Indian Summer - Science

You know those few days in autumn when the weather gets really nice and mild after you thought summer was gone for good?  It's pretty awesome isn't it?  For those lucky enough to live in a more accomodating environment; The Farmer's Almanac tells us that the period of sunny and warm weather after the leaves have changed and there was already frost is called Indian Summer.  One of the few gems of living in the midwest when it comes to weather.

Speaking of gems and enjoyable atmosphere I present you the band Indian Summer, a must listen for the emotive hardcore fan.  Bringing a mixture of chaos and calm Indian Summer's Science is a relatively underappreciated example of early punk influenced emo.  Their obscurity should come as no surprise due to their relatively short lifespan (1993-1994) and their limited touring.  Before a re-release of their complete discography much of their work was extremely hard to come by even on the internet.  Much of it was on rare tapes and 7" splits shared with even more obscure bands in the scene.  Their songs were actually never even named so all track names that you find were actually given lovingly by fans of their work.  Thankfully this issue was solved with a 2006 release of Science, a collection of their various tracks.

What we find in Science after over a decade of wait is a lo fi tribute to loud/soft dynamics.  Most songs begin with soft instrumentals and whispers that build slowly, giving the listener a sense of something big on the horizon much like the calm before a violent storm.  Once the climax is reached the band begins to absolutely attack their instruments creating a gale force of screaming guitars and frenzied screams.  This style of combining gentle picking followed by cathartic chaos is emulated by bands such as Envy, Pianos Become the Teeth, and City of Caterpillar.  That my friends, is a pretty darn good lineage.

So check it out and learn your roots kids.

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-Jim