When I was diving into the emo scene in the early-to-mid 2000s, one band was constantly lifted up as the primary influence for nearly every band I listened to: Sunny Day Real Estate.

But looking back on the twinkly guitars and soaring vocals those bands employed, it seems like Mineral may have had more direct influence.

In a way, Mineral feels a bit like the Pearl Jam to Sunny Day Real Estate’s Nirvana. Nirvana definitely had more attention, but most of the bands that cite Nirvana as an influence end up sounding more like Pearl Jam. Similarly, many of the 2nd wave emo bands and much of the emo revival that said they were influenced by SDRE sound more like Mineral.

And while I may have been a little dismissive of Mineral’s alleged derivativeness in the past (specifically in my review of lead singer Chris Simpson’s side project The Gloria Record), the similarities in sound between the two acts doesn’t make Mineral any less worthwhile. Instead, it feels a bit like Simpson & Co. simply walked through the door that Sunny Day opened on Diary, though stripped of SDRE’s roots in hardcore and their fascination with prog rock.

Most obviously, Chris’s mournful tenor songs an awful lot like Jeremy Enigk, drawing out vowels measures at a time. A single sentence might occupy the whole space of a verse. His lyrics share a spiritual mysticism, though Simpson’s are far more direct.

That is to say, you can actually discern concrete imagery from his lyrics. Childhood memories are par for the course, as well as earnest declarations of love, all sung in a croon that gives it all a halcyon glow. “Sometimes I read and reread the birthday card you gave me when I turned seven,” he sings on “ALetter.” For its six-minute runtime, “Unfinished” only has a few lyrics “I wish you could put your ear up to my heart and hear how much I love you. I still dream of December, dancing together with rings on our fingers. And the two shall become…”

There’s an almost quaint contentedness that flavors his imagery. But occasionally, he rips right to the heart. On “&Serenading” he cries out, “when I was a boy I could hear symphonies in seashells, so why am I so deaf at twenty-two?”

But if you let yourself get distracted by Simpson’s ability to make small memories feel monolithic statues, you might miss the group’s absolutely fantastic instrumental work. The guitar work makes minimalism sound gigantic, interweaving simple arpeggiated guitar lines together to craft miniature opuses. “LoveLetterTypewriter” is perhaps the best example of their compositional style, but the group isn’t afraid to explode into catharsis at times. The last few minutes of “Unfinished” feel nearly as huge as Sigur Rós, without the added orchestra.

But as is so often the story with seminal 90s emo bands, the group disbanded before the album was released. The record was released by a small record label without many resources, rendering these songs mired down in a raw, rough-sounding mix. I’ve had the CD for nearly fifteen years, but I rarely listened to it due to the poor production values. Luckily, over the years Mineral garnered the attention they deserved, and this record was given a remaster job so it can be heard for the masterpiece it is.