Christie Front Drive S/T

Christie Front Drive 'S/T' (Magic Bullet Records, 2010)

Amazingly we jump from one of the best examples of second wave emo to one of the finest bands in the third wave. I'm not sure that these waves actually exist, but bear with me.

Christie Front Drive were part of the emo scene I fell in love with in 1995/96. Every band within that scene sounded remarkably different, but all had that 'something' that tied them together; you had the melodic hardcore of Sense Field, the pure pop of Promise Ring, the stadium rock of Texas is the Reason, the earnest spiritual angst of Mineral and you had the reserved introversion of CFD.

All those bands toured together, did split releases and had an aesthetic that bonded them into a hugely influential and inspirational movement. There is such a demand for the sound and feel of the mid 90s that almost all those bands reformed after taking many years out and bands like Arrows and Empire! Empire! (I was a Lonely Estate) unashamedly worship at their feet whilst putting their own stamp on a quicksilver sound.

CFD are beautiful and understated. They are minimal and melodic. They lull you into a dream with their incessant but gentle hooks. The vocals are another instrument used to rack up the layers of melody as they swirl gently in-between the rhythm section and the sublime chiming guitars. Every single song is a classic and they sound better than ever on this lovingly remastered Magic Bullet re-release.

Get into this band.

Peace