Dead Lettter Auction - Press (old)

since the website expired a few years ago, a lot of this stuff is not available anymore. Since we're playing a few shows (possibly three now), and some more upcoming press events, I thought I'd get this up. I'm pretty sure I'm relaunching the website soon.

Press:
whatzup article - 6/29/00

from geekass.com:
....Dead Letter Auction was next, and they made the show. Their sound was great, they played really really well, and are one of the better bands I've seen locally in some time. It's too bad that the turnout for the show was so small. I bet they had less than 30 kids total show up including bands. That's got to be a bummer for bands who are touring. And when 60% of the audience hugs the walls it must just suck. And yes, I am a hypocrite as I do the same thing most of the time. But when a band is ON and sounds good and you enjoy their stuff you have to support them and get up front. At any rate if you weren't there you missed a great band from Indiana who'll probably NEVER play in the area again. Good job you lazy fuckers. Way to support the scene.

pitchforkmedia.com review also deserves to be listed here

Song Meanings. ---> ?
we got a vote for best album?


Romancing the Actors 7"

MRR # 208 (le shok graces the cover)
three songs of early to mid 90's influences emocore not unlike CURRENT of CHINO HORDE. the guitars are a bit fuzzy and they seem to suffer from the poor recording. the songs sound like they should be much louder and heavier than the record lets out. other than that, it seems to work well. Forced vocals over driving guitar and drums that are catchy as well.
- this record made a top ten list, in this issue too.

MRR # 243 (August 2003)
Dead Letter Auction plays mid paced Ebullition-style melodic hardcore. Minor chords and tortured vocals. Maybe Yaphett Kotto meets Current with less power. The songs just kind of drag on and don't do much for me. A solid effort, no doubt. Will Risk

heartattack # 27
melodic sounding emo (screamo?)hardcore with good, personal lyrics. i like this a lot.

action|attack|helicopter
This is good stuff. Before I saw this band, I had high expectations. I wasn't disappointed. They were amazing. Dead Letter Auction reminds me a lot of Four Hundred Years. They pull off the sing-scream high emotion vocals quite well. The three songs on this are very creative, and I especially enjoy the harmonica intro to"recurrent." Also, this is printed on neat red vinyl, really cool packaging. This is my favorite recording so far. They also have a CDEP.

no karma
Hailing from the surprisingly cool little city of Fort Wayne Indiana, Dead Letter Auction play a rhythmically explosive type of emotional hardcore. Dual vocals (usually one screamed and the other shouted) and passionate lyrics push this a notch above the other young bands in the genre.
(from no karma)

collective zine (UK)
Not sure if these guys are still going, but I hope so, as this 7" shows a lot of potential, even if it isn't unfeasibly amazing in it's own right. "Throw The Towel In" is the first song, and it's loaded with strained vocals, screamed backups and rumbling guitars that never get overly melodic, nor thumpingly hardcore. Just somewhere in between. Musically they seriously give off a vibe of stuff like Portraits of Past. That sort of moody, depressed sounding emo. It's a touch repetetive on this track, but it's headed in the right direction for me. There are two more tracks on the flipside of this red slice o' vinyl, "Recurrent" gets a touch more melodic, but still has those ever so sad sounding vocals. Poor chap, he sounds very distressed indeed. Finally we have "Of Crowds And Curtains, For Example", which is much more chaotic and heavy, with screamier vocals too. A definite Shotmaker thing going on, though it lacks that bands groove (about the only thing they need to be a bona fide excellent emo band). They have a rockin' 3 track CDR out too. limited to 200 copies and it has slightly better production, a little more direction and sounds like Amber Inn crossed with Constatine Sankathi. Good luck finding it though, heh. Overall this is good emo stuff that anyone into the style will definitely appreciate and want to hear. Why there is a freaky 3 second emo-violence "hidden track" on side A though, I'll never know… Andy Malcolm


