Vintage Emo
If Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco are resurrecting emo and heralding the next generation, then The Little Explorer are firmly pressing the rewind button, attempting to erase the somewhat cheery pop fuelled emo that is dominating music and trying to return to a time when emo was more then just a trend. Forget catchy little numbers that embed themselves in your mind and spawn a flock of trend followers, The Little Explorer are all about bringing 'real' emo to the people, emo that wears it's ripped apart heart on its sleeve for all to see.
Rationing out lyrics sparingly, the four minute long 'Chair Legs' sets out to convey emotion not through poetically angst lyrics but by letting their instruments do the talking, creating an almost anger laden rock sound that shows the direction this once underground music may have taken back in the 90s before commercialism got a look in. 'Chair Legs' is a raw open wound that rages off-kilter with a mass of high energy.
Taking on the more traditional emo qualities, mainly through the emotionally charged lyrics, 'Air! Displace This Smoke' sees The Little Explorer producing a sullen soundscape of despair with vocals conveying a heartfelt rawness, somewhat in contrast to the anger tinged 'Chair Legs'. With their latest release The Little Explorer have successfully bucked the current musical trend, harping back to a time when emo was part of the underground scene and not something that dominated MTV. If nothing else they have provided a wonderful lesson in vintage emo.