Novice Brown - S/T 7” (1996)

    Novice Brown was an emo / indie rock band from Milford, New Jersey who were active in the mid 90s. The band released two 7”s, both self titled. Unfortunately only their second 7" has been archived as of yet. I would love to hear their first 7" so hopefully I'll come across it or someone will archive it at some point. 

    I have to say generally speaking I find it harder to get into this branch of “emo”, I usually prefer the hardcore branch. However Novice Brown stands out as a favourite to me. They craft a soft, melodic sound with a sharp, punk sounding edge. Their vocals are are harsher than what comes to mind as "indie emo" and slightly off-key, almost in the way the vocals of Julia are. They blend more laid back, rock instrumentals with a touch of post-hardcore influence almost sounding similar to The Crownhate Ruin or Son Of The Castellan. 

    Their S/T 7" from 1996 is definitely a release that flies under the radar, unnoticed. It's too bad the band never really got the credit they deserved or released more content. It's also really a shame that their first 7" seems to be unarchived, it's relatively rare even in the realm of obscure 90s music, that something is entirely unarchived online. I especially love the first track on their 1996 7", it's such a perfectly executed "emo" song with just the right amount of twangy guitar riffs and a punk/post-hardcore edge. 

S/T 7" 1996

S/T 7" 1996 (Sweet Baboo)