90s Album Thread: The Promise Ring “Nothing Feels Good” (1997)
Is this thing on?
In the late 90s, “Emo” was upon us. I’ve always found the term for this type of music to be kind of dumb. Isn’t all music emotional?
What became clearer over time was that “Emo” really amounted to Over-Emo. And as I was approaching 30, I found it tricky to latch onto a slew of neo-punks quietly shouting, “Life sucks, let’s rock!”. I was getting older, and well, I guess this music wasn’t really for me.
However, there was a small number of these bands I enjoyed. I’ve mentioned Jimmy Eat World as being one of them. Another is a band from Wisconsin who was often their touring partner.
I bought The Promise Ring’s “Nothing Feels Good” at Newbury Comics in Boston, MN, upon a friend's recommendation. And puns aside, it struck a chord. Unlike some of their counterparts, The Promise Ring transcended their emo stamp to craft some really good songs and piece them together in a way that didn’t feel like they were trying to convince me they were miserable in order to turn a profit. And the trajectory of this band was certainly emotional, to say the least. A constant shifting of…
