LogFAQs > #924528731

So ive been meaning to write something for a while, so here we are.

This post is going to be about a screamo band. Now, upon hearing that name a lot of people are likely wanting to throw up. Emo, and screamo, really get a bad rap because, at least in emo's case, a fundamental misunderstanding of what it is. Screamo is kinda like that, too...in fact, the term "skramz" was used to apply to "the real shit" as far as I'm aware, which would include stuff like the band I'm going to talk about. However I don't really care. A lot of 'hot topic' bands came about and soiled the name, but hey anything is art, just good and bad. So, what is emo music, for those unaware? Well it's an offshoot of hardcore punk from Washington, D.C., in the mid-late 80s. Sunny Day Real Estate came around in the early 90s and brought it back and fueled the genre on well into the current day. So, originally it was hardcore punk that knew how to slow it down, with a vocalist really upset about some shit. Then it morphed into all different kinds of stuff, but what remained are the two defining hallmarks of the genre: a vocalist who sounds almost as if he wants to die, and tempo shifts. Songs on an album go from fast and frantic to slow and heartfelt without skipping a beat. Screamo is not too different except it gets way more frantic when it does and the vocalist, well, screams.

So, the band I am thinking of is Saetia, and the album is really just their entire discography with some live tracks A Retrospective, released in 2001.

Saetia existed from 1997-1999 and hail from New York City. They leave us with 17 original songs.

The thing I like about this album really is one of the things I like about bands like this so much: the interplay between fast and heavy and slow and smooth. The opening track "notres langues nous trompent" sets the albums mood by firing right out of the gate, but in the middle of that song is gets slow and smooth. Compare that to the almost bluesy opener of "postlapsaria" which goes from that to the heavier stuff. Thats it, this band can and does change tempo at will, and it doesnt sound out of place because the instrumentation is pretty tight. The music sounds youthful but the musicians know their instruments, including vocalist billy werner.

So on that note, what do the vocals sound like? everybody wants to know, especially "converge" haters. Well, I'd never call billy werner the best vocalist, but his voice doesn't lie to you. Sometimes it comes off a little bit awkward, as baring your soul tends to do, but he grapples with screaming, quiet screaming, and singing very well. He doesn't sound like he has any real training, which adds to the charm. It seems obtainable. I don't know how to sing, so while I couldn't do a full song I feel like I could take a line or two and shout it out and it wouldn't sound too dissimilar. But what I find beautiful about it is none of this actually makes it feel cheap or "low talent".

For anybody who wants to check this band out, please do. Discovering shit like this is what I live for, though I don't check out music nearly as often as in the past. If you don't like aggressive and shouty lyrics, at least stick around for some of the tender and sweet moments because they really are rewarding