The label was founded by Matt Boylan in Baltimore, Maryland in August 2004. EMR was started for bands in the Baltimore area to gain exposure for their talent. The label issued their first release August 27, 2004 called From the Land of Pleasant Living, featuring various Baltimore bands including future EMR bands like All Time Low, The Fall Line, Bled Across Miles, This Year Passed, Stars Turn Cold, and Morning for the Masses. Soon, the label signed All Time Low and released the band's debut EP The Three Words to Remember in Dealing with the End on October 1, 2004. All Time Low released their debut studio album The Party Scene on July 19, 2005, and it gained attention but the label unsigned them in December that year.[1]
2006-2007: New artists and success
EMR signed Fall River and rereleased an EP called Chronicles and the band appeared on the Masters of Horrorsoundtrack on October 18, 2005, they used a track from their Chronicles EP "At Least You Gave Her Flowers."[2][3][4][5][6] On February 16, 2006, EMR signed My America Is Watching Tigers Die, a band from Newark, Delaware.[7] The label signed Spark Is a Diamond on June 22, 2006,[8] which features former EMR members from different bands and released their debut EP Keep Your Eyes Off the Prize on November 14, 2006. The band attracted Pluto Records who signed them two years later. The band released a studio album Try This On for Size which reused some tracks from the EP and it was named “Best Punk Album Of 2008” by About.com. EMR and Pluto started to get in contact for future projects.
Morning for the Masses[9][10][11] and The Spotlight were interviewed by InsidePUNK.[12][13] My America released their debut studio album Narratives on July 20, 2006. The album received some praise from outlets like Lambgoat[14] and they would also appear in Hanging Like a Hex[15] and they also signed into Pluto Records in 2008. Ben Seaward Hirschhorn of Morning for the Masses created a solo project called The Everyday File. Hometown Anthem was chosen over 12,000 other bands for inclusion on the Ernie Ball compilation CD 13 Of The Best Unsigned Bands In North America (Warcon Records, 2006) featuring other bands like Mayday Parade, The Midnight Renewal, Karate High School, and more.[16][17][18][19]
On January 15, 2007, it was announced that EMR and Pluto Records were working together to produce a four part 7” vinyl series with The Jonbenét. The first vinyl was released on April 17, 2007[20] and the second 7” vinyl was released sometime in summer of 2008,[21] the other two parts were canceled. Lady Radiator was featured in New York Lottery commercial in both English and Spanish in 2008.[22][23] Joseph Crawford formed a new band called The Tonight Life in 2008.
2008-2012: Hiatus and downfall
The label signed Girlfight in 2008[24][25] and after two EPs, released their debut studio album Infinite Carcass on October 16, 2010. The album was praised by many news outlets including the Pittsburgh City Paper.[26][27] The Tonight Life released their debut album Carry Me On that appeared in The Aquarian Weekly.[28] The label started to lose money which cause the label to go into a hiatus in 2009 until spring 2010. Tyler Lefebvre of The Green Eyed Machine also went as a solo artist and released Red Canvas on April 5, 2011.[29][30] Tyler now goes as a producer and audio engineer. Kenny Ramirez from Lady Radiator pursued a project called January Without Her Daisies in 2006 and officially signed in 2011, he worked with Dave Watt of Girlfight[31] to make the cover art and released his self-titled EP in late 2011. The project later became Lazarus Wilde in early 2015. Kenny also formed a new band called Lives We Live until renaming into Wife & Child, they worked with Paul Leavitt and Michael Fossenkemper to release their self-titled EP on June 27, 2012.[32] Unfortunately the label fell to obscurity and went defunct on October 3, 2012.
^Lambgoat, Nick (November 19, 2006). "My America Narratives". Lambgoat.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2006.
