''Look Now Look Again'' is the second studio album by American
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
band
Rainer Maria
Rainer Maria is an American emo band from Madison, Wisconsin, later residing in Brooklyn, New York. The band was originally active from 1995 to 2006 and reunited in 2014. They have released six full-length albums, a live DVD, and numerous liv ...
. It is now regarded as an influential classic of
second-wave emo.
Critical reception and legacy
In recent years, ''Look''s critical standing has remained positive. In a review of its 2018 reissue, ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
''s Jenn Pelly deemed it one of
second-wave emo's greatest albums, calling it "a undeniable classic of a time when
he genrebroadcasted an ethic of intelligence." She saw the album pave the musical groundwork for future bands like
Rilo Kiley
Rilo Kiley ( ) is an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consists of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Jason Boesel.
The group released their debut album '' Take-Offs and Landing ...
,
Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004. Since 2017, the band's lineup includes lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of ...
, and
Camp Cope
Camp Cope were an Australian alternative rock band formed in 2015 in Melbourne, Victoria. The group's lineup consisted of lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Georgia "Georgia Maq" McDonald, bassist Kelly-Dawn "Kelso" Hellmrich, and drummer S ...
.
[ In 2020, '']Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...
'' included ''Look'' on their list of emo's 20 best albums released before the 2000s. The site's Ryan De Freitas dubbed it "a bona fide classic of the genre".Noisey
''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. It was founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, and its founders later launched the youth media company ...
'' list, Matt Lunsford
Matt Lunsford is the founder and co-owner of Polyvinyl Record Co., an American independent record label headquartered in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.
Early years
In 1994, while attending high school in Danville, Illinois, Lunsford and his then ...
, the co-founder of ''Look''s record label Polyvinyl
In polymer chemistry, vinyl polymers are a group of polymers derived from substituted vinyl () monomers. Their backbone is an extended alkane chain . In popular usage, "vinyl" refers only to polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Examples
Vinyl polymers are ...
, placed it tenth out of what he believed the label's 10 most important releases. The following year, ''Stereogum
''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...
''s Ian Cohen referred to ''Look'' as one Polyvinyl's "formative documents" of Midwest emo
Midwest emo (or Midwestern emo) is a subgenre and scene of emo music that emerged in the Midwestern United States during the 1990s. Employing unconventional vocal stylings, distinct guitar riffs and arpeggiated melodies, Midwest emo bands shift ...
alongside Braid
A braid (also referred to as a plait; ) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing three or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair.
The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strand ...
's ''Frame & Canvas
''Frame & Canvas'' is the third studio album by American rock band Braid. It was released on April 7, 1998, through Polyvinyl Record Co. After the release of the band's second studio album, '' The Age of Octeen'' (1996), drummer Damon Atkinso ...
'' and American Football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
's self-titled debut.
Track listing
All songs by Rainer Maria.
#"Rise" – 4:18
#"Planetary" – 5:21
#"Broken Radio" – 3:11
#"Feeling Neglected?" – 4:43
#"Breakfast of Champions" – 3:37
#"The Reason The Night Is Long" – 3:48
#"Lost, Dropped and Cancelled" – 2:45
#"Centrifuge" – 3:37
#"I'm Melting!" – 3:14
Personnel
*Caithlin De Marrais – bass/vocals
*Kaia Fischer – guitar/vocals
*William Kuehn – drums
*Mark Haines – producer, engineer
*Elliot Dicks – producer
*John Golden – mastering
References
{{Authority control
Rainer Maria albums
1999 albums
Polyvinyl Record Co. albums