Braid, “The New Nathan Detroits” – 8.21.99

There was that group of bands from the second wave of emo – the Get Up Kids and The Promise Ring and Mineral and all of those – and they were so heartbreakingly emotional, enough that even after years of listening I still cringe as some of the lyrics, some of the heart-on-sleeve posing. I loved it, but it aged.

And then, there was Braid.

Too much fun to mope along with. Too smart to encourage moshing. Just a bunch of starting and stopping and jumping and screaming and pining and seriously, I never gave the band enough credit until the point I realized they had transcended the rest of the genre. That they were still relevant, even though they had never been relevant to begin with.

I just got a copy of Braid’s Frame and Canvas in the mail today, alongside their new reunion EP.

The new stuff is dire. Slow and boring and uninspired.

Frame and Canvas, though. It still sounds like it’s looking for someplace to land. I hope it never does.

This was lovingly handwritten on August 1st, 2011