Summer Season Kills
Artist: Pop Unknown
Label: Deep Elm
Time: 5 tracks / 22:20 minutes
After having a couple of songs featured on compilations (such as
Deep Elm's Emo Diaries, Chapter II), Pop Unknown has now released
its debut EP entitled Summer Season Kills, also on Deep Elm Records.
This Austin, TX based band features Tim Lasater on vocals/guitar, Joel
Ganucheau on guitar, Burt Estes on bass, and Gabe Wiley (ex-Mineral) on
drums. Summer Season Kills is a solid first effort for a band who
has spent the last year or so playing loads of live shows in Austin and
around the US...and they're a great live band if you get a chance to see
them perform. Pop Unknown plays a blend of emotional post-hardcore rock
and good old-fashioned pop, even managing to mix in some keyboards here
and there. But don't worry. For those of you like me who cringe when the
words "rock" and "keyboards" are used in the same sentence, Pop Unknown
manages to pull this off tastefully, using the keyboard to add layers
of sound instead of as a solo instrument.
The album's two strongest tracks are probably the first two, with
the first track "Follow You" being the most emo-rockish of the bunch, containing
the standard slow build-up and repetition of the lyric "I will follow you
anywhere." The final three tracks seem to drop off a little, not providing
anything that countless other indie rock releases haven't provided before.
But if you're a fan of indie bands like Mineral and Pavement, that's
not a bad thing. Overall, Summer Season Kills is a solid first effort
from a young band with a bright future.
By Linc Leifeste (1/14/99)
