chances are that if you have any interest in screamo, you already know Saetia. if you are less than twenty-five, chances are in fact that you even discovered screamo via Saetia. although they weren’t my entry band, they were definitely one of the early birds. by the way, if you’ve ever heard someone say that Saetia are “new jack shit” or otherwise a band for “new jacks” and otherwise not remarkable – just point and laugh. there’s a reason Saetia have become the band that gets people into screamo. there’s a reason everyone knows who Saetia are. said reason being how fucking great Saetia are. Saetia existed during the late ’90s and were never extraordinary or even mention-worthy popular compared to the post-mortem hype they have received (aka the screamo curse). this album has their entire recorded output (plus five live tracks), and is the definite album to get. (also the original vinyl are ridiculously overpriced on auction sites and trade boards, so it’s really the only choice you have unless you are really, really into collection expensive vinyl.) there are seventeen (again, plus five live tracks) tracks on this album, and it’s over fifty-five minutes long. Saetia actually have some rather lengthy tracks for the genre – which benefits their style. they sort of mix two things into an almost oxymoron. there’s a very melodic and pretty side to Saetia, but there is also a spastic and noisy rapid-bursts hardcore side to them. these sides are frequently joined as one, with vocals that generally vary between a whimper and almost full out shrieking. call it screamo, call it emo, call it chaotic hardcore, hardcore or just simply punk rock. Saetia are a great band no matter what hype term you throw at them. so check this out right now. the members went on to form Hot Cross, Off Minor, and various other bands that were great but not *as* great as Saetia. at least not in my humble opinion. but the bands I mentioned (which are the more high-profiled ones) are well worth checking out as well.
archive for the ‘screamo’ category
Saetia – A Retrospective
Friday, February 4th, 2011This Ship Will Sink – You Are Precisely My Cup of Tea
Thursday, January 20th, 2011This Ship Will Sink’s second EP showcases an even more eccentric form of hardcore, with way more screamo influences. the metal is still there though. the core sound has not been all too much tampered with, and it’s still very much recognisable. but(!!!), different enough to *be different*. these songs are something new and fresh, unlike their previous EP. so check this out, and learn how This Ship Will Sink managed to advance their sound without abandoning it.
The Assistant – The Assistant
Saturday, January 8th, 2011as mentioned, I’ll be talking a little bit about The Assistant. they were a late ’90s/early ’00s screamo band, based in New Jersey. this band started up shortly after the disbanding of You and I, and features members of said band. the members of The Assistant in turn went on to form other bands, such as This Ship Will Sink, who I’ll – you’ve guessed it – talk about later. much like In First Person (who started out around five years after), they employ several vocalists. often at least two people are screaming at the same time. sometimes three. and with all these people screaming their guts out about walls and greed, it gets messy as all hell. the guitars are intricate and melodic like with You and I, though less heavy, and mostly faster. too say that The Assistant is a faster You and I is not a fair way to sum them up, but it’s an okay way to introduce them to you. their sound is far more complex than that though. The Assistant is a truly violent mix of gritty synth, blistering riffs, despairing screams, loud feedback, hard drumming… and the occasional blink-182-like fantastically catchy, beautiful power chord masterpiece that “Five Year Old Mentality” is. then comes the progressive instrumental track “Route 18″, in which there are no words (apart from the few you can make out, behind all the ambiance), but so much else, that it speaks for itself. this track sounds desolate, lonely and longing. in much ways it sounds like the opposite of the previous track. these shifts happen all the time, and still, this album flows together amazingly. oh, how wonderfully well this album flows together. each track is sewn together perfectly. just like each part of each track is sewn together perfectly. everything is perfect. get this.
In First Person – Discography
Thursday, January 6th, 2011featuring members of You and I, A Petal Fallen and The Assistant (who I’ll be getting back to, actually…), In First Person were a fairly technical screamo band, notable for having three vocalists that often sung/shouted/screamed at the same time. with vocals and guitars all over the place, In First Person have a by its very nature chaotic and explosive sound. but there’s also something extremely controlled and well-planned about these songs. In First Person have a precisely layered sound, much comparable to the You and I album, though with a heavier backbone making their sound comparable to Pg.99. this is their discography, consisting of a full length album named Lost Between Hands Held Tight, which was out on Paramnesia Records, though sold out probably years ago. in addition to this album are two splits. one with Storm the Bastille and one with the Canadian band Titan. there are a total of twelve tracks, and it clocks in at 42:22. that’s forty-two minutes of dark and heavy modern screamo/hardcore. where early/mid ’90s screamo often was extremely chaotic, even comparable to noise music at times, this modern approach to the genre is more often metallic and dark. everything from Orchid to Quiritatio reflects this. the first mentioned with grindcore sympathies, the second with their epic crescendos and sludge-tinge. In First Person are also by all means a modern “screamo” band. combining metal, hardcore and screamo into a grand sound that’s at times chaotic, but mostly it feels like it’s very thoughtfully and carefully composed. there’s just so much stuff going on in these songs, that it can hardly be chance that makes it all come together so consistently and thoroughly. In First Person plays calculated and perfected music. they are though by no means robots. in fact, they sound like they are throwing every piece of themselves into each and every song, with misanthropic lyrics. so if you like modern “screamo”, get this.