Vertigo CD


action|attack|helicopter - November 2002
From Fort Wayne, Indiana, comes what is probably the best truly independent, unsigned act in the state. Yeah, we've got Mellencamp, Songs: Ohia, Suicide Note and more, but Dead Letter Auction are truly indie artists, releasing much of their material on their very own [excursions into the abyss] label. This four piece has toured the U.S. four times and had more than ten lineups. The seven songs they recorded for this EP were done at Echo Park studios (Mellencamp does a lot of his work there) in Southern Indiana. With a firm root amongst three vocalists (although Damien does the predominant work) and brooding, personal lyrics, Dead Letter Auction's plan of attack has them utilizing roots in hardcore and *true* emo (don't even think of Dashboard Confessional). Damien's vocals may come across as awkward upon the first listen, but with such deliberately honest contributions from the lyrical department, they shouldn't be done in any other style. The best description is to say they are forcefully sung/spoken. Dead Letter Auction has diversified their style since their founding four years ago. They're much more comfortable in using melodies and dynamics and while they used to be much harder, now the band has learned how to best utilize the hardcore screams and harsh guitar tones at just the right moment in order to best amplify their emotional intent. Much of their current material is reminiscent of Ebullition and Gravity Records releases, with perhaps some 400 Years thrown in for good measure. Listening to **Vertigo**, I found what is no doubt one of the most exciting and original bands (especially live) not only from Indiana, but in the U.S. Kurt Morris
Action Man Magazine – January 2003
I can't help but wonder if Dead Letter Auction have listened to the Van Pelt, whose album Sultans of Sentiment would be considered one of the best emo records ever, had pop bands like Jimmy Eat World and the Get Up Kids not been lumped into the genre. See, the Van Pelt were on the artier side of Emosville: minimal guitar clangs gave way to spoken prose, often becoming bursts and shouts but never leaning toward pop music. Dead Letter Auction have been compared to screamo bands like Portraits of Past, and they've been called hardcore a number of times as well. Either Vertigo marks a big departure for the band, or most zine writers just haven't heard the Van Pelt.
Of course, it's entirely possible that Dead Letter Auction combined elements of hardcore, spoken/sung lyrics and textured minimalism and arrived by chance at a place which other bands had already visited. Everything on Vertigo is sincere, but not forced; intelligent, but not too cerebral. Keyboards bubble around the surface in places, recalling Joy Division without breaking the mood set by the album's heavier moments. The lyrics teeter between abstract and political, which is a hell of a lot better than singing about April memories holding hands or some shit.
All in all, you'll like Dead Letter Auction if you like the Van Pelt. If you've never heard of either, you should still give Vertigo a spin if you're hungry for some moody post-hardcore. Paul J. Lombardi

Calamity project - December 2002
indiana's dead letter auction unleashes this 7 song EP on excusions into the abyss. i've heard this band be called screamo, but they're more or less somber, straight up indie. the songs on this EP are a collection of dark indie/pop songs that are laden with melodies and catchy rhythms and hooks.
the one thing i like about this band the most is that their sound reminds me of saetia's mellow parts, and has build ups like portaits of past. i guess you can call this stuff screamo in a sense, but it's more of an indie/emo/pop sound in my opinion. the songs on the record tend to pull emotions out of you, and move you. dark, brooding melodies and rhythms keep you hooked from start to finish.
definitely a must have for anyone who's a fan of dark indie/pop/emo, or a fan of screamo's more mellow parts. an excellent listen, and worth checking out.

