Steve Brodsky: The Blue Ribbon Award

Ever since Cave-In went on indefinite hiatus in 2006 to sow their sonic oats in other projects, no member has created music as polarizing to the group’s initial melodic post-hardcore sound quite like frontman Stephen Brodsky. After exploring an apparent unrequited love for the Stiff Records catalog with 2006’s Stephen Brodsky’s Octave Museum and 2007’s Pet Genius, Brodsky returns (somewhat) to the melodic post-hardcore sound of Cave-In’s brilliant 1999 magnum opus Jupiter on The Black Ribbon Award. Though not as directly ear-pleasing as his two previous solo efforts, Ribbon’s fusion of primal force and troubadour soul is a sound any music fan with both Elliott Smith’s XO and Snapcase’s Designs for Automotion on their CD shelves can wholeheartedly appreciate.