The three-song demo EP from Guards! Guards! is a murky first taste of an already cohesive three-piece rock band. Leaping headfirst into the emo revival, each of these three tracks showcase instrumental mastery, clever songcraft, and a thorough understanding of what made the genre’s pioneers so influential.

The vocals are primarily shouted sans melody, though there’s a bit too much resonance for it to be considered screamo in my opinion. While there’s certainly a nod to the catharsis-at-all-costs approach, there remains a gleeful exuberance akin to Cap’n Jazz. The music is more muscular and defined than that jangly prototype, however, and employs more intentional rhythmic trickery.

These songs were recorded over a few days and mixed quickly, without too much thought given to fidelity. Despite sounding like a wet sock, the songs’ urgency still manages to come through. Each instrument is very likely doing more that what’s audible, and what’s audible suggests that hearing more and better versions of these songs would be worthwhile. Guards! Guards! doesn’t introduce any new contributions to the genre, but these three tracks announce a new and capable flag-bearer for the second-wave emo revival.