exploring emo bands by 216
 

I am going to do my best to take this more serious than the rest of the forum and write more professionally. My goal is to listen to 1st and 2nd wave emo bands, one album at a time, and write down thoughts I have.

bands i might cover but I am open to others:

jets to brazil
forgetters
sunny day real estate
rites of spring
braid
hey mercedes
the promise ring
knapsack
the get up kids


Originally I was going to just stick to 1st and 2nd wave but I am going to see how this goes and whether I want to get into 3rd wave later.

Background:

This is the debut album for Jets To Brazil, released in 1998. I actually thought Jets to Brazil was an early 90s band before exploring them more. Lead singer Blake Schwarzenbach sang in the punk rock band Jawbreaker from 1988-1996 before forming Jets to Brazil. They released 3 albums and disbanded in 2003.

Thoughts

The album opens with Crown of the Valley which sounds like a mixture between soft rock and alternative with a touch of a punk-rock element. It sounds very Jawbreaker-esque to me, which makes sense. Way more "rock" than I anticipated but not to be confused with anything hard.

Until the fourth song, Starry Configurations, the album seems very 90's alternative rock. Then it switches to a bit of a slower, more melodic tune.

Longing for the girl, a bit of a superiority complex. Not quite understanding why she wants someone else who is unworthy. The song picks up right at the end of those lyrics into a more aggressive tone.

Chinatown



Chinatown has a really Smashing Pumpkins vibe to it musically with the bass line. I really enjoy it and I will disclose I love the Smashing Pumpkins. It's simple and to me gives the thoughts of being exhausted and indulging in apathy.

Sea Anemone is next and it's the first song featuring the 'emo' style I was expecting from more songs. It's a depressing and slow tune with great visual and metaphorical lyrics.


Really one of my favorite songs on this album. It seems like it's talking about getting married, not being able to live up to expectations, contemplating suicide, self-disapointment, all through a somewhat sarcastic tone (gee it feels nice sitting here alone) and the last 4 lines hint towards a brighter tomorrow accompanied by an uplifting change in the music.

Conrad has a distinctively different sound with a more prominent bass line throughout. A story about a suicide in a hotel bathroom, but the musical accompanying the lyrics doesn't match. Much like a Third Eye Blind song where the music might fool you if you aren't really hearing the lyrics. I wonder if the lyrics are a commentary on the person's morality of life or their personal character. The song ends on a note that gives me that vibe... should they be spared? Are they worthy? Lots of self-deprecation in this album so far.

I Typed for Miles is the second to last track and I defy anyone to listen without immediately thinking it's Nirvana's Heart Shaped Box. Another incredibly self-deprecating tune with lyrics like "note to self: no once cares, your voice is average". I didn't really connect with a deeper meaning. The last line says
but I'm not so sure what he refers to. The song reeks of self-pity and wallow of a man secluded. The aggression comes through in the last few lines which he screams several times. Part of me thinks he is just referring to his own vices, whatever they may be. It's not so clear.

Sweet Avenue

The last song on Orange Rhyming Dictionary, Sweet Avenue, was the first song I heard by Jets To Brazil and led me to want to explore more of them. It is by far the most different song on the album and was surprisingly to me not a good indicator of what I would find throughout the rest of the album. Its a classic love song and maybe that's why it ends the album. Depressive, self-deprecating songs followed by a light at the end of the tunnel. An optimism going forward?

Sweet Avenue has tons of imagery and is an incredible mix of metaphors that don't come across as overly cheesy, corny, or played out. A lot of focus on the 5 senses in this one and it feels like the rest of the album was a storm and this ending track is the survival of said storm.


TLDR - Much more rock/alternative than I expected. Great lyrics that I found subtle enough but not too obscure and over my head. Blake's nasally voice really appeals to me too. Enjoyable album, I'd give it a 8/10 although it wasn't really what I was looking for.

