CD Review:
Texas Is The Reason's Do You Know Who You Are?
I've had this CD for two days. Already, I know it's a classic. While its tough to pretend to give an objective view after starting your review with glowing praise, I'll do it anyway. The CD is absolutely spectacular.
While defining the emo movement of the mid- to late-90's is a little difficult, I'm going to claim it died in late 1999, so I can fit Mare Vitalis in their, as well as Clarity, I guess. And we'll define the starting point as 1993, when a number of seminal emo albums were released. Within this boundary, Do You Know Who You Are? is able to claim a top spot in the movement. Though Texas Is The Reason only released one CD and one EP, their contribution is very worthy, regardless.
Do You Know Who You Are? is not the best CD of anything. While emotional, it lacks the emotional brutality of Mineral. Christie Front Drive's self-titled is a much more "emo" album, with the muddy quality and deeply poetic lyrics. The Appleseed Cast put out much more beautiful albums, and Know is not at all groundbreaking, but rather just another CD in the pack.
What sets this record apart, however, is that while it doesn't do anything best, it does everything extremely well. Garret Klahn is absolutely vicious on some of the songs, and the band backs him up on it. The musicianship is a couple notches above the typical punk rock, and provides plenty of catchy hooks and enjoyable riffs that deviating from the three-chord formula is able to provide. The drums especially provide a lot of the punch in the rougher songs, but stay to their place in the more serene pieces.
Lyrically, it is a typical emo album. Growing up, dealing with relationships, dealing with responsibility ("I have to learn not to remember to forget"), and other common themes of the genre form the centerpiece of the lyrical structure. However, they all seem genuine and are moderately thoughtful; some are even downright perfect: "Do you even know why / you hold your breath when you talk".
Overall, the album is an excellent example of the genre, comparable to Christie Front Drive and The Promise Ring's Nothing Feels Good. As for a score...hmmm...I'd say about a 8.5 out of 10. And keep in mind I gave Mineral's The Power of Failing a 9.2, and consider that one of the top five finest CDs ever produced.
I've had this CD for two days. Already, I know it's a classic. While its tough to pretend to give an objective view after starting your review with glowing praise, I'll do it anyway. The CD is absolutely spectacular.
While defining the emo movement of the mid- to late-90's is a little difficult, I'm going to claim it died in late 1999, so I can fit Mare Vitalis in their, as well as Clarity, I guess. And we'll define the starting point as 1993, when a number of seminal emo albums were released. Within this boundary, Do You Know Who You Are? is able to claim a top spot in the movement. Though Texas Is The Reason only released one CD and one EP, their contribution is very worthy, regardless.
Do You Know Who You Are? is not the best CD of anything. While emotional, it lacks the emotional brutality of Mineral. Christie Front Drive's self-titled is a much more "emo" album, with the muddy quality and deeply poetic lyrics. The Appleseed Cast put out much more beautiful albums, and Know is not at all groundbreaking, but rather just another CD in the pack.
What sets this record apart, however, is that while it doesn't do anything best, it does everything extremely well. Garret Klahn is absolutely vicious on some of the songs, and the band backs him up on it. The musicianship is a couple notches above the typical punk rock, and provides plenty of catchy hooks and enjoyable riffs that deviating from the three-chord formula is able to provide. The drums especially provide a lot of the punch in the rougher songs, but stay to their place in the more serene pieces.
Lyrically, it is a typical emo album. Growing up, dealing with relationships, dealing with responsibility ("I have to learn not to remember to forget"), and other common themes of the genre form the centerpiece of the lyrical structure. However, they all seem genuine and are moderately thoughtful; some are even downright perfect: "Do you even know why / you hold your breath when you talk".
Overall, the album is an excellent example of the genre, comparable to Christie Front Drive and The Promise Ring's Nothing Feels Good. As for a score...hmmm...I'd say about a 8.5 out of 10. And keep in mind I gave Mineral's The Power of Failing a 9.2, and consider that one of the top five finest CDs ever produced.
posted by Jimmy at 9:36 PM
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