pictures can tell

Pictures can tell are one of those bands that everyone who loves midwest emo seems to know about, despite the rarity of their physical albums. I've always found this a little surprising—not the rarity, but the fact that they tend to pop up everywhere even though they never released any vinyl, given that the vinyl community kept a lot of 90s bands in a (dim) spotlight until the emo revival brought renewed focus to the genre. PCT only put out two releases, both on CD, and both are rarely available anywhere, especially the digipak EP. (Derik from Braeburn Records has been selling old stock from the label on Ebay, though the price of PCT's releases has gone up considerably over the last year or so.)

They were a midwest emo band in the truest sense, at least musically. They hailed from Salt Lake City, making them yet another midwest emo band who were actually from the southwest. But there's no mistaking their sound for anything but pure 90s midwest emo. They've got it all, from the clean Fender twinkling to the discordant crescendos. In time is a solid album, but it's the everyday EP that is their finest work. Unfortunately, it's also their last official release. If they had put out a second full length that built on what they accomplished with everyday, they'd probably be legendary.

The album was released in 1999, the EP in 2000. In the time between the EP and calling it quits, the band was writing new material and recorded three demo tracks that were never officially released, though one was available through the Braeburn Records website following the band's dissolution. Bandmember Kris has a channel with some live footage of the band.

pictures can tell