MP3: Snöras - Lucid river
Once upon a time, emo was not such a bad word its subset genre "screamo" meant skinny dudes flailing with guitars and crying on stage, not asymmetrical haircuts and blurry photos taken in mirrors for posting on myspace. Most importantly though, emo was shorthand for "emotional hardcore" and carried with it a strong sense of DIY ethics and social responsibility. Yes, there was a certain fashion associated with it and I can certainly remember plenty of shows with dudes in thrift-store cardigans and backpacks, arms crossed and davening wildly, but it was always about the music foremost. Snöras reminds me of those days, when bands played the kind of music that reflected the chaotic emotions they had inside and the only way to adequately express it was to scream it. You had bands with pop leanings on one side (see: Get Up Kids, Promise Ring, etc.) and then you had heavier, angrier bands like Snöras on the other. I'm actually not that nostalgic for that era -- I passed on the recent Portraits of Past reunion despite fond memories and personal connections and I'm generally ignorant of other bands in the scene keeping the sound alive, but sometimes it does hit the spot. I appreciate there are bands out there still keeping this spirit alive, still making zines, still making speeches between songs and doing all these things because they feel like they really matter. It probably comes off like a drop in the bucket, especially when preaching to the choir and faced with dour cynics (such as myself), but you know what? I believe it does matter. As Ian MacKaye so eloquently put it, "At least I'm fucking trying!"
Snöras - Lucid river