So, when I was in high school, the bands that were popular within my circle of friends were the screamy-punkish pop bands that never really received a proper title for their genre/scene (although derogatory terms did exist). These bands included Senses Fail, From First to Last, Thursday, Finch, Silverstein, The Used etc. and so forth. The mainstream media was quick to slap the title "screamo" on these bands without putting much thought or consideration into the matter. I mean, they scream, so why question a title that acknowledges this simple and obvious fact? Well, the problem is that screamo is a vastly different genre that already existed at least a decade before bands like Alexisonfire even picked up a guitar. True screamo features songs that are almost entirely screamed, opposing to the other bands that would alternate between singing and some form of dirty vocals -- whether that be screams or growls or grunts or shrieks or what have you. And while I've never seen a music critic or journalist really recognize this fact, the majority of screamo bands also incorporated a certain post-rock beauty in between or following their controlled chaos. It's also incredibly flawed logic to assume that any band that screams is automatically a screamo band. I mean, when Little Richard burst onto the scene in the 1950s, his gospel-influenced vocal styles were originally considered screams, so is Little Richard a screamo artist?
Orchid's "Epilogue of a Car Crash" from
their 1999 debut Chaos Is Me.
If you ask any screamo-purist what bands fit into this category, they'll all pretty much ramble off the same list of bands to you: Orchid, Saetia, Pg. 99, Circle Takes the Square, City of Caterpillar, and Funeral Diner. Because screamo never saw any commercial success, nor would it really have any commercial worth, none of the bands saw much exposure. So this list may not be the cream-of-the-crop, but for a scene that mostly played basement shows, these names are certainly the ones that stood the test of time. Anyways, when you compare the music of true screamo to Senses Fail, a massive difference in musical style become immediately apparent. But if not screamo, then what?
Next, people wanted to call these bands "emo," which is almost even further away from the truth. Emo was never really accepted as a genre, especially the bands themselves. The genre is generally more centered around the lyrics, and you really can't pick up a guitar and play an emo riff. The lyrics were extremely personal and confrontational and very diary-like. Some artists would shroud their confessions in metaphors and riddles, while others would just come right out and say it. While bands like The Used and From First to Last may have employed emotionally-centered lyrics, they were still miles away from what 1990s emo bands like Sunny Day Real Estate were doing. And finally, these bands were also referred to as post-hardcore. This is probably the closest description, but it still seems distant from what Emery and Finch were all about. Bands like Fugazi and Jawbox took hardcore punk's foundation, and stretched it out as far as it could go. The result for many post-hardcore bands was something that resembled alternative.
A live version of Sunny Day Real Estate's
"Songs About An Angel" from their
1994 debut album Diary.
Fugazi's "Merchadise" from their 1990
debut album Repeater.
My reason for giving this long winded intro that has yet to actually say anything about The Wave? Well, when I first heard of this new group of hardcore bands that were described as post-hardcore, screamo and emo, and I thought to myself, "So this must mean they're none of the above." Since, for a decade, no one had been properly using any of these three titles. An entire generation was somewhat responsible for tainting three very legitimate genres, even though the real blame falls on the careless lemming-like critics. I was very shocked to be hearing genuine screamo and post-hardcore influenced music actually being categorized as such.
The Wave is five bands: Touche Amore, La Dispute, Make Do and Mend, Pianos Become the Teeth and Defeater. Each share similar ideologies and influences, but each one takes this foundation into a different direction. Touche Amore and La Dispute are probably the most similar out of the group, each bringing to the table their own special blend of stripped-down emotional screamy-post-hardcore. Pianos Become the Teeth are probably the closest thing to traditional screamo that the scene has heard in a long long time. They also let a lot of their post-rock influences shine, akin to the likes of Japanese screamo band Envy. Make Do and Mend stick pretty close to traditional post-hardcore and have often been compared to Hot Water Music. Last, but certainly not least, is Defeater. I hear a lot of Have Heart influences in their music (also from Boston, coincidence?), they're far more hardcore than post.
All of these bands have a fairly dark vibe to the music and lyrics, which I totally dig. It's not quite dark in the sense of horror like Misfits or occult like Integrity, it's just kind of cold but with a positive message. Perhaps like telling someone that's drowning to keep their head above water? Hardcore in the 1980s generally assumed that everything sucks, and hardcore in the 1990s was generally really positive. The Wave seem to combine the two and stem from the perspective that things really suck right now, but they'll get better.
The song "Filial" from Pianos Become
the Teeth's 2009 debut album Old Pride.
Touche Amore's "Honest Sleep" --
the original version from their
2008 demo EP.
This music is everything that the music I grew up on was advertised as, so it's really interesting to me to finally hear what screamo + emo + post-hardcore truly sounds like. And in hearing these two generations side-by-side I can really see the evolution and maturity of my music tastes. Looking back, Senses Fail were every bit as whiny as the haters said they were, but they were still an important part of my life none the less.
I really wanted to get this blog in early, because most of them have new albums due out later this year that will absolutely DOMINATE. So buckle up, it's going to be quite the ride.
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