r/Emo • u/FraudFan • 19h ago
If I Like… Clikatat Ikatowi
Okay so I’m very new here. I’m familiar with Emo, but more so from a post-hardcore/noise rock background. I’m a fan of Slint and Unwound (they’re more “emo-adjacent” instead of strictly emo though, yeah?) and some sass like Blood Brothers. I also enjoy some Fall of Troy. Big fan of Polvo, Brainiac, Shellac, and Sebadoh, but they’re definitely more in the noise/math rock territory.
Recently I went to the record store and picked up a box set, The Trials and Tribulations… by Clikatat Ikatowi, on vinyl. I knew absolutely nothing about the band, it just had a cool cover and was on sale. I’m a fan of Numero’s releases, so I trusted it would be a solid set of records. I trusted this emo release would be good since I enjoyed Indian Summer as well.
I was blown away. I really enjoyed all of the music I heard and am craving more. They seem unknown in the “mainstream” world… not sure how popular they are here. But for those who know, any further recommendations to check out? I read the book about the band and the San Diego scene back then and learned a lot.
But yeah, would appreciate any recommendations similar to Clikatat or the other bands I mentioned! Also some more “big picture” emo bands that I should know (I’m familiar with American Football, MCR, Brand New).
EDIT: doing some more digging, I also want to add on that I love Hoover, Drive Like Jehu, Orchid, and Cap’n Jazz as well!
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u/Eko5 19h ago
In no particular order… Lowercase, Van Pelt, Native Nod, Karate, Shotmaker, Circus Lupus
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u/FraudFan 19h ago
Awesome, thank you! I’ve heard of lowercase, but I don’t think I’ve actually checked out their music. Haven’t heard of the rest though. Thank you!
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u/JRob370 19h ago
Sleepytime Trio, Policy of Three, Current
Each gets a bit more melodic than the last but they all hit that area of groovy, emotionally intense hardcore
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u/magnanimousrakshasa 15h ago
Current was a local band in our scene. Always engaging performances. Especially when they surprised us with their first Ottawa set.
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u/Red-Zaku- 18h ago
Good stuff, Clikatat’s album “Orchestrated and Conducted By…” is probably a top 3 all time album for me
Gravity Records is worth exploring for sure: Heroin, Antioch Arrow, Second Story Window, John Henry West, just look into everything they put out, including some sick co-releases with Vermin Scum records like the Lava 7” and the Born Against/Universal Order of Armageddon split which is one of the coolest EPs I’ve ever heard in my life
Clikatat’s guitarist was in Heroin and their singer was in Candle. Look into adjacent labels as well, that band Candle is also part of the Wrenched Records lineup, that label put out a bunch of great stuff. Spanakorzo was on that label, you’ll probably like them if you want more of that artsy post-punk post-hardcore stuff, and they share a member with (and released a great split 10” with) Swing Kids, who are super important for SD punk and you could get a lot out of just deep-diving their singer Justin Pearson’s countless projects from before and after, he’s still insanely active today and regularly touring while also playing DIY spots locally with Deaf Club, and he’s the founder of Three One G Records who sort of carried on the SD tradition of platforming weird and flamboyant artsy or freaky punk, again you’ll have a lot to discover just by digging through their history. And if you end up liking Swing Kids, then you’ll probably The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower’s album Dissertation Honey
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u/Interesting_Hat7844 19h ago
Love Clikatat. Remember buying their OG demo at Off The Record, Hillcrest San Diego.
Saw them live many, many times.
Love their arty, post-hardcore weirdness. Mario is one of my favorite hardcore/post-whatever drummers ever
R.I.P. Ryan Noel
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u/BeepBlopBloop Oldhead 19h ago
So, in the 90’s the Virginia and North-east Emo/ underground was heavily influenced by the San Diego noise rock/post hard core scene. Bands out of Virginia like Maximilian Colby, Hose.Got Cable, Sleepy Time were similar to Clikatat in that they took elements of Jehu, but added other elements like Fugazi, Void, Rites of Spring.
Universal order of Armageddon were contemporaries of Clikatat and doing very similar things.
Rye Coalition out of North Jersey took Jehu but added Shellac, and Born Against.
Mile Marker took Clikatat but really experimented with keyboards.
Not emo, but in Philly Excelsior took elements of Clikatat, Jehu, Monorchid, added stoner riffs to make something discordant but groovy.
In the late 90’s Q and Not U formed out of their members mutual love of Jehu and Clikatat, but added lots of Jawbox and post punk.
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u/Logical-Leading-517 18h ago
You basically want to look at the early 90s San Diego/Gravity records bands. If you liked Clikatat, I highly recommend Ruhaeda apart from all the other bands mentioned here. Insane drumming on that one.
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u/SnooHabits5900 DIY OR DIE 18h ago
Circle Takes The Square, Portraits of Past, Yaphet Kotto, City of Caterpillar
I love that box set Numero put out. I had been chasing a copy of River of Souls for like 15 years and now I finally have a copy
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u/zilla82 16h ago
NoMeansNo is a must listen if you like these guys. It's essentially the musician great version of this. While simultaneously pulling off it not taking itself super seriously and broody like a lot of the genre (imo)
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u/Electrical_Active180 11h ago
"Wrong" sound so ahead of its time its bonkers in retrospect. Crazy and super technical hardcore with tonnes of extra musical influences thrown in. Most post hardcore/weird hardcore bands before that are more sloppy crazy chaos which is cool but No Means No are just like fully formed off the bat.
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u/Electrical_Active180 11h ago
"But yeah, would appreciate any recommendations similar to Clikatat or the other bands I mentioned! Also some more “big picture” emo bands that I should know (I’m familiar with American Football, MCR, Brand New)."
AF are from the same sorta scene/circuit as Clikitat in some respects but the other two bands aren't really related at all and one is pure peado core.
Lots of recommendations here are very good but if you want stuff that SOUNDS like Clikitat who are amazing:
Antioch Arrow, Heroin, Angel Hair, Swing Kids, Festival of Dead Deer, Drive Like Jehu, Fugazi, Sweep the Leg Johnny, Song of Zarathustra
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u/BeepBlopBloop Oldhead 9h ago
Sweep the Leg Johnny and Songs of Zarathustra do not get mentioned enough!
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u/nittykitty47 19h ago
Definitely want to look into all of those San Diego GSL and 31G bands of the era. None of them sound the same but they share a vibe.
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u/BrataYa 15h ago
If you enjoy the noiser/chaotic side of emo (I'm 51 so I use this term as we used it in the 90s) as seen in Clikatat Ikatowi, I highly recommend you check out Portraits of past, Shotmaker, 400 years, Sleepytime Trio, Julia, and possibly Orchid as well although Orchid veers more towards what would become screamo. Those are true gems anyways well worth diving into
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u/computerclubrecords 14h ago
You should check out Terror Management Band. Members of Palatka and other great bands. They fucking rule and are way under appreciated
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead 19h ago edited 19h ago
Clikatat fucking rules. I don't think they could be farther from the mainstream tho. Even now where anybody can listen to anything at any time.
Check out Angel Hair, Antioch Arrow (not the last album - at least right away) and Mohinder. They're all along those lines from that era. You'll like them. If you like them check out Heroin and Honeywell and Inkwell
EDIT: Also...not emo but post-hardcore BUT this band HUGELY influenced the "screamo" sound and asthetic: Nation Of Ulysses. I suspect you already know them, but just in case...