The Sheila Divine: New Parade

The catch-all term "emo" is one of the more ill-defined prefixes applied to rock in recent years; on paper, it implies little more than music that conveys some sort of emotion. In practice, it's applied almost as ambiguously, encompassing just about every vaguely independent-minded band with strong minor-key guitars and intense, dramatic vocals. Consequently, good guitar-based rock acts like Boston's The Sheila Divine are unfairly pigeonholed as emo right out of the box. Sure, singer Aaron Perrino delivers "rock you, yeah yeah yeah" like a life-or-death plea during "Like A Criminal," and New Parade is unapologetically awash in drama, but for the most part, it's just a hooky, remarkably consistent rock record. It helps that Perrino is a fine singer, occasionally emulating assertive frontmen from Bono on but never sacrificing his identity or considerable vocal range. The first single, "Hum," packs everything you could want in a blustery, post-Nirvana rock song—intensity, loud-quiet dynamics, a catchy, raging chorus—into two and a half compact minutes, but New Parade's remainder runs far deeper. "Automatic Buffalo," "The Amendment," and "The Modern Log" are slower, more drawn-out, and invariably elegant, while "Like A Criminal" finds The Sheila Divine doing right by ham-fisted rock. Impeccably produced and paced, New Parade is polished without being predictable, and one of the best rock records of the year, "emo" or otherwise.