Pity the poor sensitive male emo rocker. Sensitive by nature, prone to mood swings, blessed with musical talent, but not especially unique. His life seems like one big emotional rollercoaster. While it's not especially kind to stereotype bands or their efforts, Flu Thirteen's In The Foul Key Of V seems a classic case of the affliction emorockitus, 1998- style.

The elements of your proto- emo band are all here. The songs are long, drawn out riff- rock fests which escape the blander stylings of "alt-rock" by the virtue of the clever use of dissonance and timing. The singer's voice wavers from a bland, yet tuneful scream to a soft pitch- perfect tone that instantly recalls the glory days of Sunny Day Real Estate. The record was even produced by Jawbox- alumnus J Robbins, a man who seems to have his hands in every indie- anthem album these days.

So what do you, the record buying consumer, make of all this? The thing to keep in mind with Flu Thirteen is that it's been done before. Liberally lifting dynamics from the aforementioned Sunny Day Real Estate and Jawbox, with the odd reference to more spastic elements of Drive Like Jehu, Flu Thirteen has obviously done their 1990s rock-n-roll homework. Songs like "Graffiti On A Ceramic Iceburg," "Sadder Than Severe," and "Jermome Does A Dance In Hi-Fidelity" use the trademark bag of tricks with remarkable success. One suspects that Flu Thirteen would be a wonderful live act.

To step outside the realm of this record, I couldn't help but wonder about the state of this once exciting, original genre. How long can emo bands work with the same elements before their stylings go stale? Was the whole anthem- rock thing just a matter of changing chords? Perhaps these are unfair questions to ask of Flu Thirteen... nonetheless, they can't help but surface.

-Samir Khan