I’ve been listening to emo for a long, long, time. I read and gave copies of Andy Greenwald’s Nothing Feels Good to friends. In high school it was the word I used to describe myself and who I associated myself with.
It’s a scene I carry a great deal of affection for, especially for the 90’s era. When American Football or The Promise Ring tours or releases new music my teenage hope of hopes have been answered.
So many new bands have such obvious influences from this period of emo but have little to no diversion. They’re either carbon copies or poor imitations.
You see more bands that were influenced by Thursday or Pg. 99 creating more authentic music. Oliver Houston is the only band I’ve heard recently that sounds like 90’s midwest emo but yet their own.
Whatever Works came to me as a complete surprise. They’ve proclaimed their refusal to use status quo music business tools to promote their album. While I found the band through a sponsored ad, it’s something they paid for and directed at people like me.
The songs are short and accomplish what takes their musical influences five or six minutes in half the time. Take “Pho” and “Bernie” which have the gorgeous melodies of Braid but complements them tasty guitar licks in an average time of 2:08 minutes.
“Concession” has hooking almost west coast riffs that just cruise down the beach all the way through. The vibraslap in the beginning doesn’t hurt either.
Unlike most of the 90’s emo bands, Oliver Houston depends on the riff not the pretty melodies. They’re just the complement. Bands like Mineral had chorded parts but the arrangement was based on some scale.
Take “Tough Luck” which has a great bass line that transforms and charges up with snare rolls into a beautiful scene of plucking harmony.
The highlight of the record however, and what separates the band resonates on “Tom Quad” and how it champions something emo isn’t known for: rocking! Just take the guitar chorus. The riff tastes crunchy and the drummer just crushes the open hi-hat.
Its solo makes you want to air-guitar. I’ve never written that about any “emo” song, ever. There’s something unique here I haven’t quite experienced from this scene before.
These guys grew up on the same nothing feels good records I did but clearly their palate extends beyond sad and depressed music.
Disaesthetic 