A continuation of this project I started. Putting 4 together this time because why not. No real themes as far as I am aware of to bind these together and not much pre-music commentary to make so off we go.
The first album today, at number 38, is Intersections by Into It. Over It. (how fitting). Never heard of them before, apparently it's a one-man project (or at least was when this album was recorded)? Notably, it's the only album on the list from after 2008. And to be quite frank, one of the only ones released within 10 years of the article's publication in 2016. So that's interesting since the article is otherwise lacking emo revival/fourth wave representation (the album from 2008 is also revival iirc). On to the album itself though.
Liking this album so far (which checks out, I like midwest emo). "New North-Side Air" has some cool instruments. I'm quite digging "A Curse Worth Believing", especially the beginning. But like the layered vocals are cool (and sounding like a noisy Death Cab song isn't a bad thing). Liking "Upstate Blues" a lot too. Really fun guitars, the loud-quiet dynamic and I love the line "If misery loves company than what does that make me?" cause I'm cringe (end fades into the next song really well too. Love a good transition). Speaking of that next song, the build up for "No Amount of Sound" is great. No idea what the song is about though. "A Pair of Matching Taxi Rides" is also awesome. The guitars (there's some real noisey/fuzzy ones that remind me of some of the sounds I was experimenting with for Ghelded Kultz 10 years ago, before this album came out even) and the way it changes over the song. "Your Antique Organ" is a softer song (on an already soft album) but there's some really cool instrumentation in the background. Another great song overall. And is the last song ("Contractual Obligation") a break up song? I love break-up songs, plus it just sounds fun and has a lot going on (I do love layered vocals). Also the lines "The look of your name is such an eyesore" and "Today I walked alone for the first time/Reclaimed the finer brick from your fault lines" are big mood.
Yeah I like this album. Unsurprising. I like midwest emo, I like indie rock, I like twinkly guitars, I like noise. Plus I've apparently liked other projects this guy is in (like Pet Symmetry). Good choice Rolling Stone.
Album number 2 (well 37) is one I know quite well, Indian Summer's Science 1994. I think I first listened to it in 2017, maybe 2018? Point is, I've known it for a long time. So some fun facts about this album. In true punk fashion, it's actually a compilation album of all (or at least most of) their prior work. The names of the songs on bandcamp are completely different than what they are normally known by and I'm pretty sure none of the songs have official titles (though they do have well known ones). Since it was only a dollar on bandcamp and I love this album, that's what I'll be using. I'll need notes to align the track names though.
"I think your train is leaving" ("giving") starts soft but has really good build up and riffs. Also I can only assume that the lyrics are entirely literal. "Touch The Wings Of An Angel... Doesn’t Mean You Can Fly" ("birth") has an awesome riff. I really like the staticky quality at the beginning of "Aren't you Angel" ("thunder"), in a way it almost reminds me of Daniel Johnson. Also that song uses dynamics so well (and screams). "Waiting" ("by") is just awesome when it gets all quiet for a second as the singer says "killer" and then goes into an almost metallic repetitive riff (which almost reminds me of Big Black).
And then we get to "Angry Son" ("sleeping"). This is the song that introduced me to Indian Summer and it is just wonderful. The quiet start with spoken word lyrics. Just perfection when the loud guitar comes in. A driving bass in the background (sounds like something from Low of all bands. Almost like it was ripped out of "Lullaby"). And an iconic ending with a record playing in the background (same as the beginning. As much as I love Origami Angel, this is how samples should be done since it really adds to the song. It's funny, I'm not much one for noodling and long songs, but some of my favorite songs in general are really long, even self indulgent. "Diamond Sea" by Sonic Youth, "Do you know how to waltz?" and "Lullaby" by Low, "SexBomb" by Flipper and as I just mentioned "Angry Song" all would count.
"Orchard" ("with") has a really cool riff all through it and the chorus is deliciously noisy. As usual "Sugar Pill" ("his") has a great build-up and the screams of "pills" abound in a good way. The bass on "Reflections On Milkweed" ("daughter") is also so great, especially how it interplays with the guitar (both in twinkle and noise mode).
While I'm glad that this album made the list, 37 is much too low. It's not just a historically important album (well sort of. Indian Summer was important, the album was released well after their heyday but all the songs were already there), it's a great album. Every song is great (even the ones I didn't mention), "Angry Son" is literally one of the best emo songs of all time and few bands have done the loud-quiet dynamic and build ups better than Indian Summer.
Have an 8bit cover of "Angry Son".
