Like a divergent path in an alternate future, Connecticut emo revivalists
Sorority Noise offer up
YNAAYT, a complete acoustic reworking of their 2017 LP,
You're Not as _____ as You Think.
Aside from swapping out the original track "Where Are You" for a cover of
Leonard Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" and the lo-fi closer, "New Room" for its tonal twin "Windowww," this newly recorded collection mirrors its source material, though the subdued and largely organic arrangements make for a far different experience. A continued exploration of frontman Cameron Boucher's grief over the death of several close friends, the full electric version wore its catharsis in full open-chested emo glory, mercurially dipping from gentle measures to raw fury for its duration. In shedding its electric layers,
YNAAYT places Boucher's material under the microscope, emphasizing its vulnerability without the aid of volume. Replacing screams with strings, opener "No Halo" becomes a delicate elegy with an untethered mistiness to it. Some tracks, like the already mellow "First Letter from St. Sean," feel a bit redundant in their new guise, which basically just removes the electric guitars. More creatively reimagined is "A Better Sun," which gets a very nice organ treatment, transforming it into something more effective than its original. As a whole,
YNAAYT meanders quite a bit, getting lost in its own melancholia, though as a companion piece to its original form, it has plenty to offer. ~ Timothy Monger