combines passionate and disjointed indie rock with herky jerky acoustic freak folk. It’s like seeing the artistry and beauty in a building demolition. Frontwoman Frances Quinlan’s vocals are incredible even if, perhaps, a bit of an acquired taste. She weaves quivering melodies in and out of a fractured-yet-cohesive and almost collaged musical backdrop. Truly amazing stuff. RIYL: Julie Doiron, Built To Spill, Laura Veirs, etc…
MP3: Hop Along – Tibetan Pop Stars

6. Everyone Everywhere – Everyone Everywhere (Self Released)
Everyone Everywhere’s second self-titled album is significantly better than their first and it finds the paint painting their somewhat-hazy emo sound on an even broader canvas this time around. The band still has a bit of a Promise Ring vibe but a little less so than on their last album. The songs are a bit adventurous but so damn hummable that it sounds a little like a lazy sunny Saturday afternoon. I’m not good at writing about emo records. Twinklecore.
MP3: Everyone Everywhere – The Future

4. Erica Freas – Belly (Rumbletowne)
Every single time I’ve listened to Erica Freas’ new album, Belly, I’ve gotten goosebumps. It’s really that good. You might know her as the vocalist/guitarist in the pop-punk band RVIVR who wasn’t in Latterman, but, make no mistake, this is certainly not a punk record. Belly is a wickedly simple album that’s basically nothing more than Erica’s voice and acoustic guitar yet it manages to, almost instantly, completely captivate me. Additionally, the unpolished sound of the recording accentuates her almost-fragile delivery and makes the emotion in her poetry just jump out of the speakers.
MP3: Erica Freas – Spider Song

4. Classics Of Love – Classics Of Love (Asian Man)
Classics Of Love is Jesse Michaels’ current band. Jesse Michaels was the singer for Operation Ivy. This record, their debut self-titled full-length, is amazing. Jesse’s vocals are unmistakable and, musically, it’s not completely dissimilar to Operation Ivy. Just imagine less ska and a way tighter and more direct punk sound and you’ll be right on track. Listening to this album and just how furiously it is delivered really takes me back. It’s an energetic record that’s both nostalgic and completely refreshing.
MP3: Classics Of Love – Gunshow

3. Bill Fay – Life Is People (Dead Oceans)
Life Is People is the first album of new material that Bill Fay has officially released in over 40 years and it is amazing. Since I know my audience here, just imagine if Frank Turner was 70 years old and played piano instead of guitar and you might be onto some sort of description. Fay’s weathered voice sounds ragged and aged, but it only makes the lyrics that much more poignant. His melodies are beautiful and the arrangements always seem to perfectly suit the song. And if just hearing new material from this legendary Englishman, he covers a Wilco song and gets help from Jeff Tweedy on another one. A truly brilliant and beautiful album. RIYL: Cat Stevens, Mark Knopfler, Frank Turner, etc…
MP3: Bill Fay – There Is A Valley

2. Mixtapes – Even On The Worst Nights (No Sleep)
On Even On The Worst Nights Mixtapes continues to play an ultra-catchy brand of pop-punk with near-constant male/female vocal harmonies that is distinctly their own. The record sounds bigger, runs longer and perfectly captures what Mixtapes does. You can read my full review of the album here.
MP3: Mixtapes – Something Better

1. Red Collar – Welcome Home (Tiny Engines)
With their latest full-length release, Welcome Home, Durham, North Carolina’s Red Collar again delivers a modern amped-up take on Americana. The jagged and angular post-punk of Pilgrim has been turned down a little, making Welcome Home a decidedly more even-tempered record than its predecessor. Sure, this is WAY noisier than any record Springsteen ever made, but the focus here is really on the great songs with big Heartland sized melodies… and loud guitars. Loud guitars and the occasional splash of piano to go along with some massive sing-a-long hooks.

The overdriven rootsy guitars walk the line between the swagger of The Hold Steady and the introspection of Red Red Meat. These are songs that can make you want to drunkenly dance one moment and cry in your beer the next. Either way these are songs made for drinking to/with. Frontman J Kutchma’s wonderfully whiskey-soaked vocals also make everything even sound that much more tragic and beaten. It’s cross between Jon Snodgrass’ twang, John Reis’ sneer and Neil Diamond’s soulful croon.

