I’ll be brutally honest with you. When it comes to what everyone’s listening to, I hardly ever know what the latest rage is and it is not because I live under a rock. I actually live in a grossly overpriced apartment on campus, but that is neither here nor there.

Like any other genre that does not receive constant airplay, the alternative music scene remains underappreciated and, therefore, largely ignored. Over the course of the semester, I will be surveying a wide range of artists from the alternative music scene and letting you know a little bit about what you have been missing out on.

So, if you are sick of listening to the same music as your roommate, or just about everyone else, do not be afraid to give these artists a listen.

A Skylit Drive

Adelphia

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

Label: Fearless Records

Rocks like: Underoath, Coheed And Cambria

Where to listen: Myspace.com/askylitdrive, Purevolume.com/askylitdrive

In its defense, Adelphia – the second full-length album from the Lodi, Calif., screamo/hardcore outfit – has grown on me. Unfortunately, I did not listen to it enough times before I wrote this column to give it any more than three-and-a-half stars. Although “Those Cannons Could Sink A Ship” – the album’s first single, featuring lead singer “Jag” Jagmin’s high-pitched vocals and heavy guitar work – is solid, “Eva the Carrier” is without question the best track on the record. As a whole, however, Adelphia simply cannot compete with Wires…And The Concept of Breathing, the group’s first LP. Wires was simply too good and remains Skylit’s best.

The Audition

Self-Titled Album

Grade: 5 stars out of 5

Label: Victory Records

Rocks like: Fall Out Boy, The Academy Is…

Where to listen: Myspace.com/theaudition

Attempts at witty album titles aside, the Chicago-area quartet has pieced together their best record to date despite the departure of original member and bassist Joe Lussa. There is not a weak song on the entire 10-track album, and The Audition’s signature sound – a sort of funky pop-punk hybrid, with its infectious, poppy melodies and fun, grooving guitars – is as catchy as ever. Songs like “Los Angeles,” “The Way You Move” and “Love With A Motive” are sure to be stuck in your head for days. With each new release, The Audition demonstrates their ability to grow as musicians and performers and Self-Titled Album is no exception.

Watchout! There’s Ghosts

Ghost Town

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

Label: Rise Records

Where to listen: Myspace.com/watchouttheresghosts, Purevolume.com/watchouttheresghosts

Rocks like: Breathe Carolina, The Medic Droid

The first effort from former A Skylit Drive frontman Jordan Blake and Joshua Stotts culminated in the synth-pop, dance-driven record Ghost Town. The 10-track album contains several standouts, including “I Ruin Dreams, Not Nightmares” and “A Beautiful Goodbye,” but, after a certain point, each track begins to subtly blend into the next until each one is almost indistinguishable from the last. Ghost Town is by no means a bad album, and “Remember Me, Oh God, For Good” serves as a more-than-adequate closer that helps break up the general monotony, allowing the album to finish on a strong note.

A Day To Remember

Homesick

Grade: 2.5 stars out of 5

Label: Victory Records

Rocks like: Atreyu, Senses Fail

Where to listen: Myspace.com/adaytoremember

Believe me when I say I enjoy a good breakdown as much as the next guy. But when you have a breakdown at some point in just about every song, they all start to sound the same. A Day To Remember’s blend of soft metal and pop-punk follows the same formula as And Their Name Was Treason and For Those Who Have Heart with catchy choruses and heavy riffs, but ultimately falls short of the group’s potential. “Have Faith In Me” and the title track, “Homesick,” rank among the better songs ADTR has written, yet, the album ends with little more than a whimper.

esme

Don’t Wake Up EP

Grade: 4.5 stars out of 5

Label: esme

Rocks like: Close To Home, Envy On The Coast

Where to listen: Available on Amazon.com, iTunes

As a matter of principle, I could not give a five-song EP – really four, if you exclude the instrumental closing track – five stars, no matter how impressive the other four songs are. Don’t Wake Up‘s greatest strength is also one of its greatest flaws. At almost 14 minutes, the five self-produced tracks from the Atlanta-based group only provide a sampling of what esme has to offer. Be that as it may, Don’t Wake Up is one of the better EPs I have heard in recent memory and deserves a listen – if for no other reason than you could listen to the entire album on your way to class.

Be sure to catch Joe’s column in the Reg issue and in the paper every other Tuesday