Reubens Accomplice - I Blame The Scenery
by Benjamin Howarth
published: 20 / 1 / 2002
Label:
Better Looking
Format: CD
intro
Original and effective sounding CD by emo band, who are also heavily influenced by Americana, which features an appearance from Jim Atkins of Jimmy Eat World as a backing musician.
This is one of the most original CDs I’ve heard in a while. While Reubens Accompice are an emo band, they are also influenced by traditional Americana. It isn’t an obvious combination,but it is works well. The highlight is the opening track 'Happy Mondays', which combines familiar jangly but powerful emo guitar lines with an engaging melody. The influence from Americana is subtle, but it gives the music a warm sound that is rich and has a lot of depth. The vocals are not outstandingly powerful but combine well with the music’s relaxed atmosphere. This isn’t the sort of album that will ever be played at parties, but it does represent the diversity in the emo scene at the moment. Reubens Accomplice come from a new generation of bands that are taking their influences from emo pioneers like Sense Field, The Promise Ring, Chamberlain and Jimmy Eat World, but which are adding a further dimension to their sound. For a lot of British groups ,this means incorporating a metal element (quite often in the style of the Deftones) but some American bands such as Reubens Accompice have gone the other way and added an art rock element instead. Funnily enough, Jim Atkins of Jimmy Eat World appears here as a backing musician. That can only add to the kudos for what is sure to be the first of many great releases from the emo scene in 2002.
Track Listing:-
1 Happy Mondays2 Were Not As Big As We Feel
3 Losing Sleep
4 Oh My God
5 Down Again
6 Fireworks
7 Looking Forward
8 Were Waking Up Kings
9 Loop
10 Mixing Memory With Desire
11 Borders
12 I Swear To Good Your God At This
13 The Things We Said
14 Whales Of The Desert
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