Under A Dying Sun was a emo-hardcore band from Half Moon Bay, California. The band emerged from the densely talented late 90s/early 00s California scene; sharing stages with bands like The Spirit Of Versailles, Staircase and Funeral Diner as well as touring all the way to Japan in 2002.
Under A Dying Sun had a fairly unique style with post-rock influence mixed in to a softer "screamo" sound that features sung and screamed vocals. I could compare them to scene mates Funeral Diner and contemporaries You & I; like You & I, Under A Dying Sun has a sound that is somewhat of a pre-cursor to the early 00s mainstream emo explosion, with a fair bit of rawness and creativity thrown into the mix.
Calabash Case were a emo-hardcore band from San Diego, California. The band were Wrenched Records alumni like Evergreen, The Shortwave Channel (covered earlier this month) and The Interstate Ten. Like their contemporaries in the San Diego scene, Calabash Case refused to conform to any one sound and put out a myriad of electic songs with influences stemming from post-hardcore, emo, indie rock and dream pop.
I could compare Calabash Case's sound to bands like Thumbnail, Unwound and even Portraits Of Past at some points. The vocals are a little rough around the edges at points but it does add to the charm of their music, which is stylish, youthful and full of interesting melodies. The song Land A Plane off the self-titled LP is a great representation of Calabash Case's sound, complete with a very Unwound-sounding section to close of the track.
This band took a little while to grow on me but they have been a go-to for me this month and I highly reccomend checking them out if you have been enjoying the Wrenched Records catalog. Wrenched is really up there for me as one of my favourite "emo" labels of the 90s!