Collective Zine - April 2003
I remember getting a 7" a while back by these guys and it was a pretty cool screamy emo type thing. Well, obviously they have gotten bored of screaming a lot, like Engine Down and 12 Hour Turn and all those other dudes who started making indie rock once their voices got too fucked up or something. Well, Dead Letter Auction may have stopped yelling but they still make some pretty interesting music. It is melodic and has a fairly spacey flavour to the guitars, which works quite nicely. This really does make me think of that kind of more recent Lovitt Records sound (if there is such a thing) and over the 7 tracks here, Dead Letter Auction have done a decent job. They mix up the instrumentation and it sounds as though there may be some strings on here at times although it is difficult to tell. Adds to the atmosphere mind you. The vocals go from sung to this strange kind of monotone sing-shout, that is a terrible description I know but you'll have to put up with it. Overall this is a solid effort that I can enjoy but I doubt I would come back to it too often. If you like things like the newer Engine Down or Bats and Mice you might want to check this out. - andy malcolm

Stickfigure - May 2002
Dead Letter Auction “Vertigo” cd (excursions into the abyss) - Indiana’s dead letter auction have been listening to a lot of radiohead over the past year. While there are definite traces of their mid 90’s screamy hardcore sound from their earlier releases, dead letter auction have successfully melded those influences with radioheadesque pop hooks and pop melodies, complete with a dual vocals that play off each other very well.

Invisibleyouth.com - December 2002
This is a nice indie rock band that kicks out some well-written jams. With jams that sound somewhat similar to Modest Mouse and Portrait at times, DLA pulls off some very welcomed dynamics and a mix of vocals between singing and very occasional screamed vocals.

Pucknation - March 2002
Score: 7 (of ten)
i heard this band compared to Portraits of Past. Although that comparision isn't completely inaccurate, Portraits of Past had this insane energy that would just boil over into complete rage, and while Dead Letter Auction never really acheives that. They do sound like Portraits of Past in their build-ups, they just never take them as far as they could. However, they are still a good band, and totally stand on their own. i would definitely suggest this band to anyone that has liked the emo records that Ebullition has put out over the years. Shaun Ketterman

Popshot - September 2002
There seems to be a lot of fuss over the freshest New York band. The dopest too. Dead Letter Auction are probably not aware of this. They play mid-tempo screamo with political and personal lyrics, sloppy rhythms, and High School sweetheart guitar work. Perfect for days when you woke up late and walked into the living room to find a note from your boyfriend telling you that he and your best friend are moving to Saigon to head up Wal-Mart's new sweatshop. Tyler McDaniel

X-Mist: - January 2003
7 songs in 25 minutes by this band from Indiana, playing somewhat alternative indie-rock with an emotive inner tension... so this band can be filed somewhere in between bands like SAETIA or PORTRAITS OF PAST, and MODEST MOUSE or RADIOHEAD on the other side! really well-done!

Heartattack #35 - August 2002
Dead Letter Auction play mid tempo rock with spoken/shouted vocals that are too loud, of course. The music is competently played and well recorded. They slow down and speed up here and there. The lyrics are personal and introspective. Steve Snyder

Razorcake #12 - February 2003
I had almost forgotten that shoegazing could sound like this, probably because I sold every last noise-pop record I ever owned that was this horrible to a record store which pandered shamelessly to Anglophilic Britpop fans who wore their bangs in their eyes, boys and girls alike. This is rock for the no self-esttem set, music for people who long for records that were released 12 years ago but still want to pretend to keep up with the times. While I'm sure the band would call this emo (and they'd be right if they were referring to self-indulgent shit in musical form), it has still been a long time since I've heard a record which is singularly this awful, regardless of the genre. On the bright side, I've always wanted an orange coaster. Puckett

