When Braid broke up, guitarist/secondary vocalist Chris Broach formed The Firebird Band, and the remaining three members -- frontman Bob Nanna, bassist Todd Bell, and drummer Damon Atkinson -- recruited guitarist Mark Dawursk of Alligator Gun and continued on as Hey Mercedes. They recorded it with Jawbox's J. Robbins, who had also produced Braid's classic 1998 swan song Frame & Canvas, and in many ways, it picked up where Frame & Canvas left off. It'll never be considered as important as that album was, but Bob Nanna & co. had gotten even better at what they do, and Everynight Fire Works proved it. The songs were sharper and catchier than most of what Braid had done, and Bob Nanna's voice had actually gotten kind of pretty at this point -- a noticeable progression from his raspy yelps in Braid. There were, of course, fans who missed Braid's more shambolic sound, but it was tough to deny how strong the songwriting on Everynight Fire Works was. These were just great, anthemic rock songs, and they helped predict the path emo would be on throughout the 2000s. It established Bob Nanna & co not just as underrated forebears of the emo boom, but as one of the era's best active bands.

Pick up 'Everynight Fire Works' on clear with blue/green/white splatter vinyl.

These days, the phrase "Long Island emo" makes most people think of melodramatic bands that fuse screaming and clean-singing thanks to the popularity of bands like Taking Back Sunday and Brand New, but before either of those bands reached the mainstream, Long Island's On The Might of Princes had perfected the formula. They pulled from '90s Midwest emo, harsher screamo, lighter indie rock, and their hometown's hardcore and punk scenes, and they fused it into something that almost no other band was doing at the time. For much more on this album, read my 20th anniversary interview with drummer Chris Enriquez.

Pick up a vinyl copy of the OTMOP album here.

Like many emo bands, Cap'n Jazz weren't fully appreciated in their time. But after they broke up and members formed Joan of Arc, The Promise Ring, American Football and other bands, interest in Cap'n Jazz rose. The post-breakup release of Analphabetapolothology in 1998 on Jade Tree Records helped a lot too. So, in 2001, when every member of Cap'n Jazz except The Promise Ring's Davey von Bohlen revealed they'd be reuniting in a new band, that was a big deal, even back then. But if you were expecting Shmap'n Shmazz Vol. 2, you'd have to look elsewhere. The band's Steve Albini-recorded debut LP stayed true to the math rock influences that defined the Chicago scene, but this time around, the tempos were slower, the guitars were cleaner, and Tim Kinsella was doing his best to really sing, almost entirely avoiding the off-key shouts that defined Cap'n Jazz. Tim had already started exploring softer, more melodic sounds with his band Joan of Arc, but Owls was more focused and less avant-garde. It was a little more similar to Tim's brother (and Owls/Cap'n Jazz drummer) Mike Kinsella's band American Football than to any of the music Tim had released at the time, but still with that unmistakable Tim Kinsella-ness. At this point, "Kinsella" is basically a genre of its own, and Owls epitomizes that genre as much as any other Kinsella album did. But even within the Kinsella context, Owls stands out as an album unlike any other in the family tree, and it remains one of the best.

Pick up Owls vinyl here.