You And I – The Curtain Falls
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011The Curtain Falls was You And I’s last release. it’s 22:02, a fairly perfect amount of time to blow everyone away. this is perhaps their least popular release. even band members reject it as shoddy, unrehearsed and badly produced.. all of which are fuel for my love for it. I am really fond of their “old stuff”, i.e. the previous post, as well, but The Curtain Falls is definitely my favourite by this band. although the old tracks had a consistent sound, and many interesting hooks, it lacked the great amount of direction and ambition presented on The Curtain Falls. it also – and this might be a bit contradicting – feels more improvised. it feels like it’s capturing a magic moment in place and time. like it doesn’t care. The Curtain Falls is a mess, so you don’t really hear layers. instead, you get what is in my opinion a perfect fusion of elements. each and every instrument are interacting with each other very closely, and very skilfully. the songs are more progressive, with focus on explosions and climaxes as opposed to the overwhelming and brutal approach found on the self titled compilation. on this album, You And I are still comparable to Indian Summer (the jazz samples no doubt help fuse this comparison), but they are in many ways very dissimilar in both sound and approach. You And I have a much more blatant screamo sound on this album. then comes the occasional stunningly infectious guitar line, that will just blow your mind. if you found anything remotely enjoyable about the previous post, this album is definitely for you. if you didn’t get it, this is probably just as well a place to get introduced to You And I, because this is You And I at their very finest. this is amazing.
You And I – You And I
Monday, January 3rd, 2011if you have not heard You And I before, you are indeed in for a treat. they were an emo band, active in the late nineties. they employed rather unusual song structures, and surprisingly melodic and tuneful hooks. they basically put layers of pretty twinkly guitars and clean vocals alongside or on top of an almost metallic rhythm section, churning out heavy as fuck hardcore riffs and crushing drum patterns. on this album (which came out in 2003, and collects all of their releases sans the last one), the boldness of the riffs makes it almost difficult to distinguish the tracks, because they all have these heavy hardcore riffs. this is where the layers of melodic intricacies become helpful. they are what essentially distinguish the tracks, whilst the insanely heavy drive that surrounds it is what provides consistency. the mix of these two extremes are what constitutes You And I’s unique blend of the different elements of emo/hardcore, and their intense energy. sometimes it sounds like a screamo version of Indian Summer. other times it sounds like Sons of Abraham. with a reasonable amount of feedback, You And I’s guitarists plough their way through droning doom riffs, gentle and catchy punk rock riffs, clever noise parts, blistering – almost grindcore – thrashing, and more “typical” screamo riffs. over this you have screaming bloody murder, and the occasional clean singing. the drums somehow actually manage to keep up with all the crazy stuff the riffs manage to do, and also dictates the tempo beautifully, almost single-handedly (well, I guess double-handedly and double-footedly?) making the breakdowns. what separates You And I’s quiet parts from Indian Summer’s are that they usually have sort of upbeat drums during them. they are subdued and calmer, but not downbeat or lacking altogether, like they so often are in Indian Summer’s quietest riffs. this maybe makes You And I slightly less in touch with the polar extremes, but they still manage to create fantastic dynamics. their sound is altogether very unique, and if you add the unorthodox sound structures to the consideration, You And I are an immensely impressive as well as interesting band. so check this out! this compilation album also contains five live tracks at the end, and clocks in at ~78 minutes, so it might me a little overwhelming at first – even if it is instantly enjoyable. you should give it a few spins to digest it properly. it’s really worth it, because this band rules.
Beau Navire – Demo Cassette
Monday, December 27th, 2010Beau Navire play what they call “My Bloody Valentine hardcore” on this – a demo cassette from 2009. it’s their first release, and it consists of seven songs divided into two tracks (side a and b). this is “soul punk” in the vein of iwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook. Beau Navire are incidentally also from the Bay Area, and have one ex-member of haikus. so if you are into haikus, you *will* be into this. this just hits right home with me from the very first second. this absolutely beautiful style of soulful and tender screamo is impossible to not be moved, or somehow else affected by. this picks up “soul punk” where haikus left off, and takes it to new heights; in new directions. Beau Navire are the best band right now. you need to know “what the fuss is about”. because, honestly, you’ll probably either really love or really hate what they are doing. personally I absolutely love it. hopefully you will as well. let Beau Navire teach you how to love. put away your white belts and learn how to cry again with Beau Navire.
Guidelines – Rules of the Sife
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010if you enjoyed Guidelines’ demo, then rejoice. for there’s more. this is their EP, Rules of the Sife. it has four of the five songs on the demo in a re-recorded format, with a much higher recording quality. there are also four brand new songs on here, all of which fit nicely into the repertoire. this sounds sort of similar to Age Sixteen and The Kidcrash(‘s newer material), and when they shout «NOTHING/HOLDS US/FOREVER/NEVER/NOTHING/NO/THING», you can’t help not getting into it. this is actually mad good and then some. this is fucking cool. this band makes one and two minute songs sound like epic mammoth songs. I’m not too fond of the kick drum. it has some sort of muffled quality that makes it sounds like someone is having a party next door. there. that’s the only negative thing I can think of. and I didn’t even notice it properly until the last track. the rest is skram perfection. listen to it!
Guidelines – Demo
Monday, November 29th, 2010out of Montclair, New Jersey come Guidelines. they started out as a side project for the members who were all active in other bands. but after a while, Guidelines ended up being their main priority. the band is on a hiatus as of right now due to one member moving away from New Jersey, but as far as I know they will be back together next summer to play shows. this is in any event their first demo. and it’s rocking. the soaring guitars, punchy drumming and heartfelt screams sort of remind me of Age Sixteen, even. the only downside of this demo is that the vocals are quite inaudible due to the not all too good recording quality. but it’s thankfully not super bass-y, or just howling sounds like they put a toy microphone outside during winter. you *can* hear what’s going on. which is nice, ‘course. the lyrics are kind of hard to get, seeing as you only hear the occasional word clearly. so head over to http://www.myspace.com/guidelinesongs to read them. and download this, because it’s a refreshing new screamo band for sure. they are by all means just that, a modern screamo band. but they are not tediously bland or instantly forgettable. instead they manage to impress me. so definitely keep an eye out for Guidelines.