here's a review that's in german!
this is google's transalation: (which is confusing , if not humorous)
Evaluation:
At a time these days, those dark and full with precipitation are reach me these CD of DEAD TYPE CHARACTER AUCTION. As fitting, I thought as I the CD for the first time through-heard myself...
From away Wayne/Indiana come DEAD TYPE CHARACTER AUCTION, which already formed itself 1998 to volume. As the first publication they brought a D.I.Y. demo CD out, rockten with approx. 125 Shows and four routes the United States. A 7"-ep "Romancing the Actors" followed after Excursions Into The Abyss. Now thus the third plate of the four Americans!
DLA go in music with clear, minimalistic guitars a tacken toward THE CURE. Key board effects, very melancholische & melodioese guitar work (m. Choruseffekt) refer to it. Straight with the second Song "From A Forest ton of The Sea"...
In addition, the songs could be compared by structures and sounds with those by Van Pelt, Sonic Youth, Radiohead, Les Savy Fav. Sometimes the inclined working singing will be responsible for the latter, which is nearly always mehrstimmig by the way. Generally one speaks probably here rather of the alternative Indie skirt, mixed with Wave.
The melodies work sometimes very slowly-acting (necessarily not meant negative) & very melancholisch. That does not mean however that DEAD TYPE CHARACTER AUCTION can come out not also from itself, because with/two Songs can be them also in parts times a little screamy... Nevertheless: I would have wished myself nevertheless somehow with the Durchhoeren more alternation wealth. The sound was almost perfectly taken up and merged brilliant and. As said, I had my problems with these CD because of the relative monotonousness. After I belonged it to me now however three to five times, I can say: "the album has which!"


Cancer of Time

Punk Planet [#59 - Jan/Feb2004]
i love this record. Dead Letter Auction play quiet/loud indie rock with a harder edge. This little demon is filled with changes and beautifully dissonant guitar lines. The songs have lots of melody and instrumentation, so there's never a dull moment. The guitars are simply amazing and, at times remind me of Engine Down or Shotmaker. i don't think there's a bad song on this whole CD. There are quiet moments, but the urgency and energy never let up. The vocals are done in the shouted/sung way that fits so well with this style of music. Great band. Krystle Miller

Calamity Project [11/17/03]
i loved this band's previous EP "vertigo", and upon receiving this cd i was excited to check it out. these guys got even better! this being their first full length, their sound has evolved a bit more. they took the sound of the "vertigo" cd and expanded on it, and created a melodic, moving record. like vertigo, this record enthralls you, pulling emotions out of you. their songwriting is up there with the best of the indie and emo (mid 90's emo, for those of you who can't distinguish what i mean by emo). the band has a great ability to use melody and passion to their advantage, and this is very apparent on this record. it's got a very fugazi/early dischord kind of feel to it in many respects, and also kind of reminds me of elements of need, and at times i get that policy of three sort of feel. really awesome. their jammed out, melodic parts are ones to be admired, as well as their more intense parts. all in all, this is an amazing full length, and a great follow up from "vertigo". don't make the mistake of passing this up, it's one of those gems that you just can't miss out on.

Hartboiled [8/06/03]
I was really doubting that there would ever come something new concerning music ever again, but Dead Letter Auction showed me that there was no reason to doubt! The bass could be the Fugazi bass, the drums are very pounding and tricky and the guitars play beautiful melodies which always rise to infectious parts. Dead Letter Auction manage it to build up such a great tension and for me they are one of the best indie-rock bands around. The vocals remind me of Robert Smith of The Cure sometimes, but it is often more energetic. Some parts of "Give Chance" even remind me of the calm Isis parts, and I know how strange that must sound to you, but it is really cool. The CD is very appealing, it has beautiful black and white pictures, beautiful fonts, beautiful lyrics and beautiful everything! I am really looking forward to the upcoming releases by Dead Letter Auction and you guys should really listen to this one, it is just plain great music. Marcia

Exoduster.com [8/01/03]
Since 1998, Dead Letter Auction (from recently flooded Fort Wayne, IN) have been playing and working as many young bands on sort do. Yet, over some fall outs and ins, the core of DLA has stuck together through a variety of EPs, 7"s and tours to finally knock out their first full-length with Cancer of Time. Starting off on "Foreshadow" like Jazz June's cousin, DLA begin their quickly defining sound of swirling guitars, mid-tempo drums and whiny distant vocals of the indie breed and reminiscent of the cadences of ATDI. The most characteristic aspect of their sound is no doubt the vocals and the guitars. Specifically, the guitars are sans distortion throughout most of the record's twelve tracks and only come in sparingly otherwise. As you might expect this adds to the indie feel of the record and unfortunately a somewhat tin-like sounding recording. However, I think this does not necessarily detract from the sound that DLA is attempting to tackle. That this is case is probably more
impressive since they did the recording and had the mix done in 20 hours in Chicago. Cancer of Time is one of those albums where it is hard to pick out a song or two because the twelve fit well together as one. One drawback to that is it is hard to differentiate between songs so if you played them on shuffle it would be hard to know what's what. DLA have come out with a solid first full-length on Cancer of Time and if they are able to stick around long enough, they should come out on top after getting their just exposure. Brian Fogarty aka, The Professor

