Basement: WIRED
UK-based, on-again-off-again emos Basement return to their independent roots with their fifth record, ‘WIRED’. The album takes the “soft grunge” sound that Basement helped popularise – alongside Citizen, Title Fight, Balance and Composure and Turnover – to new depths, with assistance from legendary producer John Congleton behind the controls. The result is a refined distillation of Basement’s sound, and really of the 2010s fourth-wave emo scene at large.
Emo’s roots have always lain in hardcore, but the Midwest scene of the mid-’90s pushed the genre into softer, more radio-ready territory with acts like Sunny Day Real Estate, American Football and Jimmy Eat World. On the flip side, bands such as The Appleseed Cast, Cursive and Joan of Arc offered experimental, studio-focused and deconstructionist takes on emo, incorporating elements of post-rock, chamber pop and folk music.
On ‘WIRED’, Basement pays homage to both schools, as well as to the shoegaze influence of their contemporaries. The songs are short but effective, leaving no room for filler or fluff. Even the slower tracks feel punky, yet there’s a sense of melody and composition that leans closer to indie pop, with countless earworm hooks and sing-along choruses. The album feels like a fresh start for a band that has already been through multiple hiatuses, each time emerging stronger than before. There’s a sense of energy and urgency in each song that propels the album forward with the fervor of a band trying to land a major-label contract – a feat Basement has already achieved, and one that ultimately left them disillusioned.
Maybe it’s more accurate to say the energy feels like returning to your hometown after graduating from college: different, new and more appreciative of the little things you once took for granted. As vocalist Andrew Fisher puts it in the opening track ‘Time Waster’, “We gave it all with open arms, with innocent devotion / We had the world but got it wrong, we barely knew ourselves”. This kind of self-reflection runs throughout the album’s 12 tracks, staying true to the “emotional” core of emo.
I’ll be the first to admit that many fourth-wave emo bands passed me by, as I was deep into strictly metal around the time the scene was blossoming. My punk friends in high school played Basement around me a lot, but I didn’t get it – it wasn’t bad, but it didn’t connect with me in any meaningful way back then. But everything has its season, and now, as an adult, I realise I missed out on a lot of amazing music because I wasn’t as open-minded as I thought. ‘WIRED’ has inspired me to revisit that era with fresh ears and immerse myself in a scene rich with talent.
‘WIRED’ drops on the May 8 via Run For Cover Records.