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Screamo

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Screamo
Stylistic originsHardcore punk
Emo
Post-hardcore[1]
Post-punk[2]
Cultural originsEarly 1990s San Diego
Typical instrumentsDrums, Bass guitar, Electric guitar, Vocals
Other topics
Mathcore

Screamo is a subgenre of rock music which evolved from hardcore punk and emo in the early 1990s. The term "screamo" was initially applied to a more aggressive offshoot of emo that developed in San Diego in 1991, which used short, chaotically executed songs which grafted "spastic intensity to willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics,"[4] often with a political message. Some groups had an even harder edge that put them closer to the noise rock and grindcore styles.

In the early 2000s, the genre name began to describe a different, slower and less dissonant style that borrowed from alternative rock, most notably in a 2003 New York Times article.[5] The term's application to the "second wave" is controversial among fans of the earlier groups.[6]

History

First wave (c.1991-Present)

The term "screamo" was initially applied to a more aggressive offshoot of emo that began in 1991, in San Diego, at the Ché Café,[7] with groups such as Heroin, Antioch Arrow,[8] Angel Hair, Mohinder, and Swing Kids. These groups were influenced by D.C. hardcore (particularly Nation of Ulysses and Fugazi),[9] straight edge, the Chicago group Articles of Faith,[10] and post-punk, such as Joy Division[11] and Bauhaus.[12] Gravity Records released this more chaotic and expressive style of hardcore.[10] The scene was also notable for its distinctive fashion sense, inspired by mod culture.[13] Screamo bands became increasingly theatrical, and re-appropriated aspects of Gothic rock and synthpop in groups such as the VSS, Pleasure Forever,[4] The Crimson Curse, The Locust,[14] and The Rapture.[15] The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower incorporated the style into punk jazz.[16] Much as emo was, the term "screamo" was always controversial in the scene.[4]

The innovations of the San Diego scene eventually spread elsewhere, such as to the Seattle group The Blood Brothers.[17] East Coast groups, such as Orchid,[18] Black Dice,[19] Circle Takes the Square, pg. 99, Hot Cross, and Saetia were influential in the continual development and reinvention of the style.[20] These groups tended to be much closer to grindcore than their forebears.[20] Powerviolence-inflected screamo is sometimes referred to as emo violence, a name half-jokingly proposed by In/Humanity.[21]

The original screamo style is still practiced by a variety of groups, particularly in Europe. Amanda Woodward[22], Louise Cyphre[23], La Quiete and Raein are prime examples of the European scene. These bands often release their records themselves or through independent labels, often recording splits with other bands from the same scene. As opposed to their Second Wave counterparts who are generally perceived as a lot more mainstream and thus commercial.

Although the current original DIY form of the screamo scene is more prevalent in Europe there are still many active bands in America. Examples include Comadre[24] from Redwood, Off Minor(ex-Saetia) from New York and ...Who Calls So Loud(ex-Funeral Diner) from San Fransisco.

Conceptual elements

Many first-wave screamo groups saw themselves as implicitly political, and as a reaction against the turn to the right embodied by California politicians, such as Roger Hedgecock.[25] Some groups were also unusually theoretical in inspiration: Angel Hair cited surrealist writers Antonin Artaud and Georges Bataille,[4] and Orchid lyrically name-checked French new wave icon Anna Karina, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and critical theory originators the Frankfurt School.[26]

Characteristics

First-wave screamo uses typical rock instrumentation, but is notable for its brief compositions and chaotic execution. It has been described, by music journalist Jason Heller, as "graft[ing] spastic intensity to willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics,"[4] indicating a kinship with noise rock. Later groups sometimes included synthesizers and other electronic sounds.[4]

Second wave (2002-Present)

By 2002,[27] the genre name drifted into the music press, especially in the journalism of Jim DeRogatis. The name "screamo" began to describe a different, much slower and less dissonant style that borrowed from alternative rock.[28] These new bands incorporate commercial elements of rock, emo and post-hardcore.[6] As the two styles are noticeably distinct, the wide contemporary usage of the term 'screamo' has been controversial among some critics.[6] The Sacramento band Far[28] and the Canadian group Grade were among the first bands to practice this variety of screamo.[1] The second outcropping of groups to be given the name included Thursday and The Used.[5]. Thursday also cited post-punk (Joy Division) and post-hardcore (Fugazi) as crucial, but also had an appreciation for the alternative rock of Radiohead and U2.[29][clarification needed] Some metalcore groups such as Atreyu and Avenged Sevenfold are sometimes also associated with this second brand of screamo.[30]

