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BANDS: Punk
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LOTD
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Team Emu:
Self-Titled EP
I love it when a modern band makes music that takes me back to a scene and time that I was never exactly there for but wish I was; in the case of Team Emu, that time is early to mid-80s punk rock, when punk grew up and spread its wings a little, but hadnt quite broken into the angst of hardcore yet. Team Emu gives us an attractive, blue, clear 7-inch EP that has four songs of scrappy, fully-energized punk rock and one pretty, little instrumental song. When it comes down to it, punk rock records are hard to review. What is it that makes band X that is playing and singing along to three chords any better than band Y thats doing the same thing? Well, in the case of Team Emu, its all in the delivery and the attitude. The whirlwind fury with which the vocals are delivered here is unmatched by most of todays punk bands; its much more akin to what you would have heard in the 80s from bands like The Dead Kennedys or Operation Ivy. The rawness of the guitars, too, is unique in todays slew of color-by-numbers pretty-boy punk rockers. Maybe this is because in their press kit, Team Emu professes that they wish they actually had the chops to be a Black Metal band instead. Theres got to be a ton of energy and imagination in these guys to even entertain such a possibility, and all of those qualities can be heard in the songs on this little EP. Its good to know that there are still young bands out there today that are doing punk rock right. But punk rock aside, the B-side instrumental track, Missing, shows that there might be a little more to Team Emu than meets the eye. This calming, light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel track reminds me so much of that Smashing Pumpkins song Drown, from the Singles soundtrack. Im definitely interested to see what else this Atlanta trio has up its sleeve in the form of a full-length album. But in the meantime, do yourself a favor, and buy a copy of this pretty, little record.
This album can be purchased at Ghostmeat Records About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
