Based out of Münster, Germany, Shoreline have never been afraid to shield their emotions. On their new album, ‘Is This The Low Point Or The Moment After?,’ the melodic emo punks question how, or when, you bounce back at your lowest ebb. For Hansol Seung, the vocalist writes a set of honest songs that evolve from reflective to optimistic. Early highlights such as ‘Brittle Bond’ and ‘Sweet Spot’ capture Seung in a thoughtful mood. On the fiery ‘Paradox Man,’ he admits, “I’m not depressed, I’m just a bit overworked,” a notion that many of us can relate to. Later cuts like ‘Out Of Touch’ and ‘Youthfully Naive’ show signs of hope and understanding.
Musically, ‘Is This The Low Point…’ is held together by an assured emo-punk sound that isn’t afraid to embrace bold hooks. Whether that be on ‘Forgive’ (featuring Knuckle Puck’s Joe Taylor) or ‘Out of Touch’s rich melodies, Shoreline‘s scope continues to grow beyond their hardcore-infused roots. It results in an album that resonates with relatability and memorable choruses.
While they have recently ventured out of their homeland, touring with label mates Arm’s Length and Ben Quad over here in the UK, Shoreline are still firmly part of the German emo, punk, and hardcore scene. Ahead of releasing ‘Is This The Low Point Or The Moment After?’ this Friday (March 13th), we gave vocalist Hansol Seung the platform to highlight five fellow German bands that you should know about.
Between Bodies
From: Cologne
There are a few bands so immersed in the German emo-punk scene as Between Bodies. They are a four-piece playing a very similar style of emo-punk as Shoreline and had some cool opportunities the last year, supporting Touche Amore, The Get Up Kids, and The Hotelier.
Between Bodies are about to release a new record, ‘Hands To Hold Each Other’ and I hope they get the attention they deserve with it. We’re close friends and played a bunch of shows together in the last couple of years.
Phantom Bay
From: Bremen, Hamburg, Berlin
These are leaning more towards hardcore punk, but they’re still very melodic. They’re almost considered a “supergroup” with members of past scene legends such as The Deadnotes, New Native, and Casually Dressed.
If you’re a fan of Title Fight’s ‘Shed,’ you have to check out their debut album. The guys live and breathe the DIY spirit and also put up a festival in Bremen called Fairweather Fest that is already considered one of the most important scene fests in Germany.
Scott Evil
From: Cologne
I can’t stress enough how much I fell in love with this band. They released a record called ‘Big Dipper’ last year, and it became one of my favourites of 2025.
I don’t really know any of the members personally, but I’ve seen the band a couple times now and they’re just a really good, emotional live band. The first time seeing them was at Baracke in Münster, a very small, DIY driven place that was just a perfect fit for the band.
Sperling
From: Koblenz, Mannheim
Sperling is a German-speaking four-piece that has a truly unique mix of emo-punk, German rap, post hardcore, and German pop. I feel like they are one of the few bands from this scene that managed to create a really invested fanbase around them. Their latest tour had almost every show sold out in 500-capacity rooms. You’ll see someone wearing Sperling merch at any show in Germany, and I even saw someone wear a shirt at our London show last month. We’ve become close friends over the years and played multiple shows together.
Slope
From: Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia
Christoph (Smierfätt – our bassist) introduced me to this band as the “German Turnstile” in 2019, and he was right. I know I’ve said that about almost every band now, but very unique-sounding, extremely tight and innovative band. Featured on the new STATE CHAMPS album. They’ve just been on a full EU/UK run with Lionheart and Madball, combining hardcore and funk elements. They’re the hottest hardcore band from Germany right now.
‘Is This The Low Point Or The Moment After?’ by Shoreline is released on March 13th on Pure Noise Records.
Shoreline will be returning to the UK later this year for a run of headline shows.
November
11th Downstairs at the Dome, London
12th Exchange, Bristol
13th Deaf Institute, Manchester
14th Key Club, Leeds
Find Shoreline on: Facebook | X (Formerly Twitter) | Instagram | TikTok | Spotify | Apple Music
