In an interview on Stereogum, the band leader of TWIaBP (EiC will either add the homie's name in here or he won't, I look forward to finding out on Friday [Editor's note: band member Chris Teti said this, and he plays guitar/trumpet in the band, and also produced the album]) said that he took inspiration from the Buffalo, New York hardcore band Snapcase in the run up to the creation and release of this here album. This is neither here nor there, but Snapcase fuckin rocks, and anyone who would like to get into some heart-pounding rock and roll music should check out Progression Through Unlearning, or at the very least the tune "Caboose."
I don't need to tell you all anything because I know you went and checked out the song and album before coming back to read the rest of this, but suffice to say this record does not really sound anything like Snapcase. What it sounds like, broadly speaking, is "post-hardcore," or perhaps more specifically, "a formerly emo/indie band turning heavy but retaining elements that recall its previous style," or maybe more negatively "a tweener in that it is neither heavy enough to satisfy nor is it beautiful enough to mollify."
That last quotation is being a dick though, because the elements of harmony and indie-style arrangement on shit like "Captagon" and "December 4, 2024" are ultimately the moments that rose above the din, even if they work against the album's heavier instincts and actively diminish songs like "Auguries of Guilt," which feels hamstrung by its artfulness. In short, we must find a better way to write about automation and attention economy soul destruction without saying the word "algorithm" in songs because it sounds very wack as a lyric.
Top Five Snapcase Songs:
5) "Caboose" / "Guilty by Ignorance" — The piccolo snare on this record is so rad.
4) "Depth of Field" — Bright Flashes is underappreciated, but also underbaked.
3) "Coagulate" — True story: there was a metal girl at my high school who I had a massive crush on who loved Snapcase and this song and album specifically. I met up with her at a Snapcase concert and gave her shit for liking this album as I did not deem it "punk enough" or "heavy enough." This is likely the first time I talked my way out of getting laid, but certainly not the last. This record is fine! Being fifteen is a crime.
2) "Ambition Now" — You start playing this song and by the end of it you're in a skate video.
1) "Harrison Bergeron" — Can you imagine if Snapcase ever got to be on Letterman? "That was wonderful! Lovely job, fellahs. Did you rent those drums? Wha'd you think, Paul? Snapcase, everyone, goodnight!"
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