Have Mercy

In the case of Baltimore's Have Mercy, what wins out-and what ultimately astounds-is raw, unfiltered passion. The band's debut LP, The Earth Pushed Back, was one of the most honest records of 2013-an album that fans of punk and emo from Brand New to Tigers Jaw to Taking Back Sunday simply couldn't afford to miss out on.

Produced by Paul Leavitt (All Time Low, The Dangerous Summer, many more), A Place Of Our Own is a refined, more muscular version of what they did well on The Earth Pushed Back - as if they trimmed the fat on some aspects of their sound while showing major growth across the board. It's an organic, sometimes subtle and sometimes very noticeable type of growth. Everyone simply sounds better from an instrumental perspective, and Swindle's gritty vocals have become only more defining this go-round.

Since forming in 2011, Swindle feels the band truly has "grown up as musicians and people and cannot wait for everyone to hear A Place Of Our Own."