15 Greatest Emo Albums Of All Time
3. Texas Is The Reason - Do You Know Who You Are?
A great one-and-done band, Texas Is The Reason secured their place in the emo pantheon with 35 minutes of super tight, punchy rock by a perfectly in synch band. It didn’t catch fire at the time and the group quickly broke up, but Do You Know Who You Are? sounds better with every passing year, a perfectly structured and played record.
The band sound more outgoing than your average emo outfit, with tunes like “There’s No Way I Can Talk Myself Out Of This One Tonight” and “Nickel Wound” sounding like bar room classics, sway-along drinking songs. Garrett Klahn sings like it’s his last breath, and the harmonies have an in-the-room feel to them.
They play great songs as a unit, with a raw, heartfelt feel. Best of all is closer “A Jack With One Eye”, with its snakey riff and gradual build. It caps off one of the most unsung albums of the decade brilliantly.
Like other cult acts of the era, they have reunited on occasion for live shows, but Texas Is The Reason have as yet resisted the pull of returning to the studio. Perhaps they’ve said all they have to say in their debut, a concise but dynamite statement of intent.