No.10: A Band To Remeber

Versatility is a key feature for any musician, sportsman or in any other kind of skilled occupation. No one wants to see a one trick pony since, while it may be a fair spectacle, I doubt it would play guitar with any degree of competence... no fingers you see. The most successful artists to date are able to perform with high versatility while remaining true to a specific genre throughout a career. Unless you're One Direction or 50 Seconds Of Summer that is, in which case you can churn out the same old bollocks again and again while your prepubescent female fan base let out high pitched squeals of almost orgasmic yet naive joy. But then again Harry Styles sits on a pile of money basking in his destruction of the music industry while I often have to sacrifice my lunch money to afford a return bus ticket from town...but you don't here me complaining. 

You wouldn't necessarily expect such versatility from an emo, post-hardcore rock band like the band in question here: A Day To Remember or to use the cringey yet time-saving acronym ADTR used by their several million fans. This band are perhaps unique in their ability to blend hardcore screamo with calm acoustic guitar and, at times, soft vocals in one record. Common Courtesy, their most recent release is a prime example of this. The ability to hear the ear-splitting screams of 'The whole world is against me so I'm gonna shout down a microphone and punch your nan' sort of emotion in Violence followed by a calming acoustic love song in I'm already gone is testament to that word versatility again. In addition to this, Common Coutesy features more of the traditional elements of rock and punk within songs including City Of Ocala and Life @ 11 with a sound vaguely reminiscent of the band's 90's teenage influences of Nirvana, Blink 182 and No Use For A Name. This puts A Day To Remember above the other similar bands who they rose to fame alongside including We Came As Romans and Silverstein since there is genuine vocal talent as well as musical and lyrical skill/originality. While the screamo sections of their songs often sound very similar and often need sifting through, the band are still at the top of their game with this independently released album; a staggering feature in itself.

So there you have it, for those of you who are after more easy listening songs, or who prefer your nans unthreatened, this band may not be for you but I strongly urge you to give them a try, at least with an acoustic version of one of their songs: http://youtu.be/9cHIi3h8aAo. Playing at Reading festival this August, they will hopefully live up to this album on the stage.

To hear these songs, albums from the other posts and other music which I find, follow my blog on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/user/w-avery/playlist/4CAps4jqmlBK7LPOPFgi3T