Wednesday, June 30, 2004
June 29: Emmet Swimming - Arlington to Boston
Why do I own this? About three years ago, a guy in Tulsa told me that he thought 12 Pearls sounded a lot like Emmet Swimming and the Connells. So I bought this at Rainbow Records in the used bin for $4.
It's an interesting fact that in the early- to mid-'90s, pretty much every large university in the Southeast had a big band that ended up signed to a major label. You remember Dave Matthews Band (U. of Virginia), Hootie and the Blowfish (U. of South Carolina), Better than Ezra (Louisiana State), etc. etc. Well, Emmet Swimming were the band from George Mason U., in Virginia. And for the record, I really don't think they sound like 12 Pearls. I do think they sound a bit like a second-rate Toad the Wet Sprocket. There's one very good song, "Arlington," about hipsters in the suburbs (download it and listen for the perfect slacker-tone in the singer's voice when he says the word 'Arlington.') The rest of the album is a good riff here, a decent vocal line there, an interesting hook over here. But nothing ever comes together into a great song.
Keep or Sell? Sell. Although it did get me nostalgic for afternoons listening to KSPI in the mid-90s.
It's an interesting fact that in the early- to mid-'90s, pretty much every large university in the Southeast had a big band that ended up signed to a major label. You remember Dave Matthews Band (U. of Virginia), Hootie and the Blowfish (U. of South Carolina), Better than Ezra (Louisiana State), etc. etc. Well, Emmet Swimming were the band from George Mason U., in Virginia. And for the record, I really don't think they sound like 12 Pearls. I do think they sound a bit like a second-rate Toad the Wet Sprocket. There's one very good song, "Arlington," about hipsters in the suburbs (download it and listen for the perfect slacker-tone in the singer's voice when he says the word 'Arlington.') The rest of the album is a good riff here, a decent vocal line there, an interesting hook over here. But nothing ever comes together into a great song.
Keep or Sell? Sell. Although it did get me nostalgic for afternoons listening to KSPI in the mid-90s.
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