Welcome Home’s sweet spot is driving mid-tempo rust-belt rock a la The Replacements, but there is a little bit of Southern twang and shades of Jawbreaker-y punk roughly woven into the early 90’s alt-rock fuzz that dances around its frayed edges. I hesitate to use the word atmospheric but the bouncing lead guitar lines that both anchor and propel Welcome Home forward are equal parts melody and airy texture.

This isn’t a slick record, but, rather, something closer to the opposite. It’s beautiful but it isn’t pretty. These are real and imperfect songs played with heart and soul by real and imperfect people. I find a little bit of perfection in that; in the unfixed bum note and occasional dragging beat. I can relate. So go right ahead and marvel at just how good everything the Tiny Engines label does is and then order up another round of drinks, stomp your dusty boots on the barroom floor and prepare to shout along. This is no exception. Welcome home.
MP3: Red Collar – American Me

20. Chris Wollard & The Ship Thieves – Canyons (No Idea)
Canyons is the second full-length from Hot Water Music co-frontman Chris Wollard and his band The Ship Thieves. It’s a driving record that combines grooving Southern rock and swampy post-punk behind enormous guitars that never seem to stop roaring. Really, though, Canyons is markedly stronger and more cohesive that Wollard’s solo debut in just about every regard.
MP3: Chris Wollard & The Ship Thieves – Dream In My Head

19. Best Practices – The EP LP (Tiny Engines)
Is this an EP? Is this an LP? Whatever you call it, The EP LP, from Providence, RI’s Best Practices, charges through 9 songs in about 12 minutes. It’s a furious blast of noisy and angular melodic punk topped with shouted vocals and anchored by non-stop slinky garage-rock hooks. Just imagine something like Fucked Up’s David Comes To Life but speedier. It’s a quick, but intense, listen that begs to be repeated over and over.
MP3: Best Practices – Welcome To Erf

18. Hot Water Music – Exister (Rise)
When compared to most of Hot Water Music’s classic material (1996-2000) Exister falls a little flat but, on its own, for 2012, Exister is still a tremendously good record from one of my favorite bands ever. Read my entire take on the album here.
MP3: Hot Water Music – Drag My Body

17. Ceremony – Zoo (Matador)
Zoo proves that Ceremony is a monster of transformation. On it the band retains a some of the straight-up blitz of early 80’s hardcore punk a la Black Flag but dives headfirst into the to the dark and slinky post-punk sounds of Joy Division and Wire. The record’s production is clear and spacious and when combined with the songwriting, makes this record sound 30 years old and not of today. On the surface Zoo seems too simple to work but, at its core, is really a timeless punk record.
MP3: Ceremony – Repeating The Circle

16. Sundials – When I Couldn’t Breathe (Asian Man)
On When I Couldn’t Breathe, Richmond, Virginia’s Sundials play songs with a fuzzy and almost-sorta 90′s alt-rock sound that recalls the likes of Superchunk and, more recently, Cheap Girls. There’s also more than enough catchy & poppy indie-punk energy to also make me think of bands like Sicko, Mr. T Experience and Lemuria. The record’s 13 songs go by quickly despite what seems like a bit of a lazy pace throughout. It all adds up to a sound that’s comfortable but somehow a bit reckless and unpredictable at the same time.
MP3: Sundials – Completely Broken

15. The Menzingers – On The Impossible Past (Epitaph)
If they aren’t already there, The Menzingers are a band that’s on the verge of breaking out. On The Impossible Past is one of the major reasons why. A lot of the grit from their previous album, Chamberlain Waits, has been polished away but the lyrics are just as sharp and the melodies may be even stronger. Sure, this is still a pop-punk record, but while there’s less shouting than before there is no less fervor. This album has grown on me quite a bit during the year and I find that some of the songs I initially disliked might be some of the stronger tracks on this album. I credit my wife because she’s played this a lot. I’m sure this would be her album of the year for 2012. Me, I still like Chamberlain Waits better.
MP3: The Menzingers – The Obituaries

