If you are stuck with the notion that emo has become the unbearably whiny expression of spoiled suburban kids, enter Boston’s Bay Faction (who recently relocated to the NYC area) and think again. Their 2015 three-track debut EP clearly carries the genre’s DNA, but slows down its BPM by a lot, makes a discreet if not spare use of distorted guitars, and puts a lot of sincere heart in it. Those early tracks resonated with a lot of kids and gathered over a million plays on Spotify, and so did following single Pendulum, dropped in 2017. After a dragged out recording process, the band is now ready to release their debut LP Florida Guilt, a record that expands the group’s sonic palette with a more varied production, without betraying the core qualities of their music. The first single It’s Perfect, streaming below, is to date their fastest and most driven track, but still stylistically hybrid, with the inwardly tortured voice of singer James McDermott adding oozes of character to vague lyrics related to the struggles of dating. The record is already available on Spotify, and fans of Pingrove and Forth Wanderers (two other bands that are taking emo in new directions) should definitely check it out.
Don’t miss the band’s release show at Elsewhere on December 21st. – Photo by Sam Colby
