Selfmademan
The Daylight Robbery
Smallman
Following four various-format independent releases, Montreal’s Selfmademan have signed on with Canadian indie label Smallman to produce their second full-length album of hard political emo rawk. The quartet only got together about four years ago, but has already positioned itself securely between Hot Water Music and Jawbreaker, surprisingly but thankfully using emo as a means of ethical rather than egoistical expression. It’s still relating to Minor Threat’s agenda of “political politics,” though, ensuring that the insistent sloganeering carries a depth beyond its screams, and that their passion remains as rooted in the personal as in the sociopolitical.
None of which would have mattered if Selfmademan didn’t back it up musically. But, as you may have guessed, they do. While The Daylight Robbery can’t single-handedly save the increasingly lackluster emo genre, it does its best to keep musical curiosity and braveness alive through a series of hard-hitting, confrontational anthems. The band imitates Fugazi’s angularity but never at the expense of a good hook or some incessant riffage, corresponding with the music’s fundamental call-to-arms attitude. The band quite simply knows how to write excellent tunes without compromising the theme of the music. So while The Daylight Robbery isn’t going to change anyone’s perception about emocore or politics, it provides the politically inclined punks out there with some motivational and fiercely hard-hitting tracks to soundtrack their revolutionary plotting. Good job on that!
Smallman Records: http://www.smallmanrecords.com/
