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My room-mate over the past year in my college dorm had introduced me to Sunny Day Real Estate by lending me a copy of the band's first album "Diary". He had been introducing me to a lot of music that the layman would describe as 'post-hardcore', and according to him, SDRE were pioneers in that genre. "Diary" was put out in 1992 (14 years ago), and definitely influenced generation of bands, some of which one may label as 'emo'. SDRE, however, always treaded the line between post-hardcore and alternative rock, and besides, there was never an emphasis on their image. They did hardly any interviews or press of any kind, and had a somewhat arbitrary 'no-shows-in-California' rule. For their second album, they didn't even come up with a cover or a title. Sub Pop put out the album as 'LP2' with a pink cover (fans refer to it as 'the pink album'). After that the band split for a bit, and a couple of member joined Dave Grohl's then-new project, the Foo Fighters. The split is also rumored to have had something to do with frontman Jeremy Enigk's new-found religious faith (I avoid the term 'born-again Christian' as much as I can). They did get back together to put out another couple of well-received albums towards the end of the decade, but pretty much disbanded upon the onset of the new millennium.
OK, so the history lesson is over. Now, Mr. Enigk himself has not been in the news for a while (except for doing the score to a film: "The United States of Leland"), until he decided to put out this solo album. He does have one prior solo album under his belt (1995's "Return of the Frog Queen"), which I unfortunately could not get my hands on. But, I signed up to do this review just to use my familiarity with SDRE as a comparison. And boy, what a difference it is.
World Waits is in a completely different territory than anything SDRE ever recorded. It consists of mostly slower songs featuring vocals softer than one would expect of Mr. Enigk. He plays guitar (acoustic) on most tracks and uses an assortment of backing rhythm section. The production is quite stellar, with his voice always taking center stage. The occasional organ/piano flourishes blend well with the rest of the music. Highlights include the second track 'Been Here Before' and the second last track 'Dare A Smile', which is a bit more somber than the other tracks.
If you liked SDRE and were expecting something similar, you'll be surprised. Pleasantly, of course. If you have a fondness for singer-songwriters, you'll like this album.
editors note: This CD will not be released until October, however Jeremy is currently on tour, you can get his tour dates (and mp3 previews of this cd) at the official site link below
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