14. Restorations – A/B EP (Tiny Engines)
The A/B EP from Restorations contains 2 songs and about 10 minutes of music. If this was 2 songs longer who knows where it would have landed. That said, I’ve listened to and flipped this record over more times than I can count. It’s a little bit of hardcore punk and a little bit of heartland rock-n-roll wrapped in a blanket of melodic post-rock that takes everything the band did on last year’s full-length and makes it better and more universal. Somehow Restorations manages to make every moment both essential and epic. From the unassumingly quiet guitar that kicks off “A” through the frenetic guitar squalls that close out “B,” this EP is nothing short of perfect. That’s not hyperbole or opinion, that’s the truth.
MP3: Restorations – A

13. Arms Aloft – Sawdust City (Kiss Of Death)
Do you like Dear Landlord, Banner Pilot, Off With Their Heads, The Copyrights, and other such bands that dole out gruff-yet-catchy Midwestern pop-punk? If so, you’re almost guaranteed to love Sawdust City. These songs are heartfelt nods to the decline of youth and the poverty and hopelessness that can accompany it. This is everything that a great record within this genre should be and its best example from 2012.
MP3: Arms Aloft – Irish Coffee

12. White Lung – Sorry (Deranged)
Combining 3/4 hardcore punk fury and 1/4 pop punk hooks, Sorry is the sound of a caged animal trying desperately to escape from a hopeless fate. White Lung holds nothing back and lets Mish Way’s snarling female vocals scratch and claw against incessant tinny guitars in a relentless assault on your ears. Sorry is a truly abrasive record that’s also remarkably listenable.
MP3: White Lung – Bag

11. J Kutchma & The Five Fifths – Pastoral (Last Chance)
You might be familiar with J Kutchma as the frontman for Red Collar. Here, on Pastoral, backed by The Five Fifths, he shows a bit of a softer side without totally straying from the Americana sounds we’ve come to expect. Where Red Collar visceral punk rock into the equation, Pastoral is filled with more acoustic guitars, pedal steel and generally quieter moments. J Kutchma’s weary vocals also provide the perfect delivery for his honest and earnest lyrics. This was a difficult record leave out of my top ten.
MP3: J Kutchma & The Five Fifths – I Used To Believe

30. Julie Doiron – So Many Days (Aporia)
On So Many Days, Julie Doiron sings plainly and honestly in an almost stream-of-consciousness style about the ups and downs of everyday life. She balances simple uplifting sing-song acoustic folk with louder and noisier bursts reminiscent of her time in the indie rock band Eric’s Trip. I’ve always found Julie Doiron’s music to be captivating. Her melodies just sounds effortless and her straightforward lyrics have zero pretense. Just imagine if Hop Along was older, Canadian and had three kids. Something like that.
MP3: Julie Doiron – Can’t Take It No More

29. Chemical Ache – Chemical Lake EP (Meth Mouth)
Chemical Ache is a new-ish band from Orlando, Florida, USA that is fronted by Alex Goldfarb (Gatorface/No Friends/NMDS) and also features Elliot Meyer (How Dare You), Eric Pittman (VRGNS), and Brian Etherington (NMDS). The seven-song EP is full of great snotty and edgy in-your-face pop-punk that, unsurprisingly, sounds a little/lot like Gatorface. Listening to Chemical Ache is a good alternative to punching someone in the face.
MP3: Chemical Ache – Scumbag Generation

28. Hostage Calm – Please Remain Calm (Run For Cover)
Please Remain Calm continues the transition away from anything resembling hardcore to pop that was already in-progress on Hostage Calm’s self-titled album of a few years ago. Sure, there are uptempo songs but the guitars are lower in the mix and the vocals are much more prominent. This is a difficult multi-faceted record that’s difficult to pin down but, honestly, every time I listen to it I’m somehow more impressed. If pushed, I’d say these songs fit perfectly somewhere between Bayside, The Smiths and Pet Sounds.
MP3: Hostage Calm – Woke Up Next To A Body

