Deep Elm Emo Is Awesome, Emo Is Evil, Various Artists
Compilations are evil things to review. Rarely are they cohesive units that flow as 'normal' albums do, making them uncomfortable listens. You can have bizarre genres follow on from excellent tracks making everything disjointed - or alternatively it can be the best mixtape you'll ever hear. 'Emo Is Awesome, Emo Is Evil' is a perfect title for this Deep Elm release because the excellent usually follows the dire. There's some good, some bad and some of it is certainly ugly, but if anything it does highlight the good things that the label does on a regular basis.
Many of the bands featured are likely to be ones you've heard of, even if you haven't heard much by them. By the same token the labels roster almost turns out in full to showcase their talents, with the likes of Benton Falls and Last Days Of April really rocking out with their own angelic delights. Planes Mistaken For Stars (with one of the best names ever) open proceedings with 'Copper and Stars', a cracking number even if the vocals are possibly a little too 'throaty' and may hinder prolonged listening. Still, the guitar sound is spot on as the instrumnets collide. Red Animal War follow up with the excellent 'Jambalaya' and 'Reaction' by The Appleseed Cast is a really mellow, reflective effort. It's not half as 'emo' as the Lewis song though, which meanders and rolls delicately through four minutes. Benton Falls provide the superb 'Angel On Hiatus', while the string-laden 'Asprins and Alcohol' is an extremely beautiful Last Days Of April song. The White Octave also impress with 'Appeals For Insertion', a song which takes on several guises through its short lifespan, but is enjoyable nonetheless.
The compilation does suffer from the odd weak song unfortunately, the Logh track is a bit too 'heavy' emotionally for me and the Seven Storey song has a horrible tone to it. The vocals annoy me a bit too I'm afraid. But maybe the worst aspect is that with so many different styles the record suffers because it's difficult to listen as a whole. There's no doubting the sheer brilliance of some of the songs but the sheer weight behind the emotion can drag everything down a little. It's a heavy record, something I wouldn't recommend listening to if you've had a bad day. It's brilliant in the same breath the record suffers because the bands are so complex and deep. I'm not suggesting things need to be watered down (there's no way you'd ever want to water down a band like Pop Unknown), but in one listen I'm exhausted. maybe it's no surprise because the catalogue number is 666 after all...
If, like me, you're new to the Deep Elm world I wouldn't offer this as a starting point because there's a little too much going on which could confuse any listener. But for the seasoned pro this is another record which deserves a place in your collection. There are some tracks which are a little too pretentious and up their own behinds, but on the whole this is an enjoyable listen with songs by bands who will make you want to check them out further.
www.deepelm.com
Paul
