EMERY
New Music

From the vaults: 90s post-hardcore band EMERY shares “Cold Side Lights” after three decades

2 mins read
Start

Cold Side Lights appears after thirty years in the shadows, finally hitting streaming platforms on January 31. This six-minute surge of guitar interplay was originally recorded by short lived post hardcore band EMERY in May of 1995—back when SoCal’s emo and post-hardcore circles were thrashing small clubs like the Che Café and the Huntington Beach Library.

Inspired by Fugazi and Drive Like Jehu’s dynamic riffs and even laced with a few Iron Maiden nods, the track’s mathy corners and raw energy make it feel like a lost artifact from the Southern California emo summer of ’95.

EMERY

Remixed from its original analog tapes by Eric Bauer (OSEES, Ty Segall) and mastered by Greg Obis (Chicago Mastering Service), “Cold Side Lights” marks the first single off EMERY 94-96 (DIM001). It will mark one of three archival releases arriving via Dimensional Projects on June 6, 2025, forming what they call the ‘90s Trilogy (DIM001-003).

EMERY

The other two are THE WESTERN EXPANSE EP (DIM002) and THE WESTERN EXPANSE LP (DIM003), also drawn from late-‘90s sessions that captured EMERY’s evolution into THE WESTERN EXPANSE.

EMERY was active between 1993 and 1996, formed by high school friends in Southern California’s Inland Empire. They honed their sound by soaking in the noise and hardcore scenes coming out of the nearby Claremont Colleges and Dischord-infused influences from Ebullition bands.

The band’s love of melodic post-hardcore and layered guitar interplay steered them to share stages with acts like Christie Front Drive, Boys Life, Giants Chair, Boilermaker, Evergreen, Julia, and Jimmy Eat World.

EMERY’s setlists often mixed screamy thrust with carefully woven melodic lines. They left behind only a handful of officially released tracks—until now.

EMERY

The upcoming EMERY 94-96 LP assembles previously unreleased studio recordings and practice tapes, all salvaged from dusty reels and cassettes. These sessions were meticulously transferred and given new life by Eric Bauer at Discount Mirrors in Highland Park, then mastered by Greg Obis at Chicago Mastering Service.

EMERY

Dimensional Projects is self-releasing these three records, which were all written and recorded by Chris Smith and a tight-knit circle of friends in the mid to late ‘90s. EMERY’s era ended around 1996, but in 1998 they regrouped as THE WESTERN EXPANSE, exchanging half-stacks for Twin Reverbs and exploring more expansive structures. Punk’s landscape had shifted, and so did their sound—though the focus on dynamic guitar work and deeper sonic contrasts never disappeared.

“Cold Side Lights” sets the tone for the entire reissue project. Its rumbling guitars, sudden shifts, and layered harmonies bring a direct line back to a time when post-hardcore was still figuring itself out. EMERY’s material—unheard for decades—arrives this year as the first taste of what Dimensional Projects is calling a bigger body of work that spans multiple aliases, fusing noise, hardcore, indie rock, and beyond.

For now, January 31 belongs to this sweet new ‘old’ release from EMERY, a track that never saw the light of day until today.

EMERY

All three full-length records—EMERY 94-96, THE WESTERN EXPANSE EP, and THE WESTERN EXPANSE LP—will be released on June 6, 2025.

Karol Kamiński

DIY rock music enthusiast and web-zine publisher from Warsaw, Poland. Supporting DIY ethics, local artists and promoting hardcore punk, rock, post rock and alternative music of all kinds via IDIOTEQ online channels.
Contact via www.idioteq.com@gmail.com

Previous Story

Behind the “Tales To Needed Outcomes” by post rockish emo rockers …OR DOES IT EXPLODE?

Next Story

Mathy metalcore beast WOUNDED TOUCH premieres new song & video “The Damning Variable”