Ah, emo. What started as a club thing spiraled out of control until it burst through the walls of the box it was in. Oddly enough, with the walls down, it stayed in the box; it just wanted the view. Foundational bands like Jimmy Eat World, the Promise Ring, and Dashboard Confessional had a good thing going, but only if you like that sort of thing. If you go to a rock show to mosh, get drunk, and be crazy, maybe the Offspring would be more your speed. However, if crying your eyes out sounds like a ripping good time, well then go to a Taking Back Sunday show.
The thing is, like all baby phenomenons that catch the attention of the mass market, emo has a very limited scope. Jimmy Eat World isn’t really emo anymore, and when was the last time anyone heard from the Promise Ring? But instead of letting it fade back into the mists of history like disco and grunge, bands like Taking Back Sunday still want to keep it alive. Let it go, guys, let it go.
Still, though, Where You Want to Be is a pretty good record. Well, “pretty good” is a very loose term. It’s good in the respect that all the requisite elements that rubber stamp it “emo” are in place, almost perfectly so. I have a strange sort of affection for emo bands, even though they are beating a horse that’s starting to disintegrate. They’re just so earnest in their belief that this is the best music in the world, and you gotta respect that.
When you take a closer look, though, Taking Back Sunday starts to disintegrate just like that horse. Didn’t anyone ever tell them that talking louder doesn’t necessarily make you heard better? Their earnestness is refreshing, but Taking Back Sunday seems way too eager. They’re so anxious to tell you… what? I haven’t quite figured out what their message is, and the more time that passes the more I think that I never will. That’s okay, though; a band doesn’t have to have a message. The screaming, even if it’s not particularly negative, gets old after a while, and so does the heavy-handedness. If Death Cab for Cutie and Taking Back Sunday were to have a child (and it had the best features of each, not the worst) it would be awesome, and I’d buy it’s CD. As it stands, though, Taking Back Sunday’s puppy-like excitement and forthrightness is cute, but that’s it. The territory they cover has been covered by Jimmy Eat World, and covered better. That band figured out that harmony and gentleness are NOT cardinal sins. Taking Back Sunday hasn’t learned that lesson yet, but they will. After all, they’re just an emo band; they're not fully grown yet.
A Decade Under the Influence
I Am Fred Astaire
Little Devotional
No comments:
Post a Comment