CanadianWasteland Archives: November 2023

11/26/2023

September - Discography (1994-1995)

September was a post-hardcore band from San Jose, California who were active for under a year. Their members never went on to form other bands, however Ken Shipley of September co-founded record label, Numero Group. The band only ever recorded five songs, four of which were later released as a 10", and the fifth of which appeared on a compilation CD on Simba Recordings.

Despite the band only existing for about eight months, and only playing a few shows in San Jose, they have become a well respected and influential band.

September had a really interesting sound that refused to comply to any one genre and instead melded elements of many. They remind me of Duster-Indian Summer side project Calm at times but with a little more of a hardcore edge to it. Their vocals are mainly clean but some screams are peppered in giving their songs some dynamic. Their instrumentals are very atmospheric and melancholy, giving their whole sound a feeling of moodiness.

10" + Comp Track

Erasmia Pulcella 10" 1996 (Tree Records, Simba Recordings)

Owltian Mia - Discography (1995-1996)

Owltian Mia was a hardcore band from Virginia Beach/Norfolk who were active for a few years in the mid 90s. Members of the band were also in The Candyland Carcrash and Words A Game. Their discography consists of a 5-song demo, a 2x7" a basement recording and a 3-song EP that was never mixed.

Owltian Mia had that quintessential "emo" sound for lack of a better word, before the term was coined. Similar to Ethel Meserve or Plunger in their mixing of punk/hardcore elements with a more refined moody sound, the band's legacy remains evident in music for years after their disbanding. Their vocal style ranges from raw sounding screams to much more melodic clean ones, overlapping with each other to create a sound far from what was known as "hardcore" back then.

Owltian Mia stands out to me as having a really interesting ebb and flow, a perfect mix between the soft melancholic parts and much more angry explosive parts. Their track "Last Boy" on their 2x7" is a beautiful slow buildup of tension throughout the whole song, beginning very soft and slowly becoming more and more energetic and loud.

Edit: theres also 2 live sets floating around, I will update this post with them sooner than later

Demo

2x7"

Unreleased

S/T demo tape 1995 (Self-released)

The Greatest Games Ever Played 2x7" 1996 (Tree Records)

11/19/2023

The Spirit Of Versailles - Discography (1998-2001)

The Spirit Of Versailles was a hardcore band from Sioux Falls, South Dakota who were active from 1998-2001 with only two members staying consistent throughout this period. During their active years the band released two 7"s, a split 7" with Saqqara, a split 7" with Caligari, a split 7" with Rise From Ruin, a 12"/CD album, a Discography CD, a 12" EP and a cassette. They also appeared on a couple compilations.

Members of the band were also in Caligari, Examination Of The..., In Loving Memory and Eclipse Of Eden.

The Spirit Of Versailles stands out as one of the best of their kind from the late 90s with their mix of softly sung vocals and insanely shrill, throat shredding screams. Vocally they could be compared to Love Lost But Not Forgotten or Joshua Fit for Battle but less chaotic and more layered and dynamic. The band only had one vocalist but interestingly the rest of the band's members screamed as well making for a unique mix of different sounding vocals that blend together really nicely.

The Spirit Of Versailles shared a stage with so many incredible bands of the time including Jerome's Dream, Orchid, Love Lost But Not Forgotten, I, Robot, Usurp Synapse and Saetia, Reversal Of Man and Combat Wounded Veteran to name a few.