Once dangerously close to becoming a cliché of itself, emo has been thoroughly enjoying its revival in recent times. Not the “I mean this, I’m okay, trust me” type of emo, but rather the arguably more credible emo that never quire broke into the mainstream but bubbled close enough to the surface to permeate into a number of emotionally-charged adolescents’ headphones.
The thing with these emotionally-charged adolescents is that they grew up, and rather than waving goodbye to a genre that could have easily been deemed obsolete, they took their lyrical heartbreak with them.
Florida’s You Blew It! (complete with exclamation mark) have followed suit. Their previous full-length, ‘Grow Up, Dude’, is in every way the younger brother of their new, less-fittingly titled ‘Keep Doing What You’re Doing’.
Evan Weiss – the album’s producer and creative mind behind Into It. Over It. (complete with full stops) – has helped to clean up their sound. No longer are the vocals hidden behind a fuzzy layer of distortion, Tanner Jones expressing his inner anguish through raw and cracked tones that verge on off-key but hit all the right notes.
The homage to the mainstream emo outfits is present although the record owes more than a little to the stateside indie scene. The complexities, particularly in the guitar work, would not be found in more mainstream contemporaries, yet at times the twinkling guitars and rough vocals are reminiscent of Taking Back Sunday and the like.
Although there is a distinct maturity in the sound, one that takes everything the band members clearly loved a decade ago and strains them through modern influences, ‘Keep Doing What You’re Doing’ is one of the most traditional record to come out of the emo revival. Lead single ‘Awards of the Year Award’ opens with ”There is a pain in my chest…”, leaving no doubt over the track’s subject matter. With Jones’ distinctive vocal style and intricate guitars, the record hints at the likes of American Football and other turn of the century trailblazers.
As the emo generation matures so does the associated sound. ‘Keep Doing What You’re Doing’ wears its influences on its sleeve, immediately next to its broken heart. The blend of commerciality, traditional emo and a modern twist is immediately endearing. The steady tempo of the record may find some listeners drained, but ultimately You Blew It! have penned a record both sensitive to the scene which spawned it and a step forward in their sound.
BEN TIPPLE