When Ian Mackaye's former band, Embrace, was described as an "emo" band, he was characteristically quick to voice his objections. His opinion was that all hardcore music had an emotional basis, emotion being the very thing that separated hardcore music from the mainstream. Thus, if "emo" was meant to describe a unique genre of music, it was doing a lousy job. However valid his criticisms may have been, the term caught on, and due to its association with particular bands (Embrace, Triplefastaction and Sunny Day Real Estate are a few examples), "emo" has developed into a fairly recognizable category.

Deep Elm Records, in an effort to further define this movement, recently put out two volumes of a compilation entitled The Emo Diaries. Brandtson is featured on the second installment, and fittingly so. Their album, Letterbox, features all the hallmarks of the emo sound: the approach is moody, the dynamics extreme, and the lyrics painfully honest. Song titles like "Nineveh" and "Glutton For Tragedy" show that the band also possesses a poetic sensibility.

Initially, these factors work in the band's favor. The album's first track, "Round 13," commands the listener's attention with an attack slightly reminiscent of early Social Distortion. "Blindspot" continues the favorable first- impression with a six- eight groove seemingly borrowed from Weezer's depressed twin brother. "Words For You" foreshadows one of the album's overriding flaws; some of the songs, regardless of their general strength, last too long. "Still Life," with its dreamy atmospherics, revives the possibility that this is a great album, but the moment is short- lived. The remaining tracks fail to offer anything substantially new. The band's tendency to play in the same key becomes increasingly apparent (perhaps there are only so many settings for dark, depressed music). Another factor that becomes frustratingly evident as the songs progress is the excessively basic drumming, which is so unimaginative at times that I had to double check to make sure I was listening to an actual drummer and not a beat machine. Bad sign.

Although Letterbox is not a collective triumph, its stronger moments provide a favorable glimpse of the future. The band's fairly strict commitment to whatever it means to be "emo" severely limits their possibilities, but with a few courageous leaps beyond the confines of their category, they may be able to save themselves yet.

-Kevin Ruggeri