CUNI - PRESCRIBED BURN REVIEW

If you know the first thing about emo music, hot topic, scene kids, or the adjacent slush of genres and styles, you know that Washington DC is a Mecca of sorts for emo. DC is the birthplace of the persistently memed "Real Emo" under the reign of classic bands like Rites of Spring or Embrace. Midwest Emo, Screamo, Math Rock, Skramz, and Emocore all came along later, branching out as permutations of one initial sound based in self-reflective, emotional lyricism and powerful guitar riffs. With that said, it's exceedingly rare that a DIY band their genre's relative the center of the universe can do anything without being thought of as copycats, and as much as the influences are clear and the intent is familiar, Cuni's exacting blend of subgenres and ideas is pretty fresh on Prescribed Burn.

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The openers, "Intro" and "YDNMA", don't bleed into one big opener, serving as separate pieces of music, which you wouldn't expect from the track listing. The takeaway from the album's early minutes is clear: with Cuni, no stone goes unturned. Nothing on this record is done half-hearted, no songs are merged together. Prescribed Burn is, appropriately, cooked all the way through and emotionally resonant from start to finish. The drums push forward and the crushing layers of guitar and bass crash ahead, twinkling as bright as they can when the shouting vocals leave a gap to shred in. Mind you, the aforementioned shredding and tapping are not insignificant by any stretch - the complexity is very real and in your face on this record, especially in the guitar realm.

Prescribed Burn is not the ambient, sorrowful work of twinkle emo bands. There are several strong bridges and interesting song structure choices, but this record is not needlessly complex math rock. It's not dedicated to the memory of the straightforward shout-along choruses of the earliest emo bands. It's not quite as bleak and doomy as a lot of bands in Screamo and Skramz today either, despite touting lyricism with intensity and intention on par with those releases. The screaming here isn't metal at all, it's divested in the world of Metalcore and the constant push to make noises that sound like a blender with the human vocal cords. Prescribed Burn pulls as much from enshrined post-hardcore/emo classics like Title Fight, Citizen, or Touche Amore as it does more recent bands in the same vein like Michael Cera Palin, Flight Patterns, or fellow Maryland natives Knope. This record is an emo chameleon of sorts, lo-fi enough to be endearing but well-recorded enough to be well-equipped for repeated re-listens - especially sitting at 35 minutes in total length. If you enjoy even one of the influences or references mentioned above, you'll find something to like on Cuni's Prescribed Burn.