Light Up The Sky: [7/10/03]
Rating: 7 out of 10
Dead Letter Auction are a four-piece rock group from the boondocks of Fort Wayne, Indiana who have tactfully taken on a sound that mixes 90's innovative indie-rock with 80's style vocal work. On this, their first full length release, the group have devoted themselves to seeing that they live out the fantasy cross-breeding of The Cure and At The Drive-In that they've been aiming for. It's a plan that toes the lines of complete disaster, however the band pull it off dazzlingly well.
On opening tracks like "Foreshadow" and "Never To End", the band charge through their songs with heavy doses of Dischord-esque tempos and Omar Rodriguez-patent guitar-note construction. During this process, vocalists Damian Hade and Jarod Isenbarger try tirelessly to adapt the larynx of a young Robert Smith. It's a combination that seems like a bad pairing, but at times it really works. This is evident on the slower numbers like "Excise" when the music drags down to a Manchester post-punk pace and drenches the listener in London fog.
The highlight on the disc is the albums title track and the disc's closer, "Cancer of Time". It starts off with haunting guitars and chiming pianos that pick up at a medium pace at about a minute and ten seconds in. From there, the drums blow open to encompass a heavy hitting bass line while the vocals trade pleas with the octave chords on the six-string. It repeats the same pattern and concludes with another minutes worth of dreary mood music to finish off the the disjointed lyrics - which sound like a cut and paste journal entry.
Overall the release is solid, but at times the songs drag on a minute too long or the vocals sound a little too monotonous. It's the excess fat that needs to be trimmed, and surely maturity with time will do so. Until then, give this album a listen because it's a well-documented beginning of a band that is just starting to get things going. MA

STNT: [11/24/03]
« C’est le nouvel album de Robert Smith ? » dixit un Curiste de passage (véridique !)…Non juste le premier long effort de Dead Letter Auction qui avait mis la puce à l’oreille dernièrement avec un précédent Ep très prometteur. Si la blague est facile concernant le mimétisme touchant entre la voix du guitariste chanteur de Dead Letter Auction et le leader de The Cure, il n’en reste pas moins que ce « cancer of time » est le pont idéal entre le rock new wave des anglais et le post hardcore de Fugazi, première époque. Et si ce raccourcis vous semble simpliste vous pouvez rajouter à la liste les noms de North of America, the Regulator Watts, the Plan…pour ne citer qu’eux ! Mais au-delà de ces rapprochements toujours trop rapides, Dead Letter Auction développe à travers ces douze chansons une atmosphère tendue, mélancolique presque dépressive…tout en passant par des poussées de rage compréhensible. Et même si le disque s’essouffle un tout petit peu sur la fin, Dead Letter Auction arrive à tenir en haleine à l’aide d’une tension et d’une énergie palpable tout le long de cet album très réussi. A ne pas louper !

greg (24/11/03)

rough translation:
"It is the new album of Robert Smith? "dixit Curiste of passage (veracious!)... Not just first long effort of Dead Letter Auction which had put the chip at the ear lately with very promising a Ep precedent. If the joke is easy concerning the imitation touching between the voice of the guitarist singer of Dead Letter Auction and the leader of The Cure, it does not remain about it less than this "cancer of time" is the ideal bridge between the rock'n'roll new wave of English and the post hardcore of Fugazi, first time. And if this short cuts seems to you simplistic you can add with the list the names of North of America, the Regulator Watts, the Plane... to quote only them! But beyond these bringings together always too fast, Dead Letter Auction develops through these twelve songs a tended atmosphere, melancholic person almost depressive... while passing by pushes of comprehensible rage. And even if the disc blows very small little on the end, Dead Letter Auction manages to hold in breath using a tension and of a palpable energy all along this very successful album. With not louper!

