One segment I would like to bring to my website is a weekly recommendation of great albums in the past. Specifically, I would like to introduce ones that were monumental in distinct movements of musical history. I have always been infatuated by the beginnings and endings of detailed genres in all areas of music. From blackgaze to electronic deep house, there are limitless classifications one can fathom in the ever continuing web of genre categorization. While the band in this Rewind Recommendation was not necessarily considered a group of pioneers, they did continue the legacy led by notoriously brute and clashing acts that defined post-hardcore.

In the late 1970’s and early 80’s, unchartered sounds of brash attitude and high intensity were now being mainlined into America’s exposed bloodstream. Like a crazed junkie, artists such as the Sex Pistols and Bad Brains were taking the comfort and familiarity of music and turning it on its head. More and more bands like Black Flag, Zero Boys, and Gorilla Biscuits were now becoming the EKG breaking pulse of hardcore punk. Of course with every road, comes multiple different avenues. After the explosion of hardcore punk, many artists began to discover a similar, yet different approach to chaotic sub-genre. Post-hardcore is a genre better defined as hardcore punk, but with the addition of complex instrumentation, lyricism, and all around creativity. Post-Hardcore can also display moments of emotional rawness accompanied by manic tempos.

 

While many believe that Hoover ripped the sound from their label mate superiors, Fugazi; I believe it is unfair to lump the two as merely identical. Sure, they were both on Dischord Records and originated from the DC metropolitan area, but it doesn’t mean one was more authentic than the other. Practically speaking, each group has their own set of iconic flare that differentiates the two. Personally, through my listening comparison, Fugazi doesn’t strike me as the primary influence for this group of pandemonium-ridden misfits. Fugazi frontman/singer Ian MacKaye has the characteristics of a ska singer, only accompanied by a thicker band. To make a more appropriate comparison,

Hoover reminds me of the young minds of the infamous Louisville band, Slint. Slint caused critics’ heads to roll completely off because of their revolutionary post-punk sound and song complexity including scattershot time signature changes and murky lyricism. Better yet, their most signature and final LP was released when they were still in high school. Moving on with my comparison, Hoover continues the legacy that Slint never had the chance to.

 

Post Hardcore/Emocore often gets a sour reputation in the music world as being stale and sentimentally deafening. In terms of production and instrumentation, I find that most post-hardcore/emocore bands have, hands down, some of the best composition than any other genre. All hooks, bridges, and solos are well thought out and better yet, well executed. When there is a whirlwind of sound that comes with playing in a post-hardcore band, it is incredibly easy to find yourself lost in the midst of it all. An evident example of how this genre can be so unapologetically exploratory is the use of instruments outside the normal rock scope. In songs like, “Cable” and “Regular Watts” there are glimpses of brilliance with the addition of the trumpet and flute. While integrating the trumpet into emocore isn’t that foreign (American Football uh huh), finding something with a modest flute riff is. Additionally, an overlooked element from this band, if not all bands, is the execution of ending a song.  In songs like “Pretender” and the charged up favorite “Electrolux,” all members of the band polish off these intricate opuses with hard-hitting finishes, barely leaving the listener with enough time to press pause. It is an odd characteristic to be cherry-picked on, but without a distinct ending, I find the entirety of the song to be flat and empty.Putting all of this together, it doesn’t seem like many of these elements would be compatible and suitable to the CASUAL listener. WELL, you may look at it that way, but the sheer energy and authenticity that this band brings, is likely to put any skeptic in a place of belief.

 

Like many great acts in the 90’s, it was inevitable that their burst of chaotic  semi-stardom would lead to an unfortunate breakup that only music lovers could understand. While the band has told fans that reunions are in the future (they have twice but didn’t go anywhere), some things are better left for nostalgic purposes. Nevertheless, this band makes their presence known with their unforgettable intensity and ability to absorb a genre. This album, for me, will preserve the true elements of DC Hardcore and serve as a template to many bands in the future.

 

If you like what you heard, hear are some more suggestions:

Rites of Spring-Rites of Spring

Cap’n Jazz-Analphabetapolothology

Braid-Fame and Canvas

Slint-Spiderland