Pennsylvania's Who Goes There? is made up of ex-members of Houston We Have a Problem and Outclassed, and their self-titled debut (for which I have no physical copy, and couldn't find a good image of the cover art, so that's why I used a band photo alongside this post) offers up seven tracks of high-quality "screamo" (for lack of a better term). Everyone in the band contributes vocals, so there are assorted shouts/screams fighting their way worth from the background of the raw, thick mix – where frantic percussion and caustic, fast-paced picking patterns give way to jangly clean guitars and winding melodies. For me, the two most essential components for this style of music to be successful are energy and feeling, and there's no shortage of either in Who Goes There?'s delivery, so they're not at all hindered by the fact that some of the performances get a little sloppy/out of tune, etc. But shit, that kind of rugged, no-frills delivery is sort of a trademark from certain corners of this "genre" anyway, so... it kinda goes with the territory. I'd be curious to see the lyrics, too. There's just no way in hell to even toss a guess at what might be going on behind goofy song titles like "Food Sex With Nicholas Cage" or "Rodeo Denim Revival" (to cite but a few), but seeing as these guys seem to be drawing inspiration from a more 90's, D.I.Y. type of scene, I'd lean towards the lyrics carrying a more serious tone. Who knows, though!? Either way, I like what I'm hearing here, and look forward to more. I don't get exposed to bands of this nature as often as I'd prefer, and never have the time to do too much digging on my own, so it's always nice to be introduced to acts of this nature that know how to do it right. Good stuff...
Who Goes There? "Admirable Snackbar"
The EP's limited to just 101 copies in hand-screened sleeves and is only $7 (including postage), so definitely pick one up if this is your thing...
