this is a frontloaded record that's caught me a little off guard and i've consequently come back to it a few times in planning the week. who is this, exactly? it seems to be the new project of somebody i should know of, but it's not something i've heard of before, in any way at all.

on it's surface, it initially reminded me a little of caddywhompus, perhaps with a john mcentire production flair. there's a sea and cake vibe to this, and i can get into that. but, as i listened to it a few more times, it exposed some just awfully cringeworthy emo (in the i'm-a-sad-loser-with-a-guitar sense - that word. it's complicated.) songwriting, and also placed itself in the genre that has probably been most prominently presented by speedy ortiz, in the period this band has existed.

so, i took a flip through their back catalog, and it's that emo bent (they use the term 'slowcore') that seems to be dominant, which probably explains why i've had no exposure to this. that's a style that i strenuously avoid.

but, that doesn't negate the interestingness of their new record, or the interestingness of the half of it that doesn't sound like their old material, anyways.

if this is a transition record, there might be something here to check out in a few years, if the idea of john mcentire producing a caddywhompus record has some appeal to you. as it is, i'm not keen on venturing out in the cold, tonight.

i would at least suggest checking out the first couple of tracks, here, though - just the first three would have been a killer ep.

https://peaer.bandcamp.com/album/a-healthy-earth