Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock or "guitar pop rock". In the 1980s, the use of the term "indie" started to shift from its reference to recording companies to describe the style of music produced on punk and post-punk labels. During the 1990s, grunge and punk revival bands in the US and Britpop bands in the UK broke into the mainstream, and the term "alternative" lost its original counter-cultural meaning. The term "indie rock" became associated with the bands and genres that remained dedicated to their independent status. By the end of the 1990s, indie rock developed several subgenres and related styles, including lo-fi, noise pop, emo, slowcore, post-rock, and math rock. In the 2000s, changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the internet enabled a new wave of indie rock bands to achieve mainstream success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term.
Further Seems Forever is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Pompano Beach, Florida. Over its initial eight-year run the band experienced several lineup changes, resulting in a different lead vocalist performing on each of their first three studio albums. Original singer Chris Carrabba recorded The Moon Is Down (2001) with the group before leaving to start Dashboard Confessional. He was replaced by Jason Gleason, who performed on How to Start a Fire (2003) but left the band the following year. Former Sense Field vocalist Jon Bunch joined Further Seems Forever for Hide Nothing (2004). The band broke up in 2006 but reunited four years later with Carrabba on vocals. Their fourth studio album, Penny Black, was released in 2012.
The Appleseed Cast is an American rock band from Lawrence, Kansas. The band was founded in the early days of emo by singer-guitarist Christopher Crisci and drummer Louie Ruiz. The Appleseed Cast has steadily evolved over the release of eight full-length albums with Crisci as the main songwriter. The band has never broken up, but the lineup has changed over the years. Currently, the band's lineup includes Christopher Crisci, Ben Kimball, Nick Fredrickson, and Sean Bergman.
The White Octave was a rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group was founded shortly after Steve Pederson left Cursive, and was initially a trio with Lincoln Hancock and Robert Biggers before Finn Cohen was added on guitar. They released two full-length albums and appeared on several compilations before finally breaking up. The founding member, Steve Pedersen went back to his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska to form the band Criteria. Robert Biggers and Finn Cohen went on to form The Nein. The group reunited to play in North Carolina in 2014.
Deep Elm Records is an independent record label releasing albums by bands such as Lights & Motion, The Appleseed Cast, Brandtson, The White Octave, and Planes Mistaken for Stars. It also released the compilation series The Emo Diaries.
What's Mine Is Yours is the first installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released September 16, 1997 by Deep Elm Records. The series title was originally going to be The Indie Rock Diaries, but this was ruled out when Jimmy Eat World and Samiam, who were both signed to major record labels, were selected for the album. The Emo Diaries was chosen because The Emotional Diaries was too long to fit on the album cover. As with future installments, the label had an open submissions policy for bands to submit material for the compilation, and as a result the music does not all fit within the emo style. As with the rest of the series, What's Mine Is Yours features mostly unsigned bands contributing songs that were previously unreleased.
Seven Storey Mountain is an American rock group from Phoenix, Arizona. The group's music is heavily influenced by the early Washington, D.C. post-hardcore scene.
Benton Falls was an American emo band from Santa Rosa, California, which originally formed in 2000. The trio formerly consisted of Michael Richardson, Vance Gore, and Eli Deering, with second guitarist Gerb leaving after the release of Fighting Starlight. They landed a track on the collection The Silence In My Heart: The Emo Diaries Chapter Six, released by Deep Elm Records; this label issued Fighting Starlight, their first full-length, soon after, in 2001. They issued the follow-up album Guilt Beats Hate in 2003, and Ashes and Lies, their third and final LP, in 2010.
Sounds Like Violence are a four-piece emo/indie rock group from Ängelholm, Sweden. They are currently signed to Deep Elm Records and Burning Heart Records. Their debut album, With Blood On My Hands, was released on 12th Feb, 2007 to some critical acclaim. They previously released an EP, titled The Pistol, in 2004 and contributed songs to Deep Elm compilations including "Emo Diaries No. 10" and a "Split" EP.
The Emo Diaries is a series of twelve compilation albums released by Deep Elm Records between 1997 and 2011. The series had an open submissions policy and featured mostly acts that were unsigned at the time of the albums' releases. Deep Elm founder John Szuch claims that the original name for the series was intended to be The Indie Rock Diaries, but this was ruled out by the fact that the first volume included Jimmy Eat World and Samiam, who were both signed to major record labels. The Emo Diaries was chosen because The Emotional Diaries was too long to fit on the album cover. Despite the title, the bands featured in the series have a diversity of sounds that do not all necessarily fit into the emo style of rock music. Andy Greenwald, in his book Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo, claims that the series "stake[s] a claim for emo as more a shared aesthetic than a genre":
[T]he bands included hail from all over the world, and the musical styles range from racing punk to droopy, noodley electro. Still, the prevalence of the series—coupled with its maudlin subtitles and manic-depressive tattoo cover art—did much to codify the word "emo" and spread it to all corners of the underground.
A Million Miles Away is the second installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released April 14, 1998, by Deep Elm Records. As with all installments in the series, the label had an open submissions policy for bands to submit material for the compilation, and as a result the music does not all fit within the emo style. As with the rest of the series, A Million Miles Away features mostly unsigned bands contributing songs that were previously unreleased.
The Moment of Truth is the third installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released February 23, 1999 by Deep Elm Records. As with all installments in the series, the label had an open submissions policy for bands to submit material for the compilation, and as a result the music does not all fit within the emo style. As with the rest of the series, The Moment of Truth features mostly unsigned bands contributing songs that were previously unreleased.
An Ocean of Doubt is the fourth installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released September 28, 1999, by Deep Elm Records. As with all installments in the series, the label had an open submissions policy for bands to submit material for the compilation, and as a result the music does not all fit within the emo style. As with the rest of the series, An Ocean of Doubt features mostly unsigned bands contributing songs that were previously unreleased. Notably, it features the first song released by Further Seems Forever.
I Guess This Is Goodbye is the fifth installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released October 24, 2000 by Deep Elm Records. As with all installments in the series, the label had an open submissions policy for bands to submit material for the compilation, and as a result the music does not all fit within the emo style. As with the rest of the series, I Guess This Is Goodbye features mostly unsigned bands contributing songs that were previously unreleased.
The Silence in My Heart is the sixth installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released July 24, 2001 by Deep Elm Records. As with all installments in the series, the label had an open submissions policy for bands to submit material for the compilation, and as a result the music does not all fit within the emo style. As with the rest of the series, The Silence in My Heart features mostly unsigned bands contributing songs that were previously unreleased.
Me Against the World is the seventh installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released March 5, 2002 by Deep Elm Records. As with all installments in the series, the label had an open submissions policy for bands to submit material for the compilation, and as a result the music does not all fit within the emo style. As with the rest of the series, Me Against the World features mostly unsigned bands contributing songs that were previously unreleased.
My Very Last Breath is the eighth installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released July 23, 2002 by Deep Elm Records. As with all installments in the series, the label had an open submissions policy for bands to submit material for the compilation, and as a result the music does not all fit within the emo style. As with the rest of the series, My Very Last Breath features mostly unsigned bands contributing songs that were previously unreleased.
Sad Songs Remind Me is the ninth installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released June 24, 2003 by Deep Elm Records. As with all installments in the series, the label had an open submissions policy for bands to submit material for the compilation, and as a result the music does not all fit within the emo style. As with the rest of the series, Sad Songs Remind Me features mostly unsigned bands contributing songs that were previously unreleased.
Brandtson was an American rock band from Cleveland, Ohio.
Sunset Alliance Records is an independent record label based in Mesa, Arizona. It is owned and operated by David Jensen.
