Sunny Day Real Estate’s debut album is a landmark in the punk subgenre of Emo. The influence of this and the followup LP2 (or self titled depending on which catalog you’re looking at) are still felt in the genre a decade after their release, and helped redefine the second wave of Emo in the 90’s. With their sound, SDRE successfully mixed the sounds of Post-Hardcore with Indie Rock and mashed it together with personal and confessional lyrics, much like the title states, a diary.
While SDRE are from Seattle and this album was around during the Grunge heyday, there is a divergence from the Seattle sound. While the album has some Grunge cliche’s like having the dynamics between the loud distorted chorus and the quiet verses, it diverges a lot and the quieter and mellow moments of the song are the main focuses of many of the songs. The only song on the album that could really pass off as a Grunge song would be In Circles.
Musicanshipwise, the band is pretty talented. The guitarwork isn’t fantastic, but they fit the music very well, but they aren’t the focus of many of the songs; the rhythm section is the highlight of their music. Bassist Nate Mendel is a fantastic bassist, his basslines aren’t difficult on a technical level, but they tend to be quite melodic and can tend to fit when the emotions of the song spiral around, and he also has restraint. Instead of spending the entire album showing off his skills, he is able to find the right time and place to show off his bass playing while in other parts he can focus on just playing root notes when the part of the song calls for it. The drummer William Goldsmith is a beast at the drums. His drumming style can be monstrous and chaotic like in Seven, and can be very soft and mellow like in Song for an Angel. Like bassist Mendel, he knows the perfect moment to show off his drum fills, and when to restrain himself for either a softer performance. If the names Nate Mendel and William Goldsmith sound familiar, it’s because they were in the Foo Fighters. Goldsmith was only around for a few recordings and music videos, but Mendel is a full member of the band and has appeared in all of their albums since their second one.
Lyrically, they have a very poetic feel, especially when you sit down and read them. Vocalist Jeremy Enigk has a very nasal voice which may drive away some people, but if you can get past his quirky voice, it suits the music very well. It can be difficult at times deciphering what he’s saying. The vocals, at times, can be mixed low into the song, and even during the mellow parts, his voice is still quite soft at times. Despite the lyrics being confessional, a lot of the focus of the songs are on the actual music than on the lyrics.
This is a must have for those who are fond of Post-Hardcore and a definite for any Emo fan.
Grungie’s rating: 5/5