There Are Rules

Punky edgy bass-heavy emo comeback record from one of my all-time fave midwest bands. The Piebald of Kansas City, basically. These guys hit everyone from Weezer to Dashboard to Hot Hot Heat to Jimmy Eat World to The Faint (Pete Wentz name-drops them with alarming frequency), and if last year was any indication, they still put on a killer show. Their first LP in seven years, and god DAMN have these kids changed their tack. Less whine, more style. Less guitar, more synth. On the whole, a much darker and heavier record than you'd expect. My one complaint is that, in shedding their 90s emo skins, these guys haven't really left us with a single. Will they ever write another "Mass Pike"?

Bonus: My favourite KZSU review of all time is attached to their '99 record Something To Write Home About. Check it out.

try: 11, 6, 4
no FCCs

1. kicks off with distorted vox samples, revvy low synth. starts ~30 sec in with fast bashy drums. fuzzy vox. pixies-ish ghost synth.
2. scratchy strokes-ish surface guitar and melodic, dancey synth line.
3. the odd duck. chill synth pop, laid back, faux-funk. bloopy, fat synth-bass and a high trumpet-like synth line.
*4. slow ocean synth... then rudder keyboard. really interesting! emo vox anchored by jagged, syncopated angular bass. and that weird soft poppy synth throughout.
5. supa-rapid synth footwork and emo yells. fast. not happy, not angry. just fast.
*6. dark and downbeat. ominous, ghosty. deep drums. sounds like matthew good band.
7. ~7 sec to start. more off-the-beat loping bass against a deceptively straight-ahead snare drive. vox sound like they were recorded in a big empty room. ends with a high-reg synth loop.
8. rude and bloppy bass line. distant, fuzzy, off-the-beat vox. they hit their stride in the chorus, which sounds like, well, them.
9. slinky fast hypnotic bassline, downbeat, sounds like a rocking boat. vaguely careeny/circusy. unnerving, haunty, delicate piano bridge.
10. the faint, in reverse! sounds like hot hot heat. fast angry punky synth, styled vox.
*11. darkish, minor, crisp. echoey, ruddery synth. vox a bit more delicate. swells! everything here is just right.
12. bashy, noisy, ruddery. nice varied percussion.