Somewhere—on their way through The Hills, The O.C., and
that mythical Southern California mall where a certain genre of emo
flourishes in a Hot Topic-spurned frenzy of unfortunate-haired
teenagers—Weatherbox got really lost. On paper, this band seemed
destined to claim their rightful home on the dorm room walls—and
MySpace Top Eights—of an entire generation of kids, given their
hometown (suburban San Diego), pedigree (ex-My American Heart), record
label (Doghouse, former home to the Get Up Kids and the All-American
Rejects), and famous pals (Saves the Day).
Instead, the Weatherbox quartet surprised us all by dropping a
fantastic debut record, American Art, last spring, and dropping
out of that scene completely. Ambitious as debut albums come,
American Art gloriously wheezes with the dying breath of emo,
while desperately establishing a firm foothold in the world of
blistering post-rock, and—possibly unintentionally—art-punk
as well. All of this glowing praise seems lost on lead singer Brian
Warren, who is modest when it comes to talking about the coming-out
party that is American Art.
“I just decided I wanted to finally delve into songwriting.” He
continues, “I wanted to work on the craft of writing songs, developing
verses and choruses.”
Unlike most bottom-feeders in the emo world, Weatherbox ignore the
scene’s emphasis on fashion, despite touring alongside mall-pop rockers
Cartel (from the Dr. Pepper-funded Band in a Bubble reality
show). Weatherbox has maintained their dignity via a keen understanding
of music’s evolution (their band name is courtesy of a Mission of Burma
song, which, when you think about it, is downright revolutionary when
you place them on tour alongside a TRL-approved act like Cartel)
and an immense onstage presence.
And while American Art is a mammoth rock record, it does seem
like Weatherbox’s best work is yet to come. The band is criminally
young, and the songwriting of Warren will continue to evolve as time
goes by, which signals a bountiful landscape of inventive future
recordings awaiting the band. Warren adds, “I have some epic plans for
our new record. There is a theme to it, and all the songs connect
together.”
Oh no. Connecting songs? Themes? Well, if anyone can gamble with the
dreaded concept record, it’s a band that just torched an entire genre
of music with graceful ease. Good luck boys—just steer clear of
the prog-influenced concept album, and don’t you dare make it a double
album.
Weatherbox perform Thursday, February 7, at Satyricon (125 NW
6th).