The Diggs

In 2006, The Diggs' frontman Timothy Lannen gave an interview to Today. In response to the possibility that the band's first record, Commute, was an emo album, he replied: "'I believe emo to be, in the truest sense, Fugazi or Shudder to Think or Sunny Day Real Estate. All of whom I like. But we’re not those bands. As far as how a lot of people mean it, it seems to mean unlistenable or interchangeable,' he says. Then firmly offers, 'Commute' is 'not an emo record.' He then chuckles and admits The Diggs may get the label incorrectly hung on them because 'I have a tendency to scream a little sometimes.'"

Like most artists trying to dodge the dreaded 'emo' label, he's wrong—and it's telling that only one of the three examples he used was an emo band. But he was right in the sense that the label would indeed get hung on them, and in the sense that The Diggs were not a typical emo band. Based in New York during the height of the post-punk revival, The Diggs were essentially the American side of what One Toy Soldier was doing at the same time. If One Toy Soldier is the answer to the hypothetical, "what if Bloc Party were an emo band" then The Diggs would answer the corollary, "what if The Strokes were an emo band?" One Toy Soldier traded in harsher, discordant midwest emo-flavored indie rock. The Diggs have some of that too (listen to those Christie Front Drive chords during the climax of "Trouble Everyday"), but they pull more from emo pop, at least on the first album. The second album, ctrl-alt-del, has a more pronounced midwest emo influence.

Their first album, Commute, is a wonderful fusion of post-punk indie rock and emo pop. It transitions effortlessly between emo builds in songs like opener "It's Just Like You Say" and the catchy post-punk revival of "Everyone's Starting Over." Album closer "Trouble Everyday" is epic and a personal favorite. The second album moves a bit away from the sounds, if not the rhythms, of the New York indie rock scene and opts for more traditionally emo tones. It also features what may be The Digg's finest four minutes and thirty-three seconds with "…And In The End Shoot Back." Songs like "Brigante" and "Recovery Forever" also really highlight what the band took from midwest emo.

Commute was released in 2005, ctrl-alt-del in 2008. Besides these two LPs, the band also has a 2005 EP, Orange, but the same versions of all the songs on it are included on Commute. As far as I know, both albums make up The Diggs' entire discography.

Commute & ctrl-alt-del