MA hardcore band MATAHARI released a four song EP titled Never The Same over the summer showcasing their style of screamy melodic hardcore in the vein of early HOPE CONSPIRACY, MAJORITY RULE, and BELOVED. The band will be working with Get Young Records for a future vinyl release. In the meantime, you can check out the EP in full, which is streaming on Bandcamp.

MAKE DO AND MEND’s debut full-length, End Measured Mile is everything and more one might expect from a band that has grown like a wildfire since the release of their 2009 breakout EP Bodies of Water. With a brilliantly dark take on a modern post-hardcore foundation laid by bands such as HOT WATER MUSIC and [...]

Boston area post-hardcore/indie band LIONS LIONS have posted their brand new EP The Path We Take (Panic Records) for streaming on their Facebook page. The five-piece band has grown by miles and miles since their debut From What We Believe, particularly with the addition of new vocalist Josh Herzer. The band draws influences from groups like THRICE, THEREFORE I AM (featuring ex-members thereof), and FEAR BEFORE.

From the inbox:

Whether you made it out for Suburban Home Records 15th Anniversary Weekend or not, you can now enjoy some of the best moments of the weekend wherever you happen to reside. Our good friend James Freeman (of That’s The Thing About That) has been so kind to record the entire 15th Anniversary weekend and share his favorite performances with all of you. Visit this link and you can download 22 tracks (2 tracks of each of 11 artists who performed over the weekend). I highly recommend you download and listen to these recordings. Alongside tracks you are more than likely familiar with, there are a number of cover songs you can’t get anywhere else. Rob Coe covers the DEAD BOYS, Micah Schnabel covers ALKALINE TRIO, Lizzie Huffman covers Ryan Adams, and TWO COW GARAGE covers Neil Young.

Full track listing is after the jump.

6131 Records has added speedy New Jersey pop-punk band SETTLE FOR LESS to its roster. The group recently released a four song EP titled Greetings on Either/Or Records, which can be streamed below via Bandcamp. A debut full-length is planned for early 2011.

From the inbox:

Following up the release of THE SWORD’s latest album, Warp Rider, the Austin, TX based stoner-rock band has teamed up with Metal Club for the release of a special 12″, a hexagonal picture disc featuring the Warp Rider track, “(The Night The Sky Cried) Tears of Fire,” b/w the “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp”-esque “Farstar.”

Metal Club is a group of record stores throughout the US and Canada that work to connect the vibrant metal community with their local record store. Fans will be able to visit their local Metal Club store for special metal promotional pieces, exciting in-store events, and a series of exclusive Metal Club releases. Please visit www.mymetalclub.com for store locations, news and information on other Metal Club releases.

- I only included the Metal Club info since this is the first time I’ve learned about it. That is some sweet, sweeeeet looking vinyl. Maybe I ought to consider this whole “framing vinyl for the walls of my basement” thing a little more seriously…

From the inbox:

Kind Of Like Records has released a free compilation entitled Kind Of Like A Comp. The compilation features new songs from The Menzingers, O Pioneers!!!, The Dopamines, The Measure [SA], and Red City Radio as well as tracks from Kind Of Like Records bands Captain, We’re Sinking, Direct Hit!, and Mixtapes. Check out a full track listing below.

For Fest 9 attendees, there will be a special limited run of 300 sunglasses compilations with the download link printed on them. Fans can grab the sunglasses at any of the participating bands merch booths. Those unable to attend the Fest can grab a free download of the comp here.

Track listing appears after the jump…

INTRONAUT – Valley of Smoke (Century Media): Intronaut. Juggernaut. Argonaut. The latter might be the most telling in describing Valley of Smoke, as it is closer to a musical octopus than anything else I’ve heard since the last BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME record. The prog metal outfit really cranks up the creativity and continuity on here, beautifully constructing 50 flowing minutes of chugs, churns, intros, outros, and sung and shouted vocals. If INTRONAUT weren’t awesome at doing this, they’d be on par with a college town jam band with heaps of double-bass, but that’s not the case, and Valley of Smoke is an immersion, breakaway experience.

COKE BUST – Lines In The Sand (Six Weeks Records – CD reissue with 16 bonus tracks): … and in the opposite corner is COKE BUST, who obliterate 31 minutes of time with 33 songs of instant sonic chaos. Don’t look around for complicated song structures, as they don’t exist on here, it’s just play it loud, play it fast, and don’t forget to include a bunch of mouthy, caustic vocals. Lost in the noise is the fact that COKE BUST back their music with smart and serious lyrics, which are thankfully included in the detailed, classy insert. Good for a few listens, but the super short songs take this into novelty terrain.

WHERE THE OCEAN MEETS THE SKY – Empires (CI Records): CI Records has been ahead of the curve for a number of years now in their signings and they struck it big time with an early EP from AUGUST BURNS RED. That might happen again with WTOMTS, a band whose melodic, electronically addled take on metalcore snuggles up nicely with the Rise Records crew and Equal Vision’s WE CAME AS ROMANS. The clean vocals remind me of THE RECEIVING END OF SIRENS, and occasionally the guitars break into some solid, warm sounding atmospheric stuff instead of just hyper-riffing the band’s songwriting into the ground. Standout song is “Victims,” which pushes with more urgency than the rest.

TIM KASHER – The Game of Monogamy (Saddle Creek): The Game of Monogamy may have another meaning if the success of Tim Kasher’s debut solo full-length turns out to be a lethal blow to the vital signs of CURSIVE. And I think I’m cool with that, especially if it leads to more of Kasher’s gorgeous blend of orchestral pop and smooth rolling indie rock (moody trumpet included). Confident sounding and free from CURSIVE’s occasional battle with overwrought, clunky instrumentation, Kasher bounces around on here with a youthful glee, even while burying himself in difficult personal topics and battles. Let’s not make this one a prerequisite for getting a marriage license.