Fuckin' emo. Why is every decent indie rock band automatically pegged as emo these days? Is it because the genre spawned such "groundbreaking" acts as Pedro the Lion and Bright Eyes? While critics lazily lump creative bands like the Dismemberment Plan and Les Savy Fav alongside Wolfie, an entirely new genre is being born.

I recently saw the Austin, Texas-based band And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead classified as emo in a review. How?! Explain that, please. Never once during the entirety of Madonna does this band mention calendar months, a girlfriend's eyes, lunchboxes or swingsets. No, they might not be singing about anything as meaningful as sunshine and rainy hearts, but they deliver volume, passion, talent, and original hooks.

"There is nothing left to say that has not been said" is the defining line of Madonna's opening track, "Mistakes and Regrets." You can see where the guy's coming from with that statement, too. For every perfectly phrased, eye-opening thought that comes out of rock music, there are a million indie pop bands singing about holding hands. Yet these guys manage to pull off more than just a few inspired lyrics.

Trail of Dead also manage unpredictability. From intro to verse, it's impossible to know what these guys are going to pull out next. "Totally Natural" begins with a distant tinny guitar and a gently-picked clean-channel electric before the crashing attack of massive drums enter, fueling the raging guitars and surreal, screamed vocals about a movie star. Halfway through, the song slows for a spoken verse, and then quickly changes into a frenzy of beaten noise and an explosive ending.

You know, people have been saying for a while now that what makes a good band is not as much having actual talent as it is having a great attitude. Sorry, but we've been fed a load of bullshit. As these guys prove, it's not only about having talent, but knowing what to do with it. So, as emo attempts to stretch its 15 minutes out for as long as it can, bands like Les Savy Fav, the Plan, and Trail of Dead will probably be happy to help kick it while it's down by ushering in a new kind of music.

-Ryan Schreiber