I haven't picked up In Defense of the Genre, but knowing my proclivities and my love for Max Bemis et al., I'm probably going to be gushing about it someday soon, all up in here.

I know they have been (trying to be) around a while, but I only heard about them shortly before ...Is a Real Boy was released. I have to say that I was completely smitten with it right off the bat. Max has such a great angular, start/stop dynamic to his lyrics. He seems to be able to talk about emo matters in a meta-cognitive (meta-emotional?) way, while still being in the thick of it. If emo is to evolve as a genre, I'm pretty sure this is where it'll have to go.

So, he seems like a leader, a rebel, and an intellectual at the same time. I saw them open for My Chem last year, and, in retrospect, they may have shown them up. They had amazing energy and Max was just SO into it. He really seemed to be enjoying himself beyond reason. Consequently, so did I :)

He's a brusk emo philosopher with wink-and-nod wisdom to share. I'd say pay attention, because he might be our (the emos) only hope. Srsly.

I just babbled through this, didn't I? I'm getting Defense, TODAY.