Pop-punk’s melodic know-how blending with art rock ala Big Black/every other Chicago band to produce a new genre all its own. Why didn’t I think of it first?
The Anniversary is a group of ex-punk rockers playing them “emo” chords backed with keyboards. The only thing that sets them apart is that they’re better.
You can tell “Mod” is in when an emo band now sounds like it’s trying to grab the scraps from MC5, the Stooges, and The Jam. This just sounds forced to me.
When you strip everything away from a song – attitude, delivery, distortion – and still have something touching and relevant, that’s songwriting at its best.
Remember how you felt the first time you heard Queensrÿche’s “Silent Lucidity”? Speed Dial draws on that same self-examining power and stir the soul waters.
I may’ve seen these Zappa/Residents meets Voodoo Glow Skulls freaks a few years back (I can’t think of there bein’ another Czech prog-ska band in existence).
A discordant sense of melody that somehow works, a liver-than-a-live drum sound, and positive art school experimentations. Original and pleasing heavy rock.