9/10

Written by: T. Paine

Sometimes a band is just a pleasant surprise. Castevet, despite being from my state and playing most of their shows a scant hour drive from my house, never even entered my radar. And now all that can be said is how I wish I had heard of them earlier, because there is no way they shouldn’t receive some sort of notoriety from beard punks everywhere now that “Summer Fences”  has been unleashed on the world.

Remember that first time you heard Against Me!, or Hot Water Music, or Dillinger Four? Or maybe even Jawbox or some early Braid? That’s the feeling I got from the first song, “Between Berwyn and Bryn Mawr.” The absolute explosion at the four and a half minute mark reminded me of all those mid 90s emo bands I could never get into, but now that its’ got those leathery vocals and attitude, I am beginning to understand the appeal of the entire genre. If that’s not a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is.

“Plays One on TV” reminds me of O Pioneers!!! vocally, which is a great thing. It is certainly the most riff driven song on the record, and the bass solo was great. The album, however, is not quite perfect, as some of the songs are a bit long. I wouldn’t say that it’s a bad thing, but personally, I get bored pretty quickly, and it is hard for me to listen to longer songs. This hurts Castevet because some of their best moments happen at the end of their songs. I guess I can learn to be patient to enjoy this stuff. I would suggest anybody who is into any mid 90s emo bands to check this out. Also, people with beards.

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Buy ‘Summer Fences’