27. The Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten (Mercury)
On Handwritten, The Gaslight Anthem has finally dropped most of the manufactured nostalgia and slap-echo that was holding them back. Maybe it was just the production of The ’59 Sound and American Slang, but this sounds like Brian Fallon and company just being a rock band and writing great songs rather than being some stylistic musical affectation. I’ll admit, I didn’t really like this album at first, but it has grown on me tremendously. Handwritten has become my favorite of The Gaslight Anthem’s four full-length records.
MP3: Major Label Release = No MP3

26. Old Flings – Spite (Self Aware/Bitter Melody)
I’m not sure if it was Dane or Jeff that recommended Spite, but I’m glad they did. It’s what Cheap Girls might sounds like if they were into hardcore and not power-pop. Still, for the life of me I can’t figure out what 90’s band Old Flings reminds me of, but that might be the point. Spite just sorta sounds like 90’s alternative rock. Something that’s musically between Dear You and Grade with understated vocals that are almost crooning in nature. It’s gonna drive me crazy if I can’t figure it out.
MP3: Old Flings – T.B.C.

25. Arliss Nancy – Simple Machines (Suburban Home)
Did you know that Tim Browne from Elway used to play in Arliss Nancy? I should have known that, right? Anyhow, these guys from Colorado have been on my radar for a few years now and Simple Machines represents their best effort yet by a wide margin. For my money, these guys might be the best that the gruff alt-country Southern cow-punk genre has to offer right now. Think the hard-charging gut-wrenching whiskey-soaked sounds of DTR or early-Lucero and you’ll be on the right track.
MP3: Arliss Nancy – Pages

24. Spirit Family Reunion – No Separation (Self-Released)
Spirit Family Reunion is a band from Brooklyn that plays some really spirited and spiritually-influenced folksy newgrass-ish sorta music. You know, music that’s supposed to sound old but really isn’t? It’s a great combination of fiddles, banjos, guitars, percussion and mountain-song vocal harmonies. This album, No Separation, kinda reminds me of the Felice Brothers or Old Crow Medicine Show and makes me wanna stomp my feet. Ya dig?
MP3: Spirit Family Reunion – I Am Following The Sound

23. The Sidekicks – Awkward Breeds (Red Scare)
Awkward Breeds shows yet another stylistic shift from The Sidekicks. These Ohio guys have further eschewed their auspicious pop-punk roots. There’s still plenty of up-tempo melodic punk energy within these songs, but the band has added a healthy dose of fuzzed-out power-pop alongside the almost rootsy Americana they added to 2009’s Weight Of Air. This time around, the band displays a raw and ragged sound that’s somewhere between Uncle Tupelo, Pinkerton and the road they’ve already traveled.
MP3: The Sidekicks – Grace

22. The Henry Clay People – Twenty-Five For The Rest Of Our Lives (TBD)
While all the big publications and tastemakers are championing Celebration Rock, the real fans of rock-n-roll know that Twenty-Five For The Rest Of Our Lives is a much better record. It’s a reckless rock-n-roll record that combines Pavement-esque L.A. slacker-indie with an earnest and self-aware Replacements vibe. These guys aren’t young but they’re young enough. They’re the scrappy underdogs trying to stay in game. RIYL: Japandroids & Titus Andronicus but better than both.
MP3: The Henry Clay People – Everybandweeverloved

21. Juniper Tar – Since Before (Self-Released)
Milwaukee’s Juniper Tar is back with another great release, Since Before. It’s a grand and stately record filled with quiet moments of urban folk music as well as Americana-tinged indie rock that spirals into gorgeous swells of twinkling post-rock guitars. It features the band’s amazing vocals harmonies that will appeal to fans of Fleet Foxes, etc… I loved the density of the EP that preceded Since Before, but when their sound is deconstructed and further developed, as it is on Since Before, it’s equally as enthralling. Since Before is available digitally until the end of 2012 for free right here.
MP3: Juniper Tar – Canting