I'm not as well-versed in this ilk of emo bands (I much prefer screamo bands that took after Orchid and Saetia), but this should be an interesting thread. I'd like to see a revival in discussion of emo bands on this forum.

i browsed through the journals and genre forums and didnt really see much emo stuff. its one genre that intrigues me that i didnt see covered much here so i thought it'd be cool to get somethin started :band::drummer:

also im not really into screamo or hardcore stuff. i have a feelin some of the bands i run into tho will have a lost of punk, punkrock, screamo, hardcore, post punk tendencies about them

Listening to a couple of those Jets To Brazil songs, I can understand why people constantly compare The Lawrence Arms to Jawbreaker. Both vocalists really do channel Blake S's vocal style in their own ways. It was more obvious with these Jets To Brazil tracks though, I think it deserves a listen.

No Cap'n Jazz? No Bells on Trike? No thank you.

it says right there im open to whatever but suit yourself


The lawrence arms hmmmm i will look them up and report back alf

Wow, what a close-minded, arrogant post.

I listened to the links of those Jets to Brazil songs and liked them a lot. I'm getting that album right now.

I've been getting into emo stuff a lot lately so I'll be following this thread.

This looks interesting, I'll keep an eye on it.
Btw, by the "third wave", do you mean mainstream bands like My Chemical Romance and Dashboard Confessional or underground revivalist bands like Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) and Tigers Jaw?

It's been a while since I've truly spent a prolonged period listening to second wave emo or really anything from the midwest scene in an abundance.
Briks reminded me of Sunny Day Real Estate earlier today and I'm going to get onto the albums I don't own by them.

I think the thing I find most common about emo music to me at least is how when you get into it, you really get into it. I have EP's and LP's from bands that released one record and faded into obscurity (I know this was quite common) but after a while you just seem to forget about emo's existence. Likely because there isn't a prominent scene any more so the lack of new music causes it to lose relevance and slip under the radar.
But, I'll make it my mission to go through and re listen to the records I've not visited in some time.

The way I see it, as long as you're < 25, you'll still get something out of emo music before you're too old to understand it any more.

i have actually not heard of empire empire or tigers jaw. when i think about 3rd wave emo i think of::: jimmy eat world, taking back sunday, dashnoard confessional the most. always a lot of controversy over genres ((although i dont feel its that important)) over bands like new found glory, alkaline trio, brand new, straylight run, armor for sleep, saves the day, the used, etc etc etc.

so yes i guess i am talkin about mainstream stuff although most would consider a lot of those bands to be pop-punk or.....something else. i think emo died after the 2nd wave and i dont really know what to group the bands i just listed as.

but i did see a lot of shows as a teenager and saw the majority of those bands listed live. i went years without revisiting any of it cause i thought it was real lame. then i listened and thought ''oh wow how nostalgic'' but i actually think i genuinely just like some of it, especially a lot of taking back sundays first 3 albums, brand news first 3 albums, andthe used's 1st 2 albums. all the lyrics seem cheesier and a bit lamer but i still fins myself singin along.

i am open to listening to these revival bands you speak of though. just hit me with suggestions if you have anymore.





emo got commercialized and i think that changed it a lot. just like grunge was changed, just like nu metal to an extent, etc. i feel like in others genres you can take todays music and compare it other music of the same genre from 20 yrs ago and you can at least trace a path from where it started to where it is now. i think it's harder to do that with emo. i really dont hear the similarities in anything when i listen to 3rd wave then listen to 1st wave stuff.

i was a driving force behind this forum having any sort of emo/screamo discussion, and in those days you would be hung drawn and quartered for bringing this sort of faux-pop punk bull**** into an "emo" discussion. For some of us it's true skramz or no skramz at all. After all, what is emo without elitism?

I think Jimmy Eat World belongs to the second wave (Static Prevails and Clarity albums), and changed into alterna-rock with Bleed American. I think Saves The Day is alright, I like some of their songs from the Through Being Cool album, but I'd avoid the other bands if I were you.They'll mess up your idea of what emo is. Or at least they did to me. Maybe not Brand New, I don't know.

this week i am gonna review Knapsack. i listened to jets to brazil - orange rhyming dictionary and i change my rating to 1 point lower. after i listened again it started bothering me how the last song, Sweet avenue, is so seemingly out of place. its a nice ending track but i feel like theres no gradual build up to that type of song. its like goin from dark depressive to lovely too quickly for me

I heard The Power of Failing by Mineral should be pretty good. I've heard some of it, and if the rest of it is like what I've heard so far, then it is reviewable. You should check it out :)