Characteristics

Second-wave screamo typically makes use of dual guitars and eschews guitar solos, and is most identifiable by its "frequent shifts in tempo and dynamics and by tension-and-release catharses."[5] Unlike the first wave of screamo, these bands often compose ballads.[31] Second-wave screamo has been described as "mixing the literate, poetic lyrics of hardcore punk with a harsher and more metallic brand of sonic thrash"[32] as well as using screaming vocals "as a kind of crescendo element, a sonic weapon to be trotted out when the music and lyrics...reach a particular emotional pitch."[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Blood Runs Deep: 23 Bands Who Shaped the Scene". Alternative Press. 2008-07-07. p. 126.
  2. ^ Interview with Justin Pearson, Skatepunk.net, [1] Access date: June 13, 2008
  3. ^ Hill, Ian (2008-04-02). "Screamo rules the 209". 209Vibe.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". Denver Westword, June 20, 2002. [2] Access date: June 15, 2008
  5. ^ a b c d Dee, Jonathan (2003-06-29). "The Summer of Screamo". The New York Times. pp. Section 6, Column 1, Magazine Desk, Pg. 26.
  6. ^ a b c "A History of Emo Music", Gigwise. July 17, 2008. [3] Access date: July 18, 2008
  7. ^ "A Day with the Locust", L.A. Weekly, September 18, 2003 [4] Access date: June 19, 2008
  8. ^ Local Cut, Q&A with Aaron Montaigne. [5] May 14, 2008. Access date: June 11, 2008.
  9. ^ Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". Denver Westword, June 20, 2002. [6] Access date: June 15, 2008
  10. ^ a b "Blood Runs Deep: 23 Bands Who Shaped the Scene". Alternative Press. 2008-07-07. p. 126.
  11. ^ Swing Kids covered "Warsaw"; Justin Pearson discusses Joy Division's influence in an interview on Skatepunk.net, [7] Access date: June 13, 2008
  12. ^ Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". Denver Westword, June 20, 2002. [8] Access date: June 15, 2008
  13. ^ Interview with Justin Pearson on Skatepunk.net, [9] Access date: June 13, 2008
  14. ^ Matt Schild, "Going to Extremes", Aversion, May 19, 2003. [10] Access date: June 16, 2008
  15. ^ Sub Pop biography, [11] Access date: June 16, 2008.
  16. ^ Joel Caris, Concert Review, Blogcritics Magazine, February 21, 2005. [12] Access date: June 17, 2008
  17. ^ Matt Schild, "Bleeding Hearts." Aversion.com. March 3, 2003. [13] Access date: June 15, 2008.
  18. ^ "Orchid always was, and always will be the quintessential screamo band of the late 90s, as they encompassed everything people like me love about the genre, and throw their own unique spin on it" - Anchors; Review of Orchid's Totality, December 27, 2005. Access date: June 16, 2008. [14]
  19. ^ Nick Catucci, The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, 2004. [15] Access date: June 17, 2008.
  20. ^ a b Ryan Buege, "Circle Takes the Square is in the Studio". Metal Injection, June 15, 2008. [16] Access date: June 17, 2008
  21. ^ Jason Thompson, Violent Resignation review, PopMatters. [17] Access date: June 17, 2008.
  22. ^ Kevin Jagernauth, PopMatters, November 29, 2004. [18] Access date: July 28, 2008.
  23. ^ Julien, "ShootMeAgain Webzine", 06-11-2006. [19]
  24. ^ Jan, "Yellow is the new pink", 18-04-07. [20]
  25. ^ Interview with Justin Pearson on Skatepunk.net, [21] Access date: June 13, 2008
  26. ^ Orchid, Dance Tonight, Revolution Tomorrow. Allmusic Guide. [22] Access date: June 17, 2008.
  27. ^ Jim DeRogatis, "Screamo", Guitar World, November 2002 [23] Access date: July 18, 2008
  28. ^ a b San Diego Weekly Reader, November 22, 2006. [24] Access date: June 16, 2008
  29. ^ Interview with Thursday on The PunkSite.com, [25] Access date: June 13, 2008.
  30. ^ "Dubbed 'screamo' or 'extreme' by those who invent categories for such things, the groups write scathing, turbulent songs rooted equally in hardcore, metal and emo." Jon Wiederhorn, "Screamo Hits the Big Time", MTV News, May 4, 2004. [26] Access date: June 15, 2008
  31. ^ "Plus, what screamo band doesn't have ballads?" -Troy Davis. San Diego Weekly Reader, November 11, 2006. [27] Access date: June 16, 2008
  32. ^ DeRogatis, Jim (2003-09-19). "Keep Thursday in mind". Chicago Sun-Times. pp. WEEKEND PLUS, NEWS, LIVE, Pg. 5.
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