Band : Innards
Album : Tracing
Release Year : 2011
Genre : Screamo / Emo Violence
Tracklist :
1. wall
2. memories imploding
3. polynesian business ethics
4. speedvayne
5. s.gze
6. man, fuck.
7. clean cut, rough trade
8. scamming for underage hunniez on x
9. hard to swallow
Based in the Dallas/Forth Worth, Texas area, innards is part of a reignited, reinvigorated, and electrifyingly competent genuine screamo renaissance. And let’s just go ahead and dispel the notion that “screamo” is a dirty word. Real, authentic screamo is something that was momentarily lost to the Gods of Commerce, as bands like The Used co-opted the term to appeal to both underground fans and major label vultures. It was genuine enough to give them the boost from the underground they needed, while appealing to those who might find something like screamo rather exotic and new. With their rise and subsequent popularity (along with however many other bands like them), the underground gave up and the genre, once vibrant and strange, lost any forward momentum it had as what was once underground became mainstream. It’s a sad tale, and one often repeated. But, there’s a cyclical nature to everything – music especially – and things are finally starting to come back around in noticeably legitimate ways.
With one release prior (both are self-released, as they are unsigned), a brief but chaotic EP titled cool out, mthrfkr, they’re a relatively unknown quantity – but, that’s the case for almost every one of today’s new class of screamo bands. They subscribe to the more is more ethos, relegating their vocalist’s caterwauling, piercing shrieks and throaty howls to a reverbed background, while letting minimally distorted guitars barrel along as bruising drumwork and frenetic bass lines move from one segment to the next of their multi-tempo, multi-movement tracks. Whether letting their guitar lines lead the way, or giving their drummer the okay to transition from destructive blast beat to barely controlled jazz-like riffs, each track is a loosely contained tantrum of musical catharsis.
One thing that is evident, both in the basics of their songwriting and the way each album is recorded and produced, is that this band must be absolutely devastating in a live setting. The EP and tracing contain unbridled energy, focused yet free enough to give the listener a fairly accurate representation of what their live experience must be like. This is a band that has the type of presence that can easily induce rampant fervor and fierce loyalty, and I imagine crowds for their shows make that abundantly clear. I would encourage anyone in the area who might have the chance to see this band perform live to do so, if only to prove me right or wrong.
Both their EP and full-length are quick, dirty, chaotic, and enigmatic. Much like their sonic brethren in Pianos Become The Teeth, Caravels, and the unfortunately defunct Street Smart Cyclist, the transition from clean guitars to raging, spiraling string plucks and noodling is sometimes dizzying, but always intriguing. They are albums that could easily have crossed over in to “that’s just unnecessary” territory, but the surety of sound and the confidence innards has in both their musical and songwriting abilities keeps things from turning in to a mess of unlistenable tracks. There’s a dissonant, yet passionate amount of controlled chaos on display, and it’s easy to see, or, in this case, hear, that innards can, will, and should be on more listener’s radars in the coming months. -lushbeat
2. memories imploding
3. polynesian business ethics
4. speedvayne
5. s.gze
6. man, fuck.
7. clean cut, rough trade
8. scamming for underage hunniez on x
9. hard to swallow
Based in the Dallas/Forth Worth, Texas area, innards is part of a reignited, reinvigorated, and electrifyingly competent genuine screamo renaissance. And let’s just go ahead and dispel the notion that “screamo” is a dirty word. Real, authentic screamo is something that was momentarily lost to the Gods of Commerce, as bands like The Used co-opted the term to appeal to both underground fans and major label vultures. It was genuine enough to give them the boost from the underground they needed, while appealing to those who might find something like screamo rather exotic and new. With their rise and subsequent popularity (along with however many other bands like them), the underground gave up and the genre, once vibrant and strange, lost any forward momentum it had as what was once underground became mainstream. It’s a sad tale, and one often repeated. But, there’s a cyclical nature to everything – music especially – and things are finally starting to come back around in noticeably legitimate ways.
With one release prior (both are self-released, as they are unsigned), a brief but chaotic EP titled cool out, mthrfkr, they’re a relatively unknown quantity – but, that’s the case for almost every one of today’s new class of screamo bands. They subscribe to the more is more ethos, relegating their vocalist’s caterwauling, piercing shrieks and throaty howls to a reverbed background, while letting minimally distorted guitars barrel along as bruising drumwork and frenetic bass lines move from one segment to the next of their multi-tempo, multi-movement tracks. Whether letting their guitar lines lead the way, or giving their drummer the okay to transition from destructive blast beat to barely controlled jazz-like riffs, each track is a loosely contained tantrum of musical catharsis.
One thing that is evident, both in the basics of their songwriting and the way each album is recorded and produced, is that this band must be absolutely devastating in a live setting. The EP and tracing contain unbridled energy, focused yet free enough to give the listener a fairly accurate representation of what their live experience must be like. This is a band that has the type of presence that can easily induce rampant fervor and fierce loyalty, and I imagine crowds for their shows make that abundantly clear. I would encourage anyone in the area who might have the chance to see this band perform live to do so, if only to prove me right or wrong.
Both their EP and full-length are quick, dirty, chaotic, and enigmatic. Much like their sonic brethren in Pianos Become The Teeth, Caravels, and the unfortunately defunct Street Smart Cyclist, the transition from clean guitars to raging, spiraling string plucks and noodling is sometimes dizzying, but always intriguing. They are albums that could easily have crossed over in to “that’s just unnecessary” territory, but the surety of sound and the confidence innards has in both their musical and songwriting abilities keeps things from turning in to a mess of unlistenable tracks. There’s a dissonant, yet passionate amount of controlled chaos on display, and it’s easy to see, or, in this case, hear, that innards can, will, and should be on more listener’s radars in the coming months. -lushbeat
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