Justin: I'm sure that I'm late to the game on these guys but the new Toys That Kill album, Shanked!, is awesome. Poppy, snotty punk rock that is completely rooted in the classics without sounding like clones or simple revivalists. The opening track "Bomb Sniffin' Dogs" is addictive like cocaine. Full of raw energy but with enough restraint and rhythm that it makes you want to shake your ass like one of those silly iPod commercials.
Toys That Kill - Bomb Sniffin' Dogs Brian: For those who don't know, New Jersey's Turning Point was a highly influential hardcore/emo outfit who continues to have a significant impact on their genre. They essentially began as a Judge wannabe, added heavy Minor Threat influences by the release of their only LP, It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn, and with their final release, a split EP with No Escape, drew more from Ian MacKaye's first post-MT outfit -- Embrace. While their earlier stuff is enjoyable and talented, with the last of those sounds the band recorded my 2 favorite songs of theirs (and 2 of my favorite songs ever): "Behind This Wall" and "Thursday," extremely emotional and sincere classics. Both also appear on Jade Tree's discography release, 1988-1991. (As usual, if these links don't work, stream them at the band's myspace page.) Unfortunately, front-man Frank "Skip" Candelori was taken from us in 2002 due to a drug overdose, but the small legacy he left behind will continue to keep him in our thoughts for some time I'd imagine.
Turning Point - Behind This Wall Turning Point - Thursday Aubin: Amherst, Massachusetts-based Ampere might charitably be described as a "screamo" band, though, the hearken back to a time when this wasn't a dirty word. The band includes guitarist Will Killingsworth, who played guitar in Orchid, Laceration and Bucket Full of Teeth and have issued a succession of short, visceral releases that imbue hardcore punk with melancholy. Most recently, the band issued a split with like-minded act Sinaloa on Ebuliition and you should check out a song from the split as well as their last "full length," All Our Tomorrows End Today.