Say Anything

It's fitting that Say Anything singer Max Bemis has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In Defense Of the Genre is a double-album with split personalities: the first half shows the LA band spreading its musical wings with operatic prog and angular new wave; the second sees them defending their roots as emo denizens. The lyrical tone, however, is more consistent: "Shiksa (Girlfriend)," "Retarded In Love" and "You're the Wanker, If Anyone Is" are laden with high schoolish relationship drama and make you wonder when Bemis' band-mates will finally tell him, "Just get over her, dude."

Emo dudes vary the heartbreak guitars with string ballads and a faux show tune for years,
say anything leader Max Bemis has had to deal with bipolar disorder, but judging by his
band's third album, he's got something else to gripe about -- namely, bad, bad love. Loosely
based on one of Bemis' own relationships, the album mostly sticks to serrated emo but
ranges from big, string-laden ballads ("Plea") to a faux show tune ("That Is Why").... More >