‘Things don’t get better, just different,’ roared Tades Sanville on 2020’s You’ll Be Fine. The Hot Mulligan singer didn’t know how right he would be. Now over a decade into their prolific run of catchy, silly and unflinchingly honest emo, the Michigan lads are wrestling with some of life’s big questions on their fourth album, The Sound A Body Makes When It’s Still.
The irrepressible, spring-heeled energy of And A Big Load or Mix Master Wade On The Beat showcases how they’ve made a name for themselves: gleamingly sharp riffs and a tight-knit rhythm section, peppered with Midwestern emo leads and Tades’ splenetic lyrics delivered with a voice like a flamethrower. It’s a formula that has seen them rise to main stage status at Slam Dunk, and which they’ve refined to stagedive-baiting precision here.
Amid the goofy energy and even goofier song titles, there’s also been growth. The seventh track finds Tades reckoning with the grief of losing his grandma, Bonnie, in the way only a touring musician can: ‘It’s 5am in Tokyo, half a world away / I’m sitting in a parking lot, you’re laying in your grave.’ Regret, bargaining, and loss are all bundled up as Ryan Malicsi’s finger-knotting guitar noodling reflects the disorienting pace of life on the road. It’s tender, heartbreaking and just a shame it’s titled – big sigh – Monica Lewinskibidi.
