Hot Water Music - Finding The Rhythms

Y'see, like an unhealthy amount of emo-oriented stuff I write about, this album was a recommendation straight from Andy Radin's fourfa.com page. I realize how limited that makes my scope of the "genre" seem, but to rebut any potential criticism (or snarkiness), I've spent well over a year slogging through a literal fuckton of emo bands NOT mentioned on his site - everywhere from Turnip, Sweater Weather, Closure, Fingerprint, Agna Moraine's Autobiography, and Owltian Mia to a zillion others - and trust me, the stuff he points out is indeed the cream of the crop. There's definitely a mass of bands that I'd rate just as highly that he doesn't touch upon, but really, you couldn't get a much better introduction than Radin's site.
Speaking of sentences conveying information, there's pretty much no way you're unfamiliar with Hot Water Music if you're reading this blog right now. Hell, even if you've never heard a single HWM song, you've still undoubtedly encountered a band or six who draw heavily upon their sound. If I had to make a list of the most influential post-hardcore units of all time (ie the groups that spawned the most imitators), these guys would sit comfortably amongst groups like the most revered of the SST Records stall, Fugazi, Naked Raygun, Quicksand, Sunny Day Real Estate, and the band with most belated explosion of mimics, Cap'n Jazz. Look up the hilarious new term, "twinkle daddies" for elaboration on that last one, by the way.
For all the uninitiated:
Hot Water Music are a four piece from Gainesville, FL who formed in '93, broke up in '96, reformed the next year, persisted 'til '06, broke up again, and came back again in '08. I think it's safe to say that when they finally break up for good, the impact might take a few years to finally hit us. The band's sound consists of dual gruff vocalists weaving in an out of each others' shouted declarations with juxtaposing tones (even lyrics, occasionally) against a backdrop of busy percussion, really warm and pretty basslines, and crunchy, melodic, and sometimes dissonant guitar interplay. They're probably most revered for their presence amongst the early 90's emocore bands, but have influenced tons and tons of pop-punk and post-hardcore bands, too.
Also, they've been officially knighted by the punknews crew.

Finding The Rhythms is the first LP length release by the band, and is a mash-up of their Eating The Filler 7", the split with Swivel Stick, a few compilation songs, and what I believe were 6 newly recorded tracks (tracks 1,2,4,5,6,7). I could be wrong about some of that, but whatever. Oh, and for clarity, it's the 12 track CD version I'm talking about, not the 10 track original LP version. It's also the first "album" by the band that I checked out, and for the most part, still contains my favorite songs they ever wrote. Just listen to tracks like "The Passing", the amazing "Counting Numbers" and "Practice In Blue", the more traditional pop-punkiness of "Floor", and the anthemic power of the 6+ minutes "Eating The Filler". As testament to how consistently great of a compilation this is, it actually seems more relevant to point out the few flaws it has than try to pick highlights. For example, while "Incisions" is a really great song, it's unfortunately vocally led by bassist Jason Black. While Black is probably the single band member who completely sells their sound for me with his incredible basslines, his singing voice is pretty goddamn bad. I know it's funny to criticize someone in this band's singing voice when both leads are almost totally incoherent, but his clean, whiny warble really doesn't do it for me. "Present" is the only song on here that could've been completely cut, since when it's not meandering, it sounds way too "tuff" and boring, especially in the wake of "Recliner". Other than that, I've always felt "Arms Can't Stretch" was a little too long for how few parts it contains, but it's by no means a bad song.
Check out this awesome clip of "Floor" from '95:

Way too many people bypass this collection for their later, more revered work, but if you're a fan of this band, or even just curious about all the hype, you absolutely need this. It's not perfect, but the best songs on here more than make up for any flaws. If you're a newcomer, follow this up with Fuel For The Hate Game and No Division, which are both equally great full lengths.