AMG REVIEW: [8/04/03]
Although the Indiana four-piece Dead Letter Auction have numerous releases under their belt since forming in 1998, Cancer of Time is their first full-length. Having endured many lineup changes, their original is back together on this recording. One of the things that first comes to attention is that the vocal tone is redundant for most of the album, with a pleading, painful sound emitted from the vocalist's throat. It helps at some moments and at others it seems to distract from the music. Musically, the band seems to be a bipolar personality, with the occasional fast part and then the distorted, ambient portion, followed by the typical emo-hardcore posings. Compared to past releases, the feel is certainly much darker, making for a more mature and dramatic listening. All told, Cancer of Time is welded together to make for a solid release, potentially one of the best of the band's career. — Kurt Morris

Delusions of Adequacy: [9/08/03]
Dead Letter Auction is a group that attempt to transplant the post-hardcore vibe of DC circa 1991 to Chicago, circa now. Cancer of Time begins with the Fugazi- (ahem) inspired “Foreshadow.” It’s got the biting angular guitar lines and even comes complete with some Guy Piciotto-esque back up screams. Most of the album continues along similar fashion of a band trying to sound like they belong on Dischord Records.
The band plays with passion and intensity, but its influences are worn a little too proudly on sleeves. They’ve incorporated the dissonance, distortion, and minor chords that bands from the nation’s capitol all but have a trademark on. There are traces of influence from a slew of post-hardcore groups be they: Juno, the Exploder, Shiner, At the Drive-In etc.
At times, when the music is most melodic, the vocalist manages to sound quite similar to the oft-anguished Robert Smith of the Cure. When this happens, the result is a pleasing mixture of melody and aggression. However, mostly the vocals are delivered in a monotonous scream to go along with the abrasive rhythms.
The album closer is the title track. On it, Dead Letter Auction finally pull off what was missed on the other 11 songs. They manage to create an original song that blends angular post-hardcore guitar with an underlying sense of melody, and layer it with violins, creating a sound that best compliments the vocals. The result is an emotionally resonant closer. If Dead Letter Auction is able to repeat this success in future efforts, it may be on to something. In the meantime, this is a band struggling to create music that is something more than mediocre. - Dan

indieworkshop.com [8/05/03]
Honestly…I wanted to dislike this band after the 5th listen. I’m not kidding and I’ll openly admit that I have a bitchy ear. If I’m not into it by the second listen; it’s in the heap collecting in my closet. The other day I was tossing this record towards that pile when the front door buzzed and I set “Cancer of Time” on my desk next to my duct tape and Aquafina (yes…a water snob as well). DLA did not walk the plank that day by god, so they’ve remained only to be sacrificed on the critic’s altar.
I’m not going to “front” that this is the best thing since locking headstocks or the inception of “laptop” as a valid and playable instrument. What this is is the follow up to “Vertigo”. They’ve tossed together a mix-mash of hardcore, spoken/sung lyrics and textured minimalism to create a sound that at times other writers have likened to Robert and crew of the Cure. Blind me in one eye and pour salt in the other and I can, at times, see this is true. What I do know is that this is a band that’s had ten line up changes since 1998 and like to put that as pertinent point on their one-sheet. I applaud the effort, I really do. Again, I’m bitchy.
DLA do have their moments. The opening on “cut” number 12 is melodically serene. The drums drive, the guitars jingle jangle and a moving keyboard line jumps around a bit. Then all hell breaks loose once again much like the rest of the record. After a while it gets harder to tell each tune apart. Dead Letter does sound like they’d be a good, groovy live show. I believe they feel the same way and I quote the one-sheet, “ The high energy (no hyphen needed) and inescapable grooves are accomplished through pounding bass and drums.” Yes, this is true, what is not is any kind of parallel with The Cure.
I’d say this is good for a few songs then you’ll need to change it up and come back to it again. Musically, it’s an attention grabber, and sometimes the yell/scream/sing/shout/ spoken word action gets a little tiresome, especially if you stay in the same two- tone range the entire time. I’d say spice things up with some ass busting screams and a little start stop, or maybe don’t liken yourself to Radiohead in your one-sheet (hmmm, I used a hyphen). To the general public take these words as a grain of salt. Go see for yourself; they’re on tour soon. To find dates, pop Dead Letter Auction in on Google and ride the curl.
You see I’m a fan of a record I can spin for a couple hours. You know, front to back, side to side and all that shit. And this just isn’t one of them. That’s the anthem, get your damn hands up! - Todd