Number 36 on the list is Gatefold by Orchid. So the first real screamo/skramz album on the list (not that some of the prior ones didn't have good screams, Science 1994 for instance).
Starts out very loud and creamy. Definitely faster/more hardcore than any of the albums so far (which checks out, Orchid was a powerviolence band). These songs are short too. I think I like "Loft Party" and "I wanna fight" switches between loud and less loud really well. End of "A Visit from Dr. Goodsex" is fun. I'm liking "We Love Prison" which is more typical of post-hardcore and less powerviolencey than other songs imo. The style switch in "Flip the Tapes" is cool and especially impressive seeing as the whole song is < 30s. "Tigers" is a masterpiece. It's slow compared to the rest of the album but the main riff is good and the lyrics are fun ("I make love in theory and touch myself in practice" is a banger of a line and the whole thing is making fun of intellectuals). Sound effects at the start of "Let's Commodify Sexuality" are great. The drum break/solo at the beginning of "Discourse of Desire" would be fun to sample for something. "None More Black" is good.
This album is whatever. There's parts I like and I'm impressed how much can be fit in very short run times, but in the end it isn't really my style. Better than most grindcore though (all grindcore?).
Last album for this post, at number 35, is Coheed and Cambria's Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness. Wait since when was Coheed and Cambria emo and the article even acknowledges that this is when they went really prog. I know that emo and prog aren't anathema to each other (lots of math rock in emo after all) but it still feels weird. I haven't listened to Coheed and Cambria since high school and even then it was a pretty rare occurrence (usually tied to pony music videos I think). But here we go I guess (also 70 minutes of sci fi rock opera? This better be amazing, else I'm going to die).
So it starts off with slow strings and a piano? I mean not my thing but the piano riff is cool enough I guess. Decent atmosphere? Not a big fan of "Always and Never". It's a nice little soft song but I prefer my falsettos screamed. Cool synths I guess (especially at the end)? [At this point I change the playlist I'm using because I got the single version/music video version of the next song]. "Welcome Home" has a good riff but I prefer it before it goes electric. Not a fan of the vocals (cue the people who are like "but you love the Brave Little Abacus!" Yeah, that's why I don't like these vocals). Oh no, a solo while cellos (?) are plagiarizing "Kashmir". "Ten Speed" is whatever. More guitar wank but it isn't twinkly. "Crossing the Frame" has some crescendo/buildup which I like and a good bass. Still doesn't grab me all that much. "Writing Writer" is okay. My favorite part might be the bridge, since the drums, bass and synths are being cool. I think I actually like "Once Upon Your Dead Body". Good bass, good rhythm guitar and I am sort of actually listening to the lyrics. "The Suffering" is fine. I like the piano and the heys. "Mother May" is decent.
And now onto the four 7 minute songs all called "Willing Well" (I can't stand prog). The start of "I" is good but then it's just a regular song (with a cool bass, tbf). Well a regular song that changes a bunch, but not really in a way I like. "II" has a nice bounce near the beginning but that's about it. And I guess I like how it sounds kind of jolly/upbeat (the first 2 minutes at least). Yeah I stop liking it after about that point, with some minor exceptions. "III" starts like "Event Horizon" (by Šyþed Pyklez, not Coheed and Cambria) but getting faster instead of slower. We had the same idea though. And then the songs diverge wildly ("Event Horizon" is better). Don't like where this is going 4 minutes in (the kinda start/stoppy section). I liked the end though. Same could be said about "IV", the outro is the best part. Might be one of my favorite parts of the album actually.
It's not like this album is bad or anything. Didn't want to completely turn it off or anything. I can see why other people would like it. But I just don't vibe with it. And I'm annoyed that this took a spot on the list. Maybe the lyrics are emo (I didn't care to pay attention) but musically it isn't at all. Unlike Love and Death (which I complained about last time) I can't even think of a good reason for this being in the running for this list at all. I'm not saying it stole the spot from just got back from the discomfort... (it should have been on the list but no one knew about Brave Little Abacus in 2016, especially not the weirdos at Rolling Stone) but there's plenty of more deserving, actual emo albums. So I'm a bit miffed. I've heard their first (and to lesser extent second) album actually is pretty post-hardcore/emo so maybe that would have been a better inclusion. But alas.
Well six albums in and only three were unambiguously emo. Not a great start to this list. Two were sort of emo (and definitely associated with emo in pop culture so the inclusion makes enough sense) and one I don't get how it made the list at all. Looking forward to the next set, which has some bands I've heard of and some I haven't but even the ones I've heard of I don't think I've listened to the albums. So that should be fun.
