Sam's Record Collection #2

1. Sunny Day Real Estate- The Rising Tide

Sunny Day Real Estate are one of my all-time favourite bands. They’re an Emotional, post-hardcore band from the 90s who are considered- amongst the online emo community- as “Fake emo”, alongside bands like American Football and My Chemical Romance. However, I think that Sunny Day Real Estate are the epitome of emotional music. They incorporate grunge, 90s alt-rock sounds and throw in hard-hitting emotional lyrics which are some of the best in the game. You can't tell me you that haven’t shed a tear to the chorus of 'In Circles'. They have created a legacy which has inspired younger emo bands- even bands like 'The Used' have used sounds that are reminiscent of Sunny Day Real Estate. The band even have celebrities members, like Nate Mendall and William Goldsmith, who joined later joined Foo Fighters. I could talk about how much I love Sunny Day Real Estate all day, but I'll get back to the discussion.

The album, in particular, that I want to talk about is 'The Rising Tide' which I first brought in April 2017 when it was released for World Records day. The record was very limited and the store had two copies that no one brought. It cost me £40 and I didn’t hesitate to buy it. It is a double album, limited edition reissue which is transparent. I rarely play it and mostly just look at it with amazement and gratitude. The actual album was released back in 2000 and it was their final release before breaking up. Despite professional ratings dumbing this album as average, I believe, by far, this is their best release and the best work vocally and lyrically by their frontman Jeremy Enigk. The album is musically dense, complex and most certainly their most mature work to date. The album contains different themes all layered on top of one another and it is- in a way- unusual; it's been well crafted using strings, piano and keyboard.

'The Rising Tide' sums up the musical journeys of all of the members and very much resembles Jeremy Enigks solo career and is very similar to the early Foo Fighters releases. The emotionally charged songs “Killed by an Angel” and “One” kick-start the album well by highlighting the spiritual and emotionally heavy side to the band. For me, this album is a collection of every Sunny Day Real Estate album all rolled into one, which is why I love it as much as I do.

A criticism from the emo scene today is that a lot of the bands are following the same formula and that they lack maturity; I would agree by saying that I definitely think a lot of modern day emo is flat and boring. Emo needs to be exciting, incorporate different genres such as hardcore, post-hardcore and grunge, all whilst having that distinct 'emo' aura and atmosphere present in the songs. Sunny Day Real Estate did this with 'The Rising Tide' so effortlessly. So, if you haven’t listened to this album before, I recommend you give it a listen. It's definitely my favourite album and is one of my prized possessions. I am waiting for the day that a band like this makes a comeback into the music scene.

Favourite Track- Faces in Disguise

By Sam Hennerley