Editors' Picks: Milemarker / Isis / The Lido Venice

Scott: The beauty of an iPod [especially a free one; and don't forget free flat screen TVs!] is hitting the shuffle button and re-discovering some amazing tunes. Take, for example, this sweet jam from Milemarker. This song is taken from their 1998 Lovitt release Frigid Forms Sell, later re-released by Jade Tree. It's before the band went on their operatic speedbump with Anaesthetic or their plain ol' bland speedbump with Satanic Versus. What you have here is a killer rock song, plain and simple. I can't even begin to count the number of bands nowadays who rip this style off:
Milemarker - Sex Jam 2: Insect Incest

Aubin: Isis is definitely unlike anything else. They certainly start from the same place as Neurosis, with a focus on progressive post-hardcore, but their emphasis on sweeping, expansive songwriting and hypnotic melodies is unparalleled. They have a new record, Panopticon, which is due out this October, but this track comes from their epic Oceanic:
Isis - False Light

Brian: A couple of you, if that, may remember me gushing about The Lido Venice after seeing the decidedly indie rock outfit play an otherwise hardcore fest in a Norton, Massachusetts gymansium back in late February. Well, in April [give or take], the band signed with ECA Records and released the Songs Written Around The Campfire In The Belly Of A Whale EP shortly thereafter [review coming soon]. Named after a popular New England speakeasy that flourished during Prohibition, the band's raw, Cursive-like/Saddle Creek-influenced sound carries so much potential it sickens me. Checking it out now means you can say you hated The Lido Venice before it was cool to.
The Lido Venice - Dig Those Heels
The Lido Venice - Dancing Our Duress