The Alternative Tone

Nick Stutsman has uploaded a bunch of old Merchant Ships and Midwest Pen Pals demos, b-sides and bits and bobs to the interweb for free. You can download them  here . I recommend them highly, cuz they're awesome.

Acoustic split between Old Gray frontman Cameron Boucher and ex Merchant Ships man, Nick Stutsman.  Download Here. If you ever read a post on The Alternative Tone you know that Old Gray = AWESOME and Merchant Ships = AWESOME and acoustic = AWESOME, therefore Nick Stutsman/ Cameron Boucher Acoustic Split = MIND BLOWN. This is just brilliant. Download it now. RIYL:  The Alternative Tone Highly Recommended. 

Ex- Merchant Ships/ Midwest Pen   Pals emo man gone acoustic.  Download Here. Basically what would happen if you put Merchant Ships into a Bright Eyes blender. Sweet, likable acoustic, showing that even (post) hardcore men can show their feelings. Lyrics are surprisingly excellent and both tracks are quite tender and heartbreakingly sad.  RIYL: Merchant Ships, Bright Eyes Highly Recommended. 

15. No Reason Why by Gorilla Biscuits (1:55) from 1988's 'Gorilla Biscuits'. A hardcore clean living anthem of sorts from the scene legends. Combining catchy, sinalong lyrics with raspy vocals and probably the most prominent bass line in the hardcore scene, No Reason Why  is an essential for any punk fan. 14. One Life, One Chance by H2O   (1:55) from 1999's 'F.T.T.W'. Another hardcore anthem, filled with inspirational lyrics and a fist pump worthy melody, One Life, One Chance , is a track that exists solely to make everyone who listens to it feel that bit better. 13. Situation On Mars by Swing Kids (1:34)  from 1998's 'Discography'. Ridiculously heavy post-hardcore from the short lived, but none the less important Swing Kids. Swing Kids' brand of post-hardcore has almost become a template for hundreds of bands recently (The Wave bands etc.) and 'Situation On Mars' is one of their most brutal yet attractive songs. 12. Sho...

Count Your Lucky Stars label sampler. Emo and post-hardcore brilliance. Merchant Ships and Moving Mountains are on it. It's free. Why are you still reading and not downloading? http://countyourluckystars.bandcamp.com/album/cyls-sampler-4 RIYL: Merchant Ships, Moving Mountains, Music

Live split with different flavors of post-hardcore. http://nurture.bandcamp.com/album/nurture-antpile-live-in-the-lobby RIYL: Post-hardcore, I Hate Myself, Merchant Ships, At The Drive In

Post-hardcore from Athens. http://nurture.bandcamp.com/ RIYL: I Hate Myself, Merchant Ships, Defeater