Cursive
http://www.cursivearmy.com

styles: indie rock, post-punk
others: Burning Airlines, Fugazi, The Good Life

Burst & Bloom EP
Saddle Creek, 2001
rating: 7.0
reviewer: tamec

Ah, Cursive. You've been with us for a while by now, and though you've never reinvented yourself, you are still welcome. Your Nebraska-grown "hard emo" is, to quote a venue's capsule, "dizzingly anthemic". Singer/guitarist Tim Kasher's voice is characterized by a tone so roughed-up that he seems to have difficulty annunciating at times. That's pain, baby. The band's constantly improving dual-guitar musicianship and memorable songwriting make Cursive one of the most exciting bands in the "dizzingly anthemic" emo vein, and this latest EP serves as a document of just such growth. Burst & Bloom contains 5 new songs, the strongest of which are "The Great Decay" and "Mothership, Mothership, Do You Read Me?". The big deal is that the band now has a cellist, Greta Cohn, who plays a mean (though mostly inaudible) electric cello. Her contributions are best experienced live, but they do add an element to the disc. The only downside here is that, since these songs could easily be found on a Cursive full-length, this disc lacks must-buy appeal for anyone but the band's completists. New fans are still advised to look to last year's Domestica for more rock per buck.

1. Sink to the Beat
2. The Great Decay 
3. Tall Tales, Telltales
4. Mothership, Mothership, Do You Read Me?
5. Fairytales Tell Tales
 

Cursive's Domestica
Saddle Creek, 2000
rating: 8.0
reviewer: tamec

A hard-rocking emo album about heartbreak? How stunningly original! Look at this album art, too -- this is hardcore, baby. Snicker. Sarcasm (and a pretentious name format) aside, Cursive's Domestica is a damn good piece of hard emo/indie rock. Tim Kasher's voice and lyrical abilities lend themselves to the subject matter, as does his recent divorce. So long as one doesn't mind the fact that many of the songs lack a chorus, this may be the album at the top of the emo pile. Most of the tracks here have interesting structures that follow either a verse-solo-verse-bridge-random solo or 2nd bridge-verse format, or something completely new. Unfortunately, the lyrics on Domestica aren't up to par with those on Cursive's previous album, Storms of Early Summer, or those of his side project, The Good Life. Instead, these suspected autobiographical lyrics make repeated references to an angelic lover and a thrown telephone. Nonfiction is nice, but variety is preferable. At any rate, Domestica is one of those albums that will grab you - whether it lets go depends on your taste.

1. The Casualty
2. The Martyr
3. Shallow Means, Deep Ends
4. Making Friends and Acquaintances
5. A Red So Deep
6. The Lament of Pretty Baby
7. The Game of Who Needs Who the Worst
8. The Radiator Hums
9. The Night I Lost the Will to Fight