The Anniversary & Proudentall
Split

Do you like splits? In my opinion, they should be evaluated in a dual manner: on one hand, the downside is that they are often short, presenting only a few tracks and thus not revealing much about the bands participating in the split. On the upside, they are generally produced when the bands deciding to collaborate are unknown or nearly so and, therefore, are raw gems, full of potential yet to be expressed. They have just emerged from the basement or garage where they practiced for a long time and attempt to record an EP with the little money they have, free from recording demands and the pressures of confirming something. 

For this EP, exactly what was mentioned above happened: Proudentall and The Anniversary joined forces at the beginnings of their respective careers and recorded a raw EP, which remained niche, difficult to find, a split that represents the first real recording for The Anniversary and the second 7" for Proudentall. Both bands, now disbanded, originated from the Kansas area in the United States of America. Unfortunately, the split features only two tracks: "All Right For Now" by The Anniversary, and "Say Something" by Proudentall. Understandably, it is brief, but it tells us a lot about the two bands. Both are dedicated to well-played Emo, a Second Wave Emo, the '90s style à la Mineral, Braid, Cap'n Jazz, so to speak. 

Between "All Right For Now" and "Say Something", undoubtedly the former can leave a more lasting impression for its greater "drive," while the latter is calmer, reflective, more subterranean. From this 1998 split, The Anniversary seems to stand out better, their track being sensational, undoubtedly among the best outputs of the American Emo scene. But one should not be misled: Proudentall, especially with their first self-titled 7" from '97, offered a sound equally interesting and that, ultimately, would surpass that of The Anniversary, who, from the moment they released their first real album, "Designing A Nervous Breakdown," veered towards a much more Pop Emo, with hints of Indie-Rock, significantly diverging from the more aggressive sound of this 1998 "Split" and from those couple of EPs they recorded before 2000, the year of the aforementioned album. 

For lovers of what true Emo was, the one derived from late '80s Hardcore, this "Split" can be a good (albeit brief) listen of those sounds from the American alternative scene that, beneath it all, influenced dozens of groups that followed.