40. Ma Jolie – …Compared To Giants (Self-Released)
…Compared To Giants is the awesome debut full-length from Philadelphia’s Ma Jolie. On it, they play a familiar style of mid-tempo punk that’s catchy and melodic but isn’t really pop punk in the same way that Samiam and Polar Bear Club aren’t really pop punk. You know what I’m saying? If pressed to do so, I might also say they sound a little like The Loved Ones minus the rootsy influence.
MP3: Ma Jolie – 88 MPH

39. Dinosaur Jr. – I Bet On Sky (Jagjaguwar)
I Bet On Sky is Dinosaur’s tenth full-length album and their third since the original lineup got back together in 2007 and it (gasp!) sounds exactly like Dinosaur Jr. Here, like they’ve always done, J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph continue to churn out their patented brand of guitar-based indie rock.
MP3: Dinosaur Jr. – Watch The Corners

38. Glocca Morra – Just Married (Kind Of Like)
Glocca Morra plays emo revial that rivals all their peers. Their sound is a little unhinged but a lot of fun. Just Married sounds like a party but with slinky guitar lines and music nods to Cap’n Jazz. RIYL: Algernon Cadwallader, BTMI, You Blew It, etc…
MP3: Glocca Morra – Irrevocable, Motherfucker

37. Bob Mould – Silver Age (Merge)
It’s almost fitting that 20 years after Bob Mould’s band Sugar released Copper Blue, he is back with an album that rivals that masterpiece. On Silver Age, Bob Mould shows no signs of slowing down. The guitars are louder, the songs are faster and there’s way more spitfire that I ever expected Mould to deliver at the age of 52. This is one of his best.
MP3: Bob Mould – The Descent

36. Downtown Struts – Victoria! (Pirates Press)
Downtown Struts are a Chicago band that combines relentless guitars, fast-paced rhythms and raspy vocal harmonies into a sound that’s one part Midwest and one part East Bay. Victoria! is full of catchy but edgy sing-a-long punk rock anthems that recall the gritty-but-straightforward almost street-punk sounds of One Man Army and the pop-punk sensibility of early Allister.
MP3: Downtown Struts – Postcards

35. Bro. Stephen – Baptist Girls (XRA)
A gorgeous album full of hushed acoustic Americana accentuated by hushed drones and lovely female harmony vocals from Louisville’s Bro. Stephen. It’s an almost stark sounding reverb-laden record that’s bigger and more complex than the sum of its parts. RIYL: State River Widening, The Wooden Birds, Greg Davis, etc…
MP3: Bro. Stephen – Tears On Tape

34. The Casket Lottery – Real Fear (No Sleep)
I’m glad the Casket Lottery is back. I’ve always been a big fan and this album might be the best thing they’ve ever done. Real Fear is a thundering album full of heavy post-hardcore and features more keyboards than the band’s previous material. Every other band in this genre should take note because this is how it’s done.
MP3: The Casket Lottery – In The Branches

33. Rocky Votolato – Television Of Saints (Self-Released)
Here, Rocky Votolato’s weary voice and understated guitar playing sound as good as they’ve ever sounded. While there’s nothing we haven’t heard before from Rocky Votolato on Television Of Saints, this batch of slightly-Southern indie-folk songs that make up his seventh full-length album are my favorites since 2006’s Makers.
MP3: Rocky Votolato – Sparks

32. Joyce Manor – Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired (Asian Man)
This “album” is all of 13 minutes long, but in those 13 minutes Joyce Manor manages to accomplish more than most bands can in twice that time. These songs bridge the gap between garagey punk, angular emo pop and arty indie rock. It’s a quick listen that is somehow raw and unrefined but not sloppy. If anything, the songs are all exactingly calculated. I almost think they’re fucking with us.
MP3: Joyce Manor – Bride Of Usher

31. The Evening Rig – Nothin’ To Hear Here (Self-Released)
The third full-length from Minneapolis’ The Evening Rig, Nothin’ To Hear Here is filled with exactly the sort of ragged and twangy rock music that made me love them in the first place. This time around, however, the pace is a bit slower and it only makes the liquor’s sweet burn last a little longer. That’s not to say this doesn’t rock, because it does. I’m pretty sure no one playing this sort of music does it better than The Evening Rig does right now. RIYL: Lucero, Alone At 3AM, The Mats, etc…
MP3: The Evening Rig – So Far Gone

