Durian

From the fertile punk grounds of Washington D.C. came Durian, formed in 1997 and active until around the turn of the millennium. Their sound would most accurately be termed a fusion, in that it represents all of its parts more or less equally. I had a hard time tagging their second LP, Sometimes You Scare Me, but settled on math rock \ post-hardcore \ midwest emo \ alternative. I think it could be argued that I should have also added 'progressive.' The vocals alone would lend that argument some weight; they're dramatic, almost operatic at times, heavy on the vibrato and attitude. The midwest emo portion of that wild mix comes and goes, but can be heard clearly at times. "Press Stop" is close to sounding like something off Sunny Day Real Estate's LP2, and at several points they start playing poppy emo chord progressions that wouldn't sound out of place on a Promise Ring album.

According to the band's bio, they released their first album in 1997, shortly after forming. Titled Tomorrow 6:30, it's a much more lowkey work than the aggressive second album. In 1998 they put out a 7" and the following year put a track on the great Pocket Bomb compilation. In 2000, they released Sometimes You Scare Me and disbanded at some point afterward.

Sometimes You Scare Me + Goodwill B/W Dogtrack 7" + Compilation Track

Tomorrow 6:30