Forget the pretentious song titles like “Thoughts weigh heavy…don’t get drowned in the weight of it all.” Ignore cliche lyrics like “Screw you and die, I hope you burn… die die die die.” Pretend the start-stop rhythms and quiet-loud dynamics are new and exciting. Do it because this is emo, and emo means all of these faults are abundant.
Now, here’s the weird part. .moneen.’s new disc, are we really happy with who we are right now? still manages to be likable. It shouldn’t be, I can’t think of anything in particular that makes it stand out. The band is tight, but the vocalist sounds like a dozen other emo bands. The riffs are interesting, but like most math-rock, don’t really last in your memory. Everything seems a little more polished than it should. are we really happy with who we are right now? isn’t a disc to hunt down at all costs, but it isn’t one to avoid either.