Do You Know Who You Are? - Texas Is The Reason
A one album wonder band - exactly what these lists were made for. I’ve liked Texas Is The Reason for a long time but I had no idea until quite recently what sort of history existed in that band and what they went on to do. It’s one of those impossible situations where it’s such a shame that it did end so quickly but also, look at what we’d be without if it didn’t. This is so obviously one of the defining second wave emo albums and you can hear its influence in so many modern day emo bands. It’s all in how simple it is. Where a lot of emotional hardcore was technical to the point of annoyance, for the most part Texas managed to do minimal chord arsing around in drop d with emo vocals. And isn’t that nice? Yes. It is.
Highlights: If It’s Here When We Get Back, Back and To The Left, There’s No Way I Can Talk Myself Out Of This One
Lowlights: no thank you not today
Calling The Dogs - Citizen
The thing I find with Citizen is that if you poll a room of emos, they’ll all shout Youth. And I found Youth was fine but not quite for me so I wrote off Citizen but then they dropped If You’re Lonely last summer and wow! Finally a bit of Citizen that did connect with me. There are a lot of different vibes happening on this album, track to track you sort of get a different vibe. I definitely connect more with the ones which lean on the side of indie rock which gives plenty of listening time on this album. I think this is especially nice because it’s clear they’re not stuck in one direction as a band. They’ve got the gumption to play around with sounds and moods and it’s paid off because this is one of my favourite albums right now and I think a lot of people feel either the same, or like this is at least Citizens second best album.
Highlights: Bad Company, Needs, If You’re Lonely, Can’t Take It Slow
Lowlights: Dogs
No Good At Goodbyes - Gridiron
Gridiron are so so fun, they sound like Oakley glasses and a football jersey. It’s like a hardcore, nu-rap combo. It’s hard as fuck and it’s a little bit funny but the music and the lyrics are so well written. I don’t think people expect gridiron to be good, especially based on any descriptions you hear of them or their music or their fans and I think some people do just have a prejudice against, how to say, tough guy got hands core music. Which is fine, I get it. But there’s fun in it and it’s fine to enjoy the music you listen to.
Highlights: 25-8, 12th Man, Trench, No Good At Goodbyes
Lowlights: Faceless Enemy
Something To Write Home About - The Get Up Kids
I can’t believe this hasn’t gotten a mention before. This was one of the releases that catapulted Vagrant records to do what they did with all your favourite emo bands, it was popular at the time and among the right people, it still is. I think it started that moogy sound that a lot of bands started to steal. Say Anything, Ludo, Motion City Soundtrack, but I think the influence of this album, this band, stretches even further than is initially obvious. There’s a lot to love here. The songwriting is good, I find the lyrics themselves can take you by surprise, they actually work with battling vocals (which historically you know I love). It’s a good album and it sounds like 1999 and that’s fun. It’s a bit rough around the edges and it’s charming. Love it.
Highlights: Close To Home, Holiday, Ten Minutes
Lowlights: Don’t Worry
Emails I Can’t Send - Sabrina Carpenter
Why didn’t anyone tell me about Sabrina Carpenter before this year. What was that gatekeeping about? Evil people. This is such a thoughtful yet fun and airy album. I’m annoyed I wasn’t 13 when this came out because this is so 13 year old girl coded. It’s like being let down for the first time, it’s feeling it’s so much feeling. Like being inside someone’s diary, it’s fantastic. To say that, it still has levels. The feelings thread through from the first track, love, and loss, and public perception, but it’s expressed in ballads, in hard pure pop bangers, empowering hits. It’s a really well rounded album and it’s so wonderful that there’s more to come like this.
Highlights: Nonsense, Read Your Mind, Tornado Warnings, Fast Times
Lowlights: because I liked a boy