In the conversation about European contributions to emo, the focus tends to be on places that had\have emo scenes that produced albums at least relatively well known elsewhere, most notably the UK and Germany. But emo is for everyone and can come from anywhere, and Italy has been producing great emo and post-hardcore acts for decades now: bands like Fine Before You Came, And So Your Life Is Ruined, and Regarde.
Oliver were a similar band from Italy. Their first release is a split from that year with the emo pop band Waker (which seems to be Waker's only release). Oliver's sound is actually quite interesting, especially for 2000. They sort of split the difference between Cap'n Jazz and American Football, the two sides of the Kinsella sound—balancing Cap'n Jazz's freewheeling id with American Football's noodly, placid ego. The result is mathy and beautiful midwest emo pop. Whoever added this album to Discogs must not have put the CD in a drive, because there are actually ten tracks on the split. The last track isn't mentioned at all in the liner notes, but judging by the vocals and its placement I think it's another Oliver song.
I had thought that this split was Oliver's only recorded work, but as it turns out, I was wrong. The band would release a full album in 2005, Little Human Detail. In the five years since the split, the band developed its sound in a post-punk direction while keeping their emo roots. Considering the gap between the album and the split, I find it likely that Oliver have other releases as well, but have yet to unearth them.
isnt her only presence from spain?
ReplyDeleteYeah, they are, that was a mistake. I was supposed to put Regarde there and while I was writing I was thinking about a future post for Her Only Presence.
DeleteThank you!
ReplyDelete