7/12/2023 0 Comments Brave little abacus discomfortTo you everyone is either a moron, or a creep, or a poser. Me neither,” then a speech given by Cynthia to Malcolm “You hate everyone. It’s hard to get too upset,” followed by Dewey’s musing, “Is your brain big enough to get your feelings hurt. The first, spoken by Hal, “So, now a relationship that was totally meaningless and trivial is over. Not taking itself too seriously, sad, but with moments of levity. I loved Malcolm as a kid, so I connected with the samples immediately, they, along with the show have a very similar vibe - emotional, yet playful. There are samples from the early 2000s single camera dramedy Malcolm in The Middle at the end of the first and last tracks and during the bridge of the penultimate track. It becomes hard to say whether the album would be better, or perhaps worse with better production - it would certainly be less unique. The poorly produced rhythm section does allow the vocals and eclectic instrumentation to come into the limelight. It’s difficult to sink into the music because of the distracting production, but Just Got Back is that special kind of grower where you start to get past its flaws until you eventually love the unconventional sound of the record. The kick drum is inaudible, the snare sounds like trash, and the mixing is all over the place. The sloppy, lo-fi production adds to the challenging nature of the record. JGB is musically diverse in a way that was unparalleled by the band, unique for the genre and exciting for music as a whole. The toy piano, the accordion, the 15+ different synth tones, the “Pet Sounds of emo” is a melancholy grab-bag of sounds and tones that all mesh together into the same mood. From the boisterous horns in the opener to the shaky, bendy guitar in song two, to the rapid fire vocals in the 10th track, to the bumpy percussion, gloomy keyboard, and soaring vocals in the closer, every song has its own flavor. Having experimented so much with eclectic instrumentation, TBLA knows exactly when to implement a trumpet, or a keyboard, or a guitar, or a sample, or even the jump sound from Sonic The Hedgehog. Just Got Back is the culmination of everything The Brave Little Abacus accomplished throughout their career. And after 100 listens it became my favorite album, it forever glued itself to my consciousness. “When I say I’m sad I mean it” imprinted on my brain, the shaky vocals, the droning interludes, the Malcolm in The Middle samples, there was always something that felt fresh and new, even after 100 listens. The “Way before now” refrain in the closer hits that much harder because of its appearance in the opener. It kept exciting me in new ways, like how it subtly repeats and references ideas, themes, lyrics, and melodies. The first couple dozen listens were difficult, I liked it, but I didn’t love it, I skipped tracks, it lost my attention, but I kept coming back. Just Got Back is most certainly a challenging record - it’s a big part of why I’m so drawn to it. I can make claims that it’s important for its genre, but I know for anyone that doesn’t like emo, it’s going to be a challenging listen, and it’s perfectly fair for anyone to not like the way it sounds. No matter what words I choose, the way I structure my sentences, the metaphors, the flowery adjectives I use, all that can really be said is that I love this album, it’s pleasing to my ears, it’s soothing to my soul, and I have a very strong attachment to it. It’s hard to explain why an album is important to me personally. I wouldn't be the same human being if I had never heard this record. Wow, so I guess I’m starting with the most hyperbolic statement possible. Just Got Back From the Discomfort is a life changing record. Please bear with me as I write many typically hyperbolic statements because these statements are undoubtedly accurate in this case. The Brave Little Abacus never spread out of their New Hampshire based scene, it’s just one of those things - a band that flies under the radar, doing great things and experimenting to an empty room. And so it becomes dicey trying to argue that an album that almost no one has heard is a classic. But it must be done because Just Got Back From the Discomfort-We’re Alright is the most underrated, underappreciated classic in all of emo. Even the act of writing “classic album” is loaded. It’s hard to properly talk about a classic album without dipping into hyperbole. The Most Underrated Band on The Planet: A Retrospective
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