I’m trying to find a way to start this that doesn’t include listing off bands and records from the “emo revival” (ugh). So, to yada-yada the intro, Parting is Keith Latinen from Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate), Ben Hendricks from Annabel, Gooey Fame from Dowsing, and John Guynn from Hawn & Son. The record is released by Count Your Lucky Stars. Ok, are we good?
Let’s get super up our own asses for a minute. Where did we land on the emo revival? Like, what is the “in summation…” statement? I know what it means to me, but what is the consensus? It’s been over a decade. There has to be something. I don’t bring this up because I’m a miserable bastard trapped in nostalgia. It’s a fair description, but it’s not the whole reason. Parting is an interesting bookend kind of a band. The members of this band helped codify the “revival” sound. They have released all-time genre classics. It only seems fair that they would put out a record to kind of tie everything together.
Unmake Me is the kind of music I made this website to talk about about. It’s reductive to say the record is genre “greatest hits” type gimmick. It’s not not that, but there is more to it. There are small touches throughout that give the record legs. Everything just works. From the electronics pulsing in “He’s Obviously Beekeeping Age” to the gang vocals closing off the record on “Living Proof.” Unmake Me speaks for itself better than most records can. It would be easy to float by on bona fides. It would be easy to shit out a record that’s just a sum of it’s parts. This isn’t that. This is a band who knows what they’re doing, and they’re doing it well.
It’s almost impossible to talk about Parting without addressing the Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) elephant in the room. The songs were written by Keith Latinen, it was put out on his label, and it has a similar vibe in a lot of places. The songs have more of a pop edge that his previous catalog did. The songs on Unmake Me also have a very frank delivery. It feels very adult. I don’t know if 20-something me would connect to a song like “Ratt Michards” or “He’s Obviously Beekeeping Age” the way 36 year old me does. Those songs are both an examination of fleeting moments. One is the realization that you’re pissing your time away. The other is the desire to have something last just a bit longer. These are songs that speak to an angst, but not necessarily the kind this genre is known for.
Parting have a debut that doesn’t sound like a debut. It’s a record made by people with years in the game. It’s a must have for people who love this genre. Grab the 10″ if you can.
Here’s to hoping I never have to use the phrase “emo revival” ever again. Let’s leave the wave designation to the ska kids.
Parting
Count Your Lucky Stars
strictly no capital letters
Bandcamp
Team Reasonable 