Emo Is Awesome
Various Artists
Deep Elm
The sheer beauty and grace that an emo compilation can be struggles to shine through on Deep Elm’s latest release, Emo is Awesome. The name really says it all, doesn’t it? Only problem is that most of the emo on this compilation isn’t close to being “awesome.”
This 19 track compilation features such talented bands as Planes Mistaken for Stars, The Appleseed Cast, Logh, Brandtson and Last Days of April. It also contains material from lesser “emo-tastic” bands like Red Animal War, Lewis and Desert City Soundtrack. Although I probably just offended many people, let me explain myself. The aim of a compilation is to display artists’ best work, garner new fans and have people go out and buy their albums. Yet, Emo is Awesome is a wishy-washy album that doesn’t really show its artists’ full potential, with the exception of a few bands.
Although Deep Elm is an amazing label with plenty of amazing bands, they have the slight misfortune of almost all of them sounding incredibly similar to one another. As a result, Emo is Awesome sounds less like a mix and more like one long song. Certain tracks do stand out: “Reaction” and “Forever Longing the Golden Sunsets,” both by The Appleseed Cast, who are geniuses in my mind, and “Aspirins and Alcohol” by Last Days of April, “Appeals for Insertion” by The White Octave and “Yellow Lights Mean Slow Down” by Logh.
Deep Elm has a great roster, but when put together, none of the bands really stand out from one another. Unless you’re a die-hard emo or Deep Elm fan, then I suggest you investigate the aforementioned songs or buy those bands’ albums. Don’t bother wasting money on this compilation.
Deep Elm Records: http://www.deepelm.com/
