Sport – Bon Voyage

January 1, 2014 • self-released

Midwest emo left its roots and crossed the Atlantic quite a few years ago, but it's still really cool to hear bands from other countries grabbing onto the style and playing it as if it were first nature. French band Sport's debut Colors is great but they're definitely hitting on something special with its followup. Bon Voyage is the first (and, so far, only) record from 2014 I've heard. If it's at all indicative of how this year is going to go for emo (let alone music in general), color me damn excited.

Sport does the genre in a fairly standard style but with a slightly harder edge to it—heavier post-hardcore-influenced drumming, lots of stop-start rhythms, strained gang vocals, a delicious grindy bass sound. There's a lot of different things going on to keep the sound fresh, too; just in "André the Giant" you have this fast screamo-style beat that shifts to this more introspective, tame sound. It all fits together quite well. Even the album's construction itself is a bit crazy as the songs flow right into each other and the passion with which they play barely lets up.

True, they aren't bringing anything fresh to the scene on this album. The slightly math-rock guitar lines and twinkly riffs and spastic arrangements are all nothing new. But the way Sport plays, the catchiness and the raw intensity and emotion, it all strikes that part of my brain in just the right way that sends shivers through me. The math-rock lines are moving and triumphant. Those twinkly riffs are so intricate and beautiful. It's full of those moments where something just clicks and I get enraptured and can't do anything but sit there and listen.

It goes to show how far this scene has come and how well it's been tweaked and refined over just the last couple of years into something than can consistently wow me. I don't really think this will be near my top albums of this upcoming year, but even if it did I wouldn't be mad.