Robb’s Recs: November Edition
By Robb Laffoon
Alright alright alright, we’re back agaaaaain (Soulja boy voice) with another round of Robb’s Recs! This is a safe space for my chopped and washed older emo pals to learn some newer bands they may not know.
Now without further ado (a due?) here are my recs for November:
Saturdays At Your Place
I first heard of S@YP the same way many of yall probably did, the warped tour announcements from earlier this year. They were one of the first bands announced and I was eager for some new music so I went and checked out their song Tarot Cards and was immediately hooked. In September they released a new album, “These Things Happen” and it’s absolutely unreal. It’s like a second wave emo band who grew up on blink-182 and the gin blossoms or something. We had their guitarist Mitch on our show when their album dropped and not only was he maybe the most handsome guest in show history, but one of the coolest most down to earth. This is a band that’s got a real chance for crossover success if they want it. Go listen to the bridge in “I’d rather be in Michigan” and you’ll see what I mean.
Riley!
Riley! The motherfucking BAND is so good you guys. Just like S@YP (who they’re currently touring with) they are a 3 piece, but instead of being midwestern white boys they are south Texan Hispanic dudes and they absolutely rip. Signed to counter intuitive records, the same label as Combat and Gami, they released an album last year called Keep Yr Cool that you absolutely need to check out. Probably my #1 of 2024. Their new single from the Counter Intuitive compilation, “We Only Say It Out of Habit Now”, is their best track yet. It’s an absolute barn burner.
tenmonthsummer
Yall wanna talk about yearning? About what it is to yearn? Well baby, Nish and the gang in tenmo are THE BAND FOR YEARNING. Chicago has given our scene so many great bands over the years and tenmo is the latest in that lineage. I’ve heard the demos for their newest material and if you think their 2024 EP Fate Lines is good, these fellas are about to hit a whole new level. Also, it’s their dream to play at a Chili’s so if yall got any connects at the mid level chain restaurant, please have your people reach out to their people and let’s make it happen.
Scarlet Street
There’s no denying we live in a late stage capitalistic hellscape right now. 40 million Americans are about to go hungry because of greed and our governments inability to function. Scarlet Street is the soundtrack that the band plays as this ship sinks. Their album No Alternative dropped on Oct 24th and I was so blown away by it from front to back. Combining the sounds of third wave and fourth wave emo, Scarlet Street are a bad mood band in the best possible way. Arguably the “realest” band going today.
Camp Trash
A few years back my buddy T started sending me tweets from this guy called @FranziaMom. Sometimes I’d agree, sometimes I wouldn’t, but the takes were always piping hot. One day I clicked on his profile and realized he was in a band called Camp Trash so I went and listened to their album The Long Way, The Slow Way and I’m not sure I listened to anything else for an entire month. Before I was into any of these new bands, i was a Camp Trash fan. You could argue that with no Camp Trash, there is no Emo Kids Anonymous. Shit, maybe there’s no NAPNET? Anyways, Camp Trash just dropped a new record on Halloween called Two Hundred Thousand Dollars and it’s absolute power pop perfection. Raw and rough around the edges, this album is a big departure from the polished pop punk sound of their first album but it works for them so well. This album sounds like Superdrag, Superchunk and Fountains of Wayne made a baby in a car while the windows were up and they were smoking Newports. In other words, Camp Trash will absolutely ROCK you.
