hey mercedes

The year is 2001. The middle school bus stops by your house in 10 minutes as you hastily smudge on frosted lip gloss, grab your tattoo choker necklace and add an extra gem to your jeans’ bedazzled pocket. Trucker hats and studded belts are all the rage. In some ways, times are simpler.  Pop punk […]

Bob Nanna, frontman of respected Chicago emo outfit Braid, has returned with new music. Today AltPress is premiering “Mr. Albatross,” the second single from Celebration States, his new album on the New Granada label. It’s the first proper solo album for Nanna, whose projects have also included Hey Mercedes, the City On Film and Lifted […]

Vagrant Records has become a major force in the (currently in vogue) scene of hipster indie rock bands like the 1975 and Bad Suns. But before that, Vagrant was one of the premier independent labels for punk and emo music, releasing classic albums from bands like Saves The Day, Alkaline Trio, the Get Up Kids, […]

Wisconsin-based ’90s punk band Alligator Gun have announced a reunion show. Scheduled for Jan. 18, 2014 at Turner Hall in Milwaukee, the event is a benefit for the Pablove Foundation and will also feature former Drive-Thru Records act the Benjamins (also reuniting), Vic & Gab, Subside and Chris Porterfield of Field Report. This will mark Alligator Gun's […]

The power ballad rose to prominence in the ’80s, when band after band of hair-metal jokers realized they needed something more emotionally resonant to connect with their female fans (and their genitals). While the initial motivation may have been a bit disingenuous, the style has remained ingrained in many types of music, even (some might […]

It’s rare nowadays that any band with a few releases (and a few hundred shows) under their belt hasn’t had a lineup change or two (or six, if you’re a metalcore band on Rise Records). But the following 14 bands didn’t just replace one member and soldier on; they started fresh as a brand new […]

Certain People I Know Certain People I Know Originally formed in 2009, Certain People I Know were the new vehicle of former Braid/Hey Mercedes vocalist/guitarist Bob Nanna and drummer Damon Atkinson. They wrote a handful of songs and played a few shows in and around Chicago before sort of fading back into the darkness. Now, […]

You think it’s hard to write an original song? Try finding a cover song that hasn’t been done before—it’s harder than you think. That’s why we bring you Under The Covers: Each week, we’ll pit two bands who have covered the same source material against one another, and it’s up to you to decide who comes out on […]

You think it’s hard to write an original song? Try finding a cover song that hasn’t been done before—it’s harder than you think. That’s why we bring you Under The Covers: Each week, we’ll pit two bands who have covered the same source material against one another, and it’s up to you to decide who comes out on […]

Check out this exclusive stream of “The Right Time” from Braid's new EP, Closer To Closed, out Aug. 16 on Polyvinyl Records. You can pre-order it on limited-edition vinyl and CD here.

Recently reunited ’90s emo pioneers Braid have posted a seven-minute video of the band working on their new EP with producer J. Robbins. You can view it below (the actual music starts around the two-minute mark).