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Album Details

• Artist: Settlefish
• Album: The Plural of the Choir
• Label: Deep Elm
• Year of Release: 2005
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2005-06-15

I could tell that Settlefish had promise from their debut Dance Awhile, Upset. It was one of those albums that was different and yet the band wasn't quite experienced enough to pull it all together. While, now a couple years later, Settlefish returns with their sophomore album and it is so much better. The Plural Of The Choir is really not all that different from Dance Awhile except for the fact that the band has grown a lot as musicians. Call it experience and maturation but this is what emo should be. I think the term "Emo" should just be thrown out because it has become so skewed in recent years. Settlefish sounds like they were influenced heavily by bands like At The Drive-In but have moved on quite nicely into newer and fresher territory. The album kicks off with the bloated "Kissing Is Chaos" that has an intro that is way too big. The song kicks ass once you finally get to the climax. The band gets to the point on "Oh Well" with a much briefer intro and rocks out a little harder. The album is a bit of a rollercoaster with regards to the speed and song tempos. Some may have issues with this but it makes Settlefish easier to digest for me. One of the tracks that really sticks out is "To The North" that really has a post-rock feel to it with guitar lines noodling all over the place but keeping a nice pace. Settlefish is growing into a decent band and Plural of the Choir is a great talent showcase for the band.

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