My most popular posting, with a whopping 35 views since January 2011, was a blog about this new generation of hardcore bands self-dubbed "The Wave". Since it seems to be a popular topic, I thought I'd write a follow up.
At the end of my first posting, I declared that the members of the wave movement would have a very successful year in 2011. In fact, the exact word I used was "dominate." And I couldn't have been more correct (relative to the indie punk scene, that is).
Most of the bands released a critically acclaimed new album and toured relentlessly.
My favorite new Wave album was easily Touche Amore's Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me. This album displays more raw human emotion in 20 minutes than most people express in a lifetime. It also abandoned a little bit of their bite for some much needed melody. The group saw massive amounts of exposure in 2011 with major tours, and their album was even featured on numerous "best of 2011" lists.
Pianos Become the Teeth just recently released The Lack Long After in November. It got a few good reviews, but it was just released at a really terrible time when people are more focused on the holidays than their album collection. Personally, I thought the lyrics definitely stepped it up a notch, but the music was a little more mellow and homogenized than Old Pride. Look for some big tours for them in 2012 for sure though!
Defeater released their sophomore album(s) Empty Days & Sleepless Nights. I haven't stopped listening to "Dear Father" since I first heard it. Holy crap that's a powerful song. I can't really comment on Defeater's touring in 2011 as I don't really recall seeing them on any huge bill or anything. But Empty Days certainly received a lot of attention.
Like Pianos Become the Teeth's The Lack Long After, I wasn't really blown away by La Dispute's Wildlife. I think that each song on it's own is really great, but as a whole, the album just really drags on and on. Many songs seem to be a personal narrative story that are irrelevant to its own neighbor. This would have been much better as a collection of EPs or singles. That being said, I'm sure that mixed up with some of their older material these songs sound terrific in a live setting!
Make Do and Mend released a compilation and announced their signing to Rise Records--who have been shockingly good and taking in really talented bands and keeping them happy, so while they weren't huge in 2011 like their peers, they were still active. Plus now their ready to unleash a beast of follow up album to The End Measured Mile sometime this summer.
A sixth member of The Wave, though rarely mentioned, is The Saddest Landscape. I guess they used to perform similar music to those listed above, but then broke up. And now their back and (intentionally or not) riding the successful coattails of the other members of The Wave. Their new album After the Lights comes out next month.
One thing about The Wave in 2011 really puzzled me: I don't believe I saw a single interview or article where any of these bands were referred to as the wave. Every single article released prior to 2010 all listed them as being The Wave, and many bands ended interviews with, "We have nothing more to add, but Ride The Wave!!!"
Is "The Wave" no longer an acceptable term in which to refer to these bands? Did they grow out of it? Is there a new term?
I liked the term because it ended debates about what genre they are. Are they hardcore? Screamo? Emo? Shut the fuck up and call them The Wave. Nothing more, nothing less.
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