Emo. Originally shorthand for emotional hardcore and practised by melodic hardcore bands like Youth of Today, Rites of Spring et al, by the beginning of the twenty first century, anything labelled emo couldn’t be further away from those origins. There was a spell in the mid 90s where alternative rock bands with a slight indie leaning were also labelled emo (the best of which were the much missed Sense Field and the short-lived Shift) and they were great, but beyond that, emo just became a lazy tag for “whining sub-goth naval gazing with floppy fringe”. Surely, somewhere in the US, Brendan Canty wonders what the hell happened?
Tag Archives: stream
Stream ‘Hour Glass’ by alt-rockers In My Disguise
Taking a huge funk metal riff, a pinch of emo and a huge influence from classic alternative rock, Suffolk’s In My Disguise serve up a huge sound on their new single ‘Hour Glass’.
The track previously premiered on the Punktastic website but you can now hear it in full below. The band’s debut EP ‘Achromatic’ is released on 19th May.
LUNAR TWIN – Night Tides EP
Lunar Twin’s third release puts their previous recordings in the shade. A downtempo work, ‘Night Tides’ is an absolute beauty. Released via the Moon Sounds Records (home to Bloodhounds On My Trail and the excellent Foreign Resort), it represents a huge step forward for the US electronica duo. It’s six numbers encompass a whole world of electronic and atmospheric moods, but both the scope of the arrangements and a superb production sound go a long way to making everything sound like the work of a full band.
TOM BAKER AND THE SNAKES – Lookout Tower
Somewhere near the end of 2015, Tom Baker (of Boston band Dirty Truckers) rallied round the troops and formed a side project, Tom Baker and The Snakes. A filthy and sloppy three guitar assault, The Snakes featured another face from the Truckers and the guitarist from Watts (albeit switching to drums!), alongside members of Gymnasium and Family Township. The resultant ‘4 Stars‘ EP flaunted a love of the Stones and The Replacments throughout and band’s shamelessly gritty sound represented the musical equivalent of diesel and dirt.
STRANGE MAJIK – Soul Crisis EP
At the beginning of the second quarter of 2016, David Pattillo (aka Strange Majik) released ‘Raised On Rock ‘n’ Roll’, an exploration of rock and blues styles that celebrated a love of music. It was arguably the best album released that year.
As he then set about busying himself with other extra curricular projects, it seemed fair to think there wouldn’t be any more new music from Mr. Majik for a time. …And then, in March 2017, he dropped a new EP without any real prior warning. Why the need to follow up such a great work so quickly? Simply put, the awful political climate in the US inspired Pattillo to make his thoughts public. In his own words: “We got a soul crisis. USA 2017. A white power machine in the white house and a protector seems nowhere in sight. Don’t let the demagogue get you down. Get out and represent your people, show your love, and keep the faith.”