Xerxes

Once primarily a tough guy's game, hardcore has since expanded its breadth in the wake of "the wave": a self-proclaimed movement of emotional hardcore bands. Drawing on the sounds of screamo forbearers such as Saetia, as well as contemporaries from the wave, Xerxes have crafted a masterful debut full-length in Our Home is a Deathbed. Though not a part of the wave, Xerxes don't need a label to make music on the same level. And much like a wave, the music swells with emotional intensity then breaks into crushing passages. On tracks such as "Free Fall" and "Fever Dream," the band exude the emotional vulnerability of Pianos Become the Teeth, while "February" and "Our City as a Floodplain" drive with the intensity of Touché Amoré or Defeater's heavier side. With a sound as good as this, it's clear Xerxes aren't simply riding the wave, but making some of their own.