Big Scary Monsters – March 22nd
Whilst American Football’s eponymous nineties debut channelled devastating emotional fits derived from post- break up adolescence and late-night bouts of existential ennui, LP3 is continually bleaker and more mature by comparison, like the aftermath of a cold, hard winter alone – or twenty years where not a lot has changed – seasoned by regrets, passing days and shouldered blame.
The twinkling intro to lead single ‘Silhouettes’ sets the tone well, and insists on drawing tears by the time Kinsella laments, “Oh, the muscle memory / continue to haunt me” over the pains of infidelity.
If you regard second-wave emo as a genre that set the (music) world on fire, then LP3 seems to acutely trace the path of its fading embers with serene, stylistic beauty.
Photo by Atiba Jefferson.
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