Labels: Iron Man
Review by: Mike Whelan
Brummies Sist probably feel a little aggrieved at not being born in a different decade and in a different part of the world, because this six-track debut EP would not have sounded strange coming from 1980’s Washington DC.
Being a bit of an amateur when it comes to old-school emo, I feel that this would have been better reviewed by someone like Andy Malcolm, but here goes anyway, my best effort.
To say that Sist are gritty is an understatement. The EP is rough round the edges to say the least, but instead of sounding unprofessional this only adds to the old school feel. Even though most of the tracks have a hardcore/emo influence, on occasion Sist do favour melody over crunching guitars, like on “Second Best’ for example, and when they’re in this groove Sist sound more like early Idlewild, or Jetplane Landing.
But when not playing their nice tunes, Sist are fast and furious. Opener “Television Led’ sounds as Moss Icon-like as anything I’ve heard, and other tracks like “Chinese Whispers’ and “Low Amp’ could fit in the same bracket.
Sist could do well with this sound, maybe the world needs a little retro-emo to make it forget Saves The Day and The Get Up Kids. File Sist alongside Hoover and Embrace, they deserve it.