Scarves - Dinner Dates for the End of Days

It seems that Brooklyn trio Scarves and their latest album Dinner Dates for the end of Days have been put into a genre pigeonhole: math rock/emo/punk. Whatever that is supposed to mean anyway. I understand the intention is to draw the fans of those genres that often cross over, but what about those that are not?

Well, they might miss upon a very interesting band that has yet another, more general, and frankly more appropriate genre tag, Art Pop. On the evidence of this album, Scarves do touch on math rock, emo, punk, but have also incorporated so much into their sound that their seemingly sparse guitar/vocals/rhythm section touches on much more, in a way comparable to Yo La Tengo when they go for a more fired up sound.

Songs like “No Names”, “Sweet Tooth” and “Arrows” have more nuances than any ‘regular’ math rock band (those often have too many of those) or emo screamers guitarist Nessa Grassing who provides the vocals, luckily finds no reason to scream or shout.

What is also quite impressive is that most of these songs were done in one take (highlighted by an unobtrusive production job by Hutch Harris of The Thermals), presenting the trio as a tight, well-oiled unit that can go through their quirky movements with ease. They seem like a band that needs to be seen live.

Judging by the lyrics, frontman/main songwriter Niko Stathakopoulos (the trio is completed by Cale Watts on drums), has quite a dystopian vision, reflecting much of what is going on these days, and which fits the band's overall instrumental sound.

Bleak visions somehow fit even better as the album slips into its slower, concluding tracks like “You’re Ugly Too” and the excellent “Icarus”, which make it a very engaging listen, with at least one bright promise - Scarves are a band to watch.