SDRE Changed Emocore Forever

What can I say more about the classic overlooked band Sunny Day Real Estate, in 1992 The
band we know today as SDRE (Sunny Day Real Estate) formed when Dan Hoener and Nate
Mendel became housemates at the University Of Washington, they released a few demos and
eventually decided to invite a drummer William Goldsmith to the lineup. Later while Mendel was
on tour they decided to add Jeremy Engik to the lineup. The band’s first release was one by
West Coast powerhouse Sub pop Records and would go on to change the sound of “Emocore”
forever. In my personal opinion, the album Diary is in my top 10 albums of all time.
This album is jam-packed full of emotion, subtle lyricism, and timeless guitar riffs. Just look at
the first song on this album Seven, The dynamics displayed by SDRE keep you weaving in and
out of Jeremy Engik’s emotionally longing lyrics. The bass on this song is powerful, its not loud
yet its subtle, catchy, and adds a distinct flare to this song that keeps the energy flowing
throughout the entire album.
We can see this in the second second In Circles which has received the most attention from this
album, it’s a great song, not my personal favorite but near perfect in the way it captures this
emptiness of youth. It’s one of those songs that helped define SDRE as the leading force in the
“second wave” of Emo
I love every part of this album and it is stupidly confusing and genius production, songs like
Seven are funny to me because the fact is the number 7 seems to have no correlation to the
lyrics or song at all, so when you listen to the song and get hit with this wave of soul-crushing
tonality it makes you love the band even more.
To me this album is one that is hard to be topped in the genre, and something that personally
changed my entire perspective on music.
Some of my favorite songs from this album are, Sometimes, 48, Pheurton Skuerto, and In
Circles. One criticism I have for this album really comes down to how sad it is, it’s one of those
albums that is praised for how it influenced its genre, but for a casual listener who might stumble
upon the band or this album; I could see this criticism being made. Its cringe, it’s one of those
albums you cant play with your mom in the car, or cant sing in public. If you look at the lyrics on
this album they are all pretty melancholic, but something about Jeremy Engik’s lyrics stick with
me throughout my days and keeps me listening to and singing these lyrics in public.
10/10 album.