Is 'emo' killing genres?

This article was published in Rival Street press, a brand new street magazine covering music in parts of country Victoria. Massive reader base I know.

Is ‘emo’ killing genres? What about Alexisonfires new album ‘Crisis’?

By Tom Mattessi

How bands suffer at the mercy of a bitter music writer and a judgmental, lazy fan. Granted, genre descriptions are a necessary evil that plagues modern music. But the phenomenon that is the ‘emo’ genre is an indictment on both modern music journalism and modern music taste. The word ‘emo’ is, these days, basically a synonym for shit, and no self-respecting band would ever categorise their sound as such (emo or shit). The biggest irony is that emotion, the word emo is derived from, is the driving force behind all good music, but bands labelled ‘emo’ are the lowest musicians on earth. Yes, lower than cover bands.

So how does a band survive being labelled ‘screamo’? The self-indulgent whinings of emo mixed with misplaced screams of adolescent aggression is surely a recipe for musical hell. Canada’s Alexisonfire are a band trying to overcome the dreaded genre curse at the moment. And with their third album, Crisis, they will surely convince any open-minded fan that a band labelled ‘screamo', or ‘emo', by hack music writers, can still be good. Despite their ill-chosen name (pronounced Alexis-on-fire), the 5-piece from the small town of St Catharines have achieved remarkable success in a scene that is dominated by ultra judgmental fans and critics.

Great bands confound genre. There are fundamentals to good songs that render musical style irrelevant. Kasey Chambers’ presence on my Ipod is powerful evidence. Brilliant melodies dominate Crisis. Singer/Guitarist Dallas Green is an immense talent. His humble, uplifting choruses mix perfectly with the rough, offbeat aggression of the band and the screaming vocalist George.

Great music is emotional, and emotive. The band has finally reached maturity with its third effort, setting aside wacky teenage lyrics for a brutally honest critique of the town they grew up in. The appraisal is harsh, and one feels that a band that has travelled the whole world yearns desperately to come home to a better place. As Dallas sings on first single “This could be anywhere in the world”: ‘This city is haunted by ghosts from broken homes’. Or to never have to come back at all. “Light a torch, and burn away, every tie that binds me to this place.” And as the lyrics confront the bands small town origins so the listener reflects on the place they grew in, and how it defines them. The band has chosen the topic closest to their hearts and delivered an emotional album that will certainly confirm them as the standout of the much maligned ‘screamo’ genre.

For music lovers averse to really heavy music, perhaps Alexisonfire are the perfect band for beginning the transition. There is just enough soft melody to satisfy pop fans and more than enough aggression to appease a metal fan. And for fans of detailed, mature song-writing and intelligent lyrics, this album is the perfect antidote to the clichéd, pretentious bands that dominate the hardcore scene. Sometimes, when filing through the depths of ‘emo’, one uncovers unique, passionate music in the place where they least expect to find it