Yea, from an accessibility standpoint, Black Earth Tiger fell flat on it's face. I actually revisited it recently and I will say it has some solid bangers. The intro, cottonmouth, phobos, whiteflag reprise..good stuff.
I still spin that first Emanuel record often. I miss the overall sound from the 00s. Completely agree about their second album falling flat. Didn’t they break up because their singer had some personal issues he needed to sort out? I think I read about it before but I don’t want to speculate openly unless someone knows in more detail.
I feel like Sleeper Agent was one of those many ‘00s bands who had some buzz starting out then had their edges sanded off with their second album and broke up. This song still rules though.
Brighter Brightest (pop rock/punk) released an album in 2011 I played the hell out of, an EP a few years later, and then just disappeared from what I can tell (though they seem to have played themselves on a TV show called The Next Step?).
Single File. Listened to Common Struggles a lot the spring/summer it came out, and still go back to it pretty regularly.
From what I remember from back in the day, the band had financial trouble as well as member(s?) dealing with substance abuse. I think the bassist also hinted at all this or talked in more detail in the interview he did for Black Earth Tiger's 10th anniversary.
Derek the singer of brighter brightest is a major producer in the Toronto area. Done records for Silverstein, boys night out, like pacific and a lot more
Just went thru this whole thread and made a playlist for next week. Really forgot how much I loved that first Emanuel & second secret and whisper record. also...that new open hand record is wild
Loved their EP and album. I used to spin them all the time in my uni years. Would be down for them to get back together.
Thought of you today. Take a listen to Matt Breen of Emanual's two hour interview in regards to the entire bands history. Just released today. This Was The Scene podcast on Spotify.
no problem. Ive loved this band for 15+ years so was really excited myself when it was announced. im an hour in now. its good
It was brought up but not posted, but I appreciated hearing Matt's perspective on the band's entire journey. It's probably the first time we heard from him regarding Emanuel since those 2009 myspace posts? I don't remember if they were already broken up at that point.
Really enjoyed this. I wish Emanuel would come out of hiding with a follow up to Black Earth Tiger. Such an unappreciated album
Yeah there were some interesting and crushing stories in there. The one about Adam Lazzara or Jim Adkins coming up to them and saying Soundtrack To A Headrush had an impact on them, all the while the band was suffering from the leak and not even able to sell the album, preventing them from getting bigger tour offers for example... that must have been tough to experience. I also appreciated the Recover shout out, talk about another band that got screwed up by nonsensical label decisions. This is now leading me to revisit their small discography. It's cool to hear that Matt is open to a reunion anytime though, and to find out he and Bryan even helped people perform some Emanuel songs at an Emo Night thing a couple years ago. I remember Bryan saying in that one 2017 interview that a reunion wasn't on the cards so this now gives me some hope. Crossing fingers that all the members reconnect in some way or another then.
Krummet was on swancasting podcast last week and said this one was one of the most underrated albums he ever worked on.
That was a great listen, Emanuel was a pivotal band for me as a teen. I loved them, you never hear about them anymore. A reunion would rule
I listened to Black Earth Tiger front to back with headphones last night. I definitely like it more now than I did when it was released. It's a shame that they never had the opportunity to do a "between" album to transition from Soundtrack to Tiger.