Cursive – The Ugly Organ
Here it is folks...the emo concept album. Stunningly beautiful in some places, but still raw and angular in others. Complete with the requisite tortured singing from lead singer Tim Kasher. Cursive has taken the typical sound of quiet verses, loud choruses, and added cello for a unique effect. This album is an emo opera complete with musical interludes, self-loathing, fairytales, and an angelic chorus at the end. Pretentious? Indulgent? Cathartic? Yes, yes, and yes. But also a really nice album. (And I don’t even like emo.) Most tracks bleed into one another. My picks: 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 12

1. weird sound effects, somebody that sounds like a carnival barker, organ, very short
2. driving, quietly screechy guitars in the background, short song, builds and then ends with repetitive organ sound, bleeds into the next song
3. starts out quiet, then becomes faster, driving beat, very similar to material found on the Burst and Bloom EP, a song about song writing, some screaming, surprisingly catchy
4. midtempo, really pretty melody + cello lines, more ballad like, beautiful, haunting, quieter than the other songs, tender at moments, restrained
5. musical interlude, sounds a bit like an orchestra warming up towards the end
6. leader singer acting out an argument between himself and his significant other it seems, sweet singing and angular guitars, midtempo, builds up towards tortured screaming played against haunting cello lines, dramatic and sudden end, organ playing at end, ends with short sound bite from a movie, bleeds into next track
7. another pretty, haunting song, a bit faster than midtempo, great use of cello
8. starts out kinda screamy emo, angular guitar textures, "do do do" chorus, dramatic, then shifts into pretty, midtempo, calmer song about halfway through, drama personified.
9. another interlude-ish song but longer this time, tense and dramatic, orchestral sounding, builds up gradually with more instruments, bells chiming
10. more emo drama, screamy at times, more like old Cursive material
11. quiet at first, builds up, another really pretty, midtempo song, quiet/loud/quiet dynamic, really nice use of cello
12. it's the end of the rock opera, starts out pretty quietly, builds up with long extended guitar lines, cathartic, dramatic, sweet singing, droney at times, ends with angelic chorus chanting "the worst is over", also long song clocking in at 9 minutes