Relationship of Command

Remember Deloused In The Comatorium by The Mars Volta from the main list? That band came from At the Drive-In! The two main members, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez were also the two masterminds behind this project, though ATDI also has the great Jim Ward (who split off into the post-hardcore band Sparta) and Omar joined a little later after they formed. Speaking of Ward, I think his presence plays an important role on this album, which I'll get into later.

Relationship of Command is post-hardcore and emo, which gives context to Deloused, as for a prog rock record it was still firmly in the realm of post-hardcore and slightly emo-ish, this album, on the other hand, has some mild prog elements in some songs that hint at what the band members would go onto do, the most obvious of these being Invalid Litter Dept.. Unlike ATDI's earlier work, there's definitely been an attempt to give the songs more complex rhythms and make them longer and more noodly, which I think has played a big factor in how well received this is compared to their other albums. TMV, being fully prog, opt for even longer and more intricate songs, but as this album is still in the realm of punk the songs are a lot shorter and more accessible, but still Relationship of Command is a strong step in the artsier direction for the band.

While ATDI are a great band, it's easy to see why Relationship of Command stuck more than their other works. This album perfected the blend of aggressive energy with the moody and confused emo, but most importantly all these songs have karaoke-worthy hooks, especially during the chorus, it's very easy to get into the vibe and start blaring the chorus out. Also it's kinda funny that these choruses have a key word or phrase that's great to scream but it ISN'T the title of the song (e.g. "Beware", "Temperature/Cut it", "Wormed our way through distant Earth"), in fact I think the name of the song is only said in two of them.

Enter Jim Ward, the guitarist who does the less fiddly bits. His contributions seem to be completely overshadowed by Cedric and Omar, but given what we know from TMV and Omar's technically advanced side projects, they're clearly musically ambitious people. Jim Ward's band, Sparta, is effective yet unremarkable post-hardcore, like this album but with all the more complicated stuff gutted. I think Ward provides a grounding and stabilizing force to the band that's desperately needed to keep the album consistent, and the songs with the realm of reality. I think Cedric also plays this role a little, but Ward more so.

Continuing on from the "stability vs. ambition" point, the lyrical balance of the songs play a key role in the album's appeal. Cedric style of lyricism is rather esoteric and could be accused of being word salad at times, but these are usually restricted to the verses with the choruses having more simple lyrics that you can sing along to. Invalid Litter Dept. is the most extreme example, with the verses being long-winded and borderline poetry contrasted with the bombastic chorus having a few words and mostly being "wishing well" repeated. There are a couple of examples of the chorus having relatively weird lyrics, such as Pattern Against User, but they still manage to make it fun.

Should it have been in the main list: Yes, 100%. Dimery had TMV on the list, how the fuck did he miss this?

Top 3 songs: Cut Away, Wishing Well, Freight Train Coming

Insanely good album. I love The Mars Volta and this album has the same level of songwriting but in a generally more intense and punk style, which is just sick.

At the Drive-in are the exception to the rule that tenors make music feel less hard. This hits your in the eardrum and only relents to be unsettling.

YES! One of my favourite bands of all time, and a massive influence on my taste to this day. So weird, and heavy, and engaging that I really struggled to turn it off to write this and get my next album! A belter of a nomination, and well worthy of a place in the book - as is the rest of their stuff

Favourite songs: One Armed Scissor, Arcarsenal, Pattern Against User, Mannequin Republic, Invalid Litter Dept., Enfilade

Least favourite songs: Non-Zero Possibility, Catacombs

4/5

Y2K American Post-Hardcore, which is an interesting combination of time, genre, and place. Post-hardcore's *really* not a genre that I care for (and jesus goddamn the people here love adding it to the list), but thankfully this one's making more interesting moves than most of the others that have been sent in.

It was very affirming to check the wiki and learn that some of the members would go on to form The Mars Volta—it's very proggy, and I thought I recognized the singer's voice, but he's doing a completely different (worse) style on here.