Emo’s unlikeliest success story return rejuvenated right from the rip of new album ‘WIRED.’ On “Time Waster,” Basement channel false starts, burnout, and unfinished potential into a roaring post-hardcore rush that sounds less like a comeback than a band hitting its stride.
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Stream: “Time Waster” – Basement
The first song on the first album from Basement in eight years begins not with a bang, but a nudge.
“Put the pen to paper / You little time waster.” While somewhat gentle in delivering his opening lines, de facto frontman Andrew Fisher doesn’t exactly hype the band up. “We don’t even matter / Lean into the pressure.“
Granted, if Basement are guilty of anything, it’s selling themselves short. The history of emo favors the underdog, but no one has beaten the odds quite like this band of Brits. To begin with, during the early 2010s, they were the only ones leading the revival from outside these United States, let alone eastern Pennsylvania. They also went on hiatus at two separate but equally inopportune times. The first came weeks before their debut on the Billboard charts, whereas the second followed a dream tour with Weezer and the Pixies.
Put the pen to the paper
You little time waster
We don’t even matter
Lean into the pressure
So alive and so divine
I see it all go by
Wide eyes, terrified
Scared to say goodnight
Now, Basement are back. And, once again, they’re bigger than ever, thanks to the mysterious forces behind TikTok. Their new album is advertised as a hard reset, which isn’t false, but WIRED is more than just a return to form. As suggested by the bold choice in font, it loudly signals a full-blown resurgence from emo’s unlikeliest success story. Once the band are finished tuning up, “Time Waster” bolts out the noise gate in the blink of an eye.
“I see it all go by,” Fisher shouts as if holding on for dear life.
WIRED wouldn’t sound so urgent if Basement hadn’t taken the time to unplug.
Switching to the major label circuit burned them out, so it’s only fitting they’ve rejoined Run For Cover with an album that reignites their old spark. I’ve shared my complaints with producer John Congleton elsewhere, but here, the Grammy winner pushes all the right buttons. “Time Waster” doesn’t short the paired-down melodies the band have come to favor, but its chorus cranks the post-hardcore aggression that their recent output was missing.
As Fisher yells about past shortcomings (“We had the world but got it wrong“), the song sinks into a grungy breakdown that churns with regret. “We barely knew ourselves.”
We gave it all with open arms
With innocent devotion
We had the world, but got it wrong
We barely knew ourselves
So alive and so divine…
Most of emo’s second wave didn’t stick around to witness the genre’s ongoing rebirth. Of those who are still spin kicking, chances are they’ve gone through their fair share of lineup changes. But Basement are one exception. WIRED was written by the same four guys who started the band in their hometown of Ipswich nearly two decades ago. Not that they don’t have other commitments. Between being a member of supergroup Fiddlehead and Turnstile’s touring party, it’s understandable why guitarist Alex Henery seriously considered walking away amidst the pandemic. That he stayed speaks to why they keep coming back together.
“I just want to get it right,” Fisher pleads, confident they haven’t reached their full potential.
Sure enough, “Time Waster” ends with a roaring, Britpop-powered refrain that silences any doubts. Despite the band’s fits and starts, Basement are just hitting their peak.
WIRED is out now on Run for Cover Records.
So alive and so divine
I see it all go by
Wide eyes, terrified
Scared to say
Scared to say good-
Goodnight
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Stream: “Time Waster” – Basement
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© Adam Powell
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