Aren't We Amphibians
Photo Cred 📸 : @jessssss.o
How do you hold off on expressing something deeply personal to people you don’t know? I wanted to articulate so much how the new Aren’t We Amphibians EP, “Emergency, Exit” feels as much about speaking to others as it does to yourself. In that rhetorical nature that only an emo band and your speakers can provide, it asks a classic question in a not so quiet new way: “Is it possible to be simply better off alone?”.
Starting in a strikingly different sonic direction from their previous EP, the opening chords of “Yard Work “ plant the seed of a denatured style of emo, stolidly marching, building to something atonal and ominous before cutting sideways into familiar territory. Vocally reminiscent of early Snowing and later Algernon Cadwallader, the drumming feels arena sized with the bass bouncing along in time. The anthemic nature doesn’t try to run from its roots but instead embraces them. Again this undercurrent of discomfort and urgency plays itself out on “Built For Bugs”, before the rest of the track “begins” bringing in the more traditional sound.
You'll find this pattern here and there in the EP, an undercut of panic chords and chugs with half-step blast beats punctuate or christening different tracks throughout the EP, from the dynamic solemn cut of "Lazlo" to the EP single "Carrion", the forceful nature of feeling of discerning shaky ground from bad knees when it comes to your daily headspace are called into question. For me it was the driving, winding oomph that came from "Lobster Party" that sealed this release as one of my favorites of the year.
If Read the Room was the band proudly declaring their presence to the world as an emo band, Emergency, Exit is them sonorously announcing that emo is merely a qualifier, that the sound and feeling carry a more expansive yet nuanced energy to it all. You can listen to their single “Carrion” streaming on Spotify now with the full EP releasing October 3rd, with tapes available through Thumbs Up Records.
Listen to Read the Room on Bandcamp : Aren’t We Amphibians
Writer : @letsgetpivotal
Editor : @just_reidz
10/02/23
