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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Next Logical Step..., September 24, 2003
O.K. There have been some mixed reviews of this album. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and so it shows. I first heard "Diary" from Sunny Day Real Estate in 1994 when I was 16. Of course it changed my musical taste from then on. When "LP2" was released, it was not the most appealing album. It felt unfocused and scattered. After constant listens over the years, it is now my favorite album of all time. When the band regrouped in 1998 and released "How it Feels to be Something On" I felt betrayed. Where had all of the angst driven guitars and vocals gone? Their sound had taken on a new meaning and new direction and obviously, not everyone was on board. Again, after constant listens and experiencing the band live twice on that tour, I came to love every song and appreciate the beauty beneath. Two years later, the band left Sub Pop, signs to Time Bomb and releases "The Rising Tide". Again, upon first listen, I was very dissapointed. What were they thinking? I didn't understand the new direction. I argued with my good friend about it endlessly. I listened to the album almost everyday for at least two months. Suddenly, I began singing along with every word that passed and even picked up my acoustic and began playing along. I loved it. Less than a year later, the band gets dropped from Time Bomb and decides to call it quits for the last time. Then after waiting for over a year, I hear that the band is regrouping without Dan and calling themselves "The Fire Theft". I was eager and curious to hear the new material. I purchased the the demos off of Ebay and I was pretty impressed. I couldn't get past "Chain", which was the first song on the CD. Jeremy's voice never tires even after nine years. The point of all of this is that as time passes, music changes, people grow older and priorities take a different direction. What's funny is that some reviewers still refer to them as "Emo". It's sad how loosley that term is thrown around lately. Every legitimate "Emo" band has either broken up or changed their sound so significantly as not to be lumped in with all of these new bands that are just jumping on a band wagon that left almost ten years ago and are looking for the same respect as bands that actually defined a sound and pushed it forward. Sorry, it didn't take Carson Daly and MTV2 to tell me that it's cool to be "Emo". Dashboard Confessional, The Used, Vendetta Red, Taking Back Sunday, Count the Stars, New Found Glory, Finch, etc....Sorry, I don't buy your music. I laugh at most and think, "Your a little Late aren't you?" Gone are the days of Braid, the Promise Ring, Joan of Arc, Embrace, Rites of Spring, Jawbox, Christie Front Drive, Drive Like Jehu, and even Sunny Day Real Estate. This album is perfect in it's way. Did anyone ever stop to think that maybe they are musically spent? Trying a new sound or taking bold leaps against the grain is challenging enough. This album is lush and simple, yet beautiful and haunting at the same time. But I suppose you can either go with the flow or jump off and find another bus to ride. Of course, this is just my opinion and it is neither right nor wrong. I think it's a good step for them. They are doing what makes them happy, and in the end, that's what counts.
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~ Jeremy Enigk
~ Jeremy Enigk
~ Sunny Day Real Estate
~ Jeremy Enigk
~ Jeremy Enigk
by The Fire Theft 