50. The Devil’s Own – Graces & Eights (Self-Released)
The songs on Graces & Eights straddle the line between Southern-tinged indie rock and raucous cow-punk-n-roll anthems. Think something like early Lucero meets Ninja Gun at a Two Cow Garage after party. It ain’t all that pretty and polished, but I think you might like it.
MP3: The Devil’s Own – Blues Are Comin’

49. Cut Teeth – Televandalism EP (Topshelf)
Cut Teeth is from Chicago. They play face-melting post-punk that’s noisy, discordant and downright muscular. It’s an unrelenting clash of in-your-face vocals, angular guitar riffs and smashed drums. RIYL: ATDI, Jehu, Baxter, etc…
MP3: Cut Teeth – Who Is Thomas Driscoll?

48. Cheap Girls – Giant Orange (Rise)
Cheap Girls is a band that is remarkably consistent and knows their sweet spot. You know, that relaxed fuzzy sound that the Lemonheads, Buffalo Tom, and the Gin Blossoms perfected in the early 90′s. If you love the buzzing mid-tempo power-pop of the band’s first two albums, you’ll love Giant Orange.
MP3: Cheap Girls – Ruby

47. State Lines – State Lines EP (Tiny Engines)
The four songs on this 7″ EP are undeniable. I wish there were more. State Lines sounds like New York’s answer to Shook Ones but with less hardcore, more melodic proto-emo guitar lines and a bit more nuance. Like a youthful re-imagining of Saves The Day and None More Black, State Lines delivers some amazing emo-tinged pop-punk.
MP3: State Lines – 5′s On The Elephant

46. Basement – Colourmeinkindness (Run For Cover)
When did Basement become a grunge band? On Colourmeinkindness, the guitars are overdriven and thick and the whole mess just sounds huge. I mean, You’d Prefer An Astronaut sort of huge. Based on their previous full-length, it’s different than what I had expected but actually pretty great. RIYL: Sunny Day Real Estate, Static Radio, Bush, etc…
MP3: Basement – Covet

45. New Bruises – Chock Full Of Misery (Kiss Of Death/No Idea)
New Bruises first full-length in 7 years was worth the wait. It is full of melodic-yet-abrasive fist-shaking pop-punk that sounds more like the Midwest than it does like the band’s Florida home. Despite calling this pop-punk the record has a dark and almost desperate tone that makes it stand out.
MP3: New Bruises – There Was Only One Johnny Cash

45. Alone At 3AM – Midwest Mess (Suburban Home)
Alone At 3AM plays a polished style of twangy rock-n-roll that’s easily comparable to what Drive By Truckers and Lucero both do, and the heartfelt songs on Midwest Mess are sad enough to make you wanna drink all night and soaked in more than enough booze to make you regret it. RIYL: whiskey, heartbreak, guitars, etc…
MP3: Alone At 3AM – Weekends At The Cape

43. Save Ends – Strength vs. Will EP (Self-Released)
The five songs on this EP are full of super-catchy mid-tempo indie-punk that sounds like the Get Up Kids vs. New Found Glory with the added bonus of male/female vocal harmonies. You could say they sound like The Anniversary, but I think Save Ends is better.
MP3: Save Ends – Sweet Defeat

42. You Blew It – Grow Up, Dude (Topshelf)
Typically introspective and plinky emo with a rough and ramshackle DIY basement show charm about it. Grow Up, Dude is what PROPER might have sounded like if Evan had slightly grittier yelled vocals and a bit more unhinged fervent energy. Also, this band is from Orlando? Sersiouly?
MP3: You Blew It – I’m Bill Paxton

41. Masked Intruder – Masked Intruder (Red Scare)
There’s no denying that Masked Intruder seemed to rocket from obscurity to “it” band in 2012 even if the band members themselves will deny everything they’re accused of. These masked men from Madison, WI will just as soon steal your heart as they will your wallet with their doo-wop infused pop-punk.
MP3: Masked Intruder – Heart Shaped Guitar