Finch
What It Is To Burn

THE REVIEW

Tufts, little skulls, intrusive and pointless screams, and other extremely annoying elements. All this did not exist yet in 2002. The Emo of bands like Mineral and Sunny Day Real Estate had vanished from the scene, and the name of the genre had not yet been "stolen." That's right, we were still a few years away from the emergence of some well-known shaggy and brOOtal puppets. We are in the period when bands that, so to speak, precede this genre are emerging, even if they don't have much in common with it. "The Illusion of Safety" by Thrice, "Alexisonfire" by Alexisonfire, and "What Is It To Burn" by Finch are coming out, albums that will influence and foreshadow a whole certain type of 2000s Post-Hardcore/Emocore. Needless to say, they represent the pinnacle of this genre (well, if we want to categorize them in it). A pinnacle already reached at the start. 

"What Is It To Burn" by Finch is one of these records, we're talking about a very youthful genre (the lyrics of this album are evidence of that), but at that time it was still not trivial but still genuine and respectable. It still is today, especially in comparison to its subsequent products. With the second record, they will move away from this style.

But "What Is It To Burn" remains one of the highest peaks within its scene. Let's forget whininess and banality that some might expect when hearing about this album; here we are at the origin of the scene, and in this case, the best period, nothing plastic even in the more "pop" tracks like "Stay With Me," perhaps the most "any American teenager" style piece of the record but not for this reason with an already seen melody and not engaging nor where they start with "New Beginnings" where the band summarizes a bit of its style, nor in the blow that is "Project Mayhem," the most aggressive and at the same time longest and, if we want, also the most experimental track of the record. "Three Simple Words" also deserves a mention as it embodies the style of the record very well, as does the opener and especially "Perfection Through Silence," perhaps the best. Also excellent is the closing of the album "Ender": a ballad in crescendo with plenty of piano and electronic digressions, probably one of the band's best performances. 

It is certainly not an album to be burned.