Sinai Vessel - Looseleaf

Here I stand, like a tree
Nervous on the edge of a clearing
Limbs afraid to be cut looseleaf
To be cut down
So I’ll cut myself out
Free from bind to branch and felling ground
So here I am

Sinai Vessel's latest release Brokenlegged has all you'd ever want in an emo/indie rock album. It's just emotional enough to have character, yet not so much as to be overwhelming. Great hooks and a nice pop sensibility make it abundantly listenable, as is evidenced by today's Most Important, "Losseleaf", which had me thinking of one of my favorites, Canadian rockers Sloan, the first time I heard it.

RIYL: The Hotelier, Sloan, Pedro The Lion, Built To Spill, Badly Drawn Boy

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Crystal Castles - Vanished

In the darkness a killer awaits
To kill a life and the lies you make
You do another so this death can live
Just keep on dancing to the movie you're in
(I'm not cruel)
The smell of your sweat just lures me in
Your heartbeat does sing to me
Running feet through my blood
My ghost inside you, soon will be

A relatively unknown song (Sex City by Van She) remixed by Crystal Castles, with their Atari-fied keyboard and dropped lyrics, make this awesomely emo track from 2008 a Most Important Song. Crystal Castles fourth album, the first with replacement singer Edith Frances, dropped a couple days ago. I've only had time for a cursory listen, but so far so good. 

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888 - Critical Mistakes

Let me rewind to the times where we never felt ill
We fill our minds with those dreams and we never miss a beat
Just pass the time staying up, feeling restless at night
Come wake me up before I die and I never get to live

I was pretty shocked to learn that 888, with it's synth-pop, slightly emo debut EP Decades, was formerly the band Drop Dead, Gorgeous - hardcore metal, including one serial killer-themed album. But hey, they formed DDG when they were still in high school and to me it's pretty rad that they did that thing until it no longer suited them and then totally switched gears, still together. Regardless, I really like this song, and the video takes on the the theme of not just moving on but fixing things and forgiving things. There is a lot that is shitty in the world that can make us angry, make us judgmental, create false us-them dichotomies, and while there definitely needs to be accountability and measured systemic changes, on an individual level humility and compassion are major keys to moving forward.

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