Weak

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Weak album cover
Album Information

Total Tracks: 10   Total Length: 30:24

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Andy Battaglia

eMusic Contributor

Andy Battaglia writes about music and culture of various other kinds from a home base in New York. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Wire, t...more »

03.18.10
A tight, pent-up take on the sound of Sub Pop in the early '90s
Label: Sub Pop Records

Seaweed's hometown of Tacoma, Washington, is close to Seattle, but Seaweed is not exactly grunge. Instead, the band plays a tight, pent-up take on the sound of Sub Pop in the early '90s, with some of the raw fuzz stripped clean but none of the power or angst gone. For all the energy of its in medias res opening blast, "Recall" tows a lot of muscular melody behind it — a hallmark of a band known as a sort of Superchunk of the Pacific Northwest. "The Way It Ends" pummels like punk (thanks to heated production by Jack Endino), with a hook that would make Bob Mould proud. "Taxing" draws out that Superchunk comparison, moving through different passages at different speeds, with a dynamic range that speaks to more than simple venting or rage. By the end of the album, with "Squint," singer Aaron Stauffer is wailing with all the emotion and control of a crooner. He's a crooner with a lot to excise, though — and a lot of wooly layers to scream through.

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Goddamn rock solid.

corenaf

Allow me to admit this first, I'm biased towards this album since I grew up with it. But does that negate any opinions or feelings I have stored deep inside of me? You're the judge of that. "Weak" is full of awesomely solid riffs and hooks from opening to end. There are no ballads, no lesser tracks here. Just solid pop influenced grungy hardcore. The closest Sub Pop relative is Mud Honey, but there are also hints of Bad Religion and the 80s skate punk of Southern California. This albums rocks from top to bottom. Get it. Enjoy.

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They Say All Music Guide

Combining the bottom-heavy throb that would epitomize the Northwest in the wake of Nirvana (Nevermind was released just months before the recording of this album) with a punchy, melodic power punk sound, Seaweed is Tacoma’s answer to Superchunk. Wade Neal and Clint Werner wind crunchy riffs around a melodic core recalling early Orange County punk (Descendents, Adolescents), grounded by a pounding beat. The occasionally riff-heavy throb is leavened by Aaron Stauffer’s impassioned lead vocals, which rise to the front of the mix and pour out the standard indie rock blues of frustration (“Stagger”), alienation (“Taxing,” “Bill”), and lost youth (“Recall,” “New Tools”). But the easy categorization doesn’t diminish the power of the band. Producer Jack Endino gets a tough, live sound with great separation that allows the energy to envelop the listener in the soaring bridge of “New Tools,” the machine gun drum-punch of “Stagger,” or the effusive sunny bounce of “Squint,” which epitomizes their open-hearted punk attitude when Stauffer sings, “When you place the blame/try to look past all their badges/If you squint hard/you’ll find some beauty in it all.” – Chris Parker

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