Comic Sans

Photo Cred 📸: @bkoldo

Can a region be the framework of a sound? Long held debates about what is and isn't Midwest Emo have been raging for years. Is it locked to an area? Is it exemplified by specific play-styles? Or is it something that is overall greater than its perceived origins. For me personally, the latter becomes more apparent every year. Comic Sans “Éramos felices y no lo sab​í​amos” brings this question back to mind, with a catchy and infectious sound evenly tempered by the clear melancholy the album communicates.

Opening track “Costuras”, twinkles and twangs as stuttering drums compliment upbeat but forlorn basslines. Shouted choruses marry into the forceful vocals before winding quietly into the next number, “Comic Sans”. Driving bass duels expertly with distortion dusted finger tapping as the track grows huge before cutting out to silence. “Edwin y los amigos” comes in potently with the singing crackling into a scream at more than a few choice places. The exemplary guitar work, married with the typified trumpet section have never sounded as good as they do here.

“El final de una canción que no puedo reproducir” shines heavily in is drumming. Pulling heavily from 90s Midwest Emo drum dynamics, it swells into a beautiful blend of instrumentation and is dotted with more of those excellent choruses found throughout the album. “Gogeta Super Saiyan 4” offers a moody introduction riff, as it picks up the pace into a driving swirl of sound before breaking back down into quick knuckled finger tapping and bass work, closing out with call and response vocals announcing an epic passage of melodic catharsis. Closing track “Pro Evolution Soccer 6” brings together the spirit of the whole album, distilled back into frantic rhythms, immense vocals, and basement show pile ons. 

A wonderful swirl of post-hardcore, midwest emo, and punk all make “Éramos felices y no lo sab​í​amos” as fun a listen as any. The bands blending of beloved emo genres and their various offshoots lends further credence to the genre being less locked by region and more a spirit to be found globally. We really dug the album and look forward to what Comic Sans has in store for us next. 

Check out the release page on Bandcamp here: Comic Sans

Writer : @letsgetpivotal

Editor : @just_reidz

03/13/23