In 1994, a Seattle hardcore* band called Sunny Day Real Estate released Diary. It was a veritable tour de force of emotional range, led by the otherworldly falsetto of Jeremy Enigk. It lit the underground music scene on fire—it’s even credited by some as the first proper emo album.
Then, as quickly as they had gained prominence, the group broke up. They released one strange, mathy, untitled follow-up, then the group went their separate ways.
A year later, Jeremy released his first solo record. I’m not sure what Sunny Day fans were expecting, but it was not Return of the Frog Queen. Continue reading
I don’t know a whole lot about Hop Along. I know that they’re on Saddle Creek—home of bands like
I arrived at college as a scene kid freshman with a swoopy haircut, girl jeans, and a CD wallet filled with metalcore and emo albums.
Across their first four albums, Led Zeppelin had
By their
Having already asserted their dominance on their first two hard rocking, raunchy records, 

The interesting thing about jazz is that the albums are just as much about the side players as the bandleaders. And if you listen to enough jazz, you start to notice who the major players are.