How It Feels To Be Something On - Sunny Day Real Estate (1998)

ideated from: Filling in some gaps with more 90s records.

I’ll skip the “emo” tag, partly because I don’t think i have many other examples and partly because I’ve never had a good handle on what makes something emo and something else not.

SDRE had the benefit of being from the Seattle area in the early 90s, a time when labels were signing any Seattle act with proof-of-address. Singer Jeremy Enigk was an odd cat who had some wonderfully florid lyrics and a voice to match them.

This is their third album, my favorite, and the one that got me into them. None of it is Earth-shattering. It’s solid guitar rock, with a bit more detail and subtlety than a lot of their peers.

Tracks I Liked

Every Shining Time You Arrive - builds without exploding. Has a bit of a classic 60s sound. Love an organ solo.

How It Feels… - both the lyric and the melody seem stream of consciousness

Guitar And Video Games - a nostalgia ride