Kitty Little - Self Titled 7" (2001)

Kitty Little is another band that never quite broke up as far as I know, but they haven't played any gigs in a while for standard reasons (members living far away, playing in other projects, or just other priorities) and haven't released any new material since their 2010 split with Scientific Maps aside from a 2012 two song digital release. A great cross between power pop and pop punk with some '90s indie rock like Dinosaur Jr mixed in there.

They have a pretty solid discography and you can still pick up some of it from guitarist/vocalist Matto (who you may have seen from several other posts) and his record label Peterwalkee Records. My personal favorite being the aforementioned Scientific Maps split, but this first 7" comes in at a close second. This version has a couple of unreleased tracks that were uploaded to the KL bandcamp too, including "Never Stay" which is probably the best track from both releases (and also the first song played in the video above).

Tracklist:

1. Running
2. Be Mine
3. I Wanna Be Your Man
4. I'm Bitter
5. Never Stay (bonus track)
6. Home (bonus track)

Download URL: https://www.mediafire.com/file/xg5h1f4t2n8dxb8/Kitty_Little_-_Kitty_little_s-t_7.zip/file

Swindle EPI - ...And Everyone is Ignited (2004)

Really didn't get the chance to see these dudes as much as I'd have liked to, but they were always killer when I did. Hailing from Charlton, which I'm pretty sure is in the Burnt Hills/Glenville area but who knows, Swindle EPI wrote catchy dual vocal street punk vaguely reminiscent of Civil Disobedience. Don't really know what of these songs were on this actual release or not, but I know they did a couple different recordings from the differing sound of a couple tracks.

Tracklist:

1. Farewell
2. Sanchez Hozar
3. Untouchable
4. Robert Paulson
5. Pull the Punches
6. Garner St. Massacre
7. For All Eternity
8. Guns in the Belltower

Download URL: http://www.mediafire.com/file/op7virww4wy6wf7/SwindleEPI.zip/file

To Hell And Back - Will We Be Torn Apart? (2011)

Another one of my favorite releases from the area, To Hell And Back fused hard rock and hardcore punk which is a description that really doesn't do them any justice and was weirdly good. Like, really good. Members of a substantial amount of good Albany bands from the late '90s and beyond, they used the full scope of their musicianship to rip ridiculous solos so hard you can smell the pickguards melting through your speakers. They did two full lengths and a split with The Shemps, and eventually unceremoniously disbanded. It sounds like it was more an issue with members not living in the area (imagine that) and otherwise being involved in other projects. Great band to see live, and this record holds up to those performances. With the revival of '70s influenced hard rock that's been going around now these guys would have killed it, but people kinda slept on them. Might as well download it now to see what you missed.

Tracklist:

1. Street Train
2. Thinned Skin
3. Blood of the Father
4. Bell Book Candle
5. Devil's in the Details
6. Black Hole
7. Venom and Saline
8. Cold Hungry Eyes
9. Release the Kraken
10. Grassroots Brushfire

Download URL part 1: https://sabercathost.com/5md8/ToHellAndBack-WillWeBe.zip

Download URL part 2: https://sabercathost.com/5md9/ToHellAndBack-WillWeBe2.zip

Outa Commission - Life is a Disease That Kills Everyone (2006)

Ah yes, the band that brought the world some Albany punk staples. I remember seeing the pre-Outa Commission band Victims of Hunger and not thinking very much of them, but with a few lineup adjustments they gave it another go and the change was like night and day. Adding madman Connor as the vocalist definitely gave them the edge they needed, with his natural stage presence and unique sense of humor (remember watching him eat a lit cigarette during a set before), combined with Dan playing as fast as he could and only getting faster, and Party Shirt doing what Party Shirt does. Shared the stage with these weirdos a lot, and it was always a pleasure and I'm pretty bummed I missed their last show and the reunion that followed years later. Really don't even know what to compare them to, but it's fast and it's pissed.

Tracklist:

1. Necessary Evil
2. System Shhhmystem
3. Red Cross Does No Good for No One
4. Monahan
5. Germaphobia vs. Environmental Conservationism
6. Dead as Your Dreams
7. Tupac Shakur Don't Belong to You
8. Punk Standards
9. Whatcha Gun' Do
10. Turn Your Life In
11. Fiend
12. Pollute Me
13. Traumatized
14. So Long

Download URL: https://sabercathost.com/5md7/OutaComission.zip

Nuclear Family - Self Titled (2010)

Nuclear Family were a much needed injection of melody in Albany during a time when we were all playing as fast and as loud as we could. Very danceable mid-tempo punk that is reminiscent of Dangerhouse Records stuff with some Avengers thrown in here and there. Some really solid riffing here that is relatively unexpected for a genre known for gratuitous use of power chords. Yet another band where the entirety of them no longer live in the Albany area, but they've all gone on to do cool projects across the world. As far as I know all the members are stateside again though, so you should be able to catch them gigging around their respective cities and on tour.

Tracklist:

1. Scapegoat
2. What They Say
3. Useless
4. Believer's Voice of Victory
5. Little By Little
6. Mistakes
7. More of the Same
8. Nothing New

Download URL: https://sabercathost.com/5md6/NuclearFamily-LP.zip

Rutger Hauer - Wülfgar (2007)

This is a band that a lot of people forgot about, I imagine because they never played a whole lot of shows and didn't really last long, but this shit is killer and I would highly recommend it. Very similar to From Ashes Rise which is appropriate because I've heard they shared a member at one point. Not much to say here because I don't even remember who was involved to tell you what other projects they were in. Take my word for it, you'll wanna check this out.

Tracklist:

1. ...On Death and Dying
2. Septic
3. Camp Fever
4. Cholera
5. Mourning War

Download URL: https://sabercathost.com/5md4/Rutger_Hauer_-_W%C3%BClfgar.zip

Rockets and Blue Lights - A Smashed City With Flames and Music In The Air (2002)

This band didn't really do anything for me when I heard them the first couple times, admittedly it was the early '00s and I was only interested in faster, louder, harder and less into things of a more melodic and experimental vibe, but I remember seeing them at one of Albany's old bigger shows at Valentine's like Hawaiian Rock Fest or the one with pancakes or something along those lines, and their live show intensity really won me over. I'm not even really sure how to describe them because genre titles like math rock, post rock, or even screamo all bring to mind much, much worse music than this. Some really cool guitar work here throughout, an excellent spacey atmosphere focusing mostly on music with sporadic mumbled vocals here and there. Wish I could see them now when I'd appreciate it more, but isn't that usually how it goes?

Tracklist:

1. A Smashed Piano
2. Andee
3. Forrest Green and Autumn
4. We Bleed This in the Winter

Download URL: https://sabercathost.com/5mc1/RocketsAndBlueLights.zip