Bornbackwards.com [12/30/03]
Dead Letter Auction is a pretty good band from Fort Wayne, Indiana. They have nice, angular guitar parts and a nice wall-of-noise-always-distorted Trail of Dead quality. I might think they were a great band, but I can’t get past their singer. His voice annoys me. Very Badly. And I like Jawbreaker with Blake Schwarzenbach’s perpetual smoker’s voice, and Bright Eyes with Conor Oberst’s voice shaking every time he hits too low a note. At his best, Dead Letter Auction's singer reminds me of Guy Picciotto of Fugazi. At his worst, he seems to spout words without regard to time or melody, which makes me just want to turn the CD off. The lyrics are totally indecipherable because of his sloppy singing. Voice doubling doesn’t seem to help either, because some people just aren’t meant to sing.
The first track, “Foreshadow”, is the best. The guitar parts remind me of Cursive’s Domestica and the drums beat out an interesting post-punk rhythm. It seamlessly fades into the second song and the vocals begin to grate on my nerves. But wow, the music is good. Most of the subsequent tracks really fall into a formula of quiet start, loud middle, quiet end. And as a result, the songs tend to blur together. All except for the last track, my second favorite on the record. It starts off with undistorted guitar, and a keyboard set on the violin setting. It sounds pretty awesome. Even when the vocals start in, I don’t mind that much. The guitar work reminds me of The Get up Kids guitar parts from Woodson and Four Minute Mile. Anything that recalls their early stuff is listenable in my book. Their lyrics are pretty well written poetic stuff. In “Foreshadow” they quote The Aenid, and the second song is just one long quote from Black Spring by Henry Miller (the author of Tropic of Cancer).
I bet these guys would be a great live performance, kinda like how Thursday’s live performace comes across better than any of their records can. Check this out if you think you can handle the vocals. - Austin

PA Hardcore:
some decent indie rock type stuff. it suprisingly kept my interest to the 9th song before i took it out to put in guns and roses. it reminds me of alot of those weirdo bands revelation was putting out after the figured hardcore wasnt cool anymore. the musics really solid but the vocals get super obnoxious after awhile. sometimes it reminds me of prema and sometimes garrison. not great but if indie rock is your steez id recommend it. good layout. Wawa Strike

X-mist:
NEW - 1st full album (12 songs) by this indie-rock/emocore band from Indiana, often described as "the CURE meets FUGAZI", but definitely also comparable to bands like 400 YEARS, or at times even like SHOTMAKER with a clearer sound.

Insound:
dead letter auction's debut full length cd is twelve tracks of music that delivers enough melody and dynamic changes which makes it more interesting the vast majority of indie rock albums released this year. The guitar sound ranges from loud and distorted to quiet subtle dissonances. The high-energy and inescapable grooves are accomplished through pounding bass and drums. Dead letter auction will appeal to fans of juno, trail of the dead, sonic youth, dinosaur jr, radiohead, at the drive in and more.