History's History

You Are What You Think You Are

Written by: PP on 15/10/2013 23:18:40

Okay, so by now we've all heard countless renditions of the original emo revivalism that's been flourishing across the pond in the past few years. But I doubt many of you have heard it in the form offered by History's History from Columbus, Ohio on their debut album "You Are What You Think You Are". It's a refreshing take on the trend precisely because it takes the same elements sound wise as their modern contemporaries in bands like Everyone Everywhere, Castevet, Grown Ups and so forth, and blends this interpretation of the genre together with material from the early to mid 2000s emo scene. It feels almost like a precursor to Hawthorne Heights' debut album "The Silence In Black And White" in many ways, just without the cliché lyrics or the screaming.

Basically, History's History are original emo with a twist of Bear Vs. Shark and early Thursday in the mix. Particularly their vocalist Griffen Holt sounds like a perfect cross between the raw, readily explosive Bear Vs Shark vocalist Marc Paffi and the anguished, emotionally drenched delivery of Thursday's Geoff Rickley, taking best of both worlds to arrive at a passionate and gruff, yet delicate and slightly whiny expression that fits perfectly on top of the instrumentation - think "Waiting" and "Full Collapse" era here. Speaking of instrumentation, this is also not just straight up original emo, but here's where the more technical and atmospheric material from Grown Ups and Castevet, respectively, comes into play. The guitar lines are sparkling and reverberate with a high pitch melodic ring nicely, yet are roughened around the edges to give them a natural, unpolished feel. At the same time, many riffs are increasingly technical, insofar as the bass lines fairly being categorized as math rock-ish in places.

That the band also manage to incorporate a degree of catchy into songs like "Assembled At Home" and "Franconia" is a nice bonus. Elsewhere, the emotionally drenched outpours shine, such as on "To Unmake Cities" which sounds about as sad as you want this type of record to sound like (in a good way, mind you). So what I'm trying to say is this: History's History have delivered a solid debut album that, while not groundbreaking, pushes all the right buttons with people like me, who grew up with bands like Thursday and Bear Vs Shark releasing their early material, and then recently discovered the 90s emo bands through the revivalist bands of recent years.

Download: Assembled At Home, Franconia,
For the fans of: Bear Vs Shark, Castevet, Grown Ups, early Thursday, Dowsing
Listen: Facebook

Release date 12.04.2013
Self-Released

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