Maritime w/ The One AM Radio

Few bands were burdened with as lofty a task as Maritime. Born under the long shadow cast by The Promise Ring, the seminal Milwaukee emo band that to this day inspires cultish devotion and utter revulsion but seldom anything in between, Maritime fought a sometimes losing battle to overcome both the huge expectations and crippling stigmas inherent in their lineage. With their albums, however, including 2007's Heresy and the Hotel Choir and this year's Human Hearts (their first for the Los Angeles label Dangerbird), Maritime has emerged as the crown jewel of the Milwaukee rock scene, seasoned purveyors of the fuzzy, hooky guitar-pop that was abundant in the '90s but has grown scarce over the past half-decade as indie-rock forgot such creature comforts.