Screeching Weasel

Emo (Panic Button/Lookout!)
by Scott Hefflon

Leave it to Ben Weasel to reinvent himself yet again, despite what anyone may want him to be. Unlike Bark Like A Dog, which I seem to remember was slick and, well, Fat, Emo is gritty and rough and kinda sloppy and honest. My only problem with that is that Ben is kinda life-affirming here, not as snarlingly angry, and there are fewer riffs to remember than on any Screeching Weasel record yet. No matter what Ben writes in the liner notes. Trouble is, when you’ve been putting your shit on the line for so long, how do you know when you’re obsolete? SW once hit a mark. They haven’t in some time. Ben’s other project, the Riverdales, are great, so perhaps they oughtta focus on that… Ironic parrellel is that much of Emo is trying to explain too hard how this is real whether “the kids” get it or not. Kinda like fellow punk icon Joe Queer explaining “Everything’s O.K.” – if you have to explain it, doesn’t that mean there’s some question? Something about smoke and fire… Hell, SW have released great albums that struck the exact right chord at the exact right time and their legacy will live on. Even as just a punk footnote in the big music picture, that’s more than most can hope for. So buck up, Ben!
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