ORCHID - Orchid LP (Tan Vinyl)

Label: Ebullition Records

Orchid’s self titled and final LP is a difficult beast to tame. Those unfamiliar with the style of the group and most 90s screamo as a whole will be taken aback by it. Bite sized songs with screeching, out of control guitars and drums and high pitched screaming vocals belting out often completely unintelligible lyrics. Still, 90s screamo has an incredibly dedicated underground fan base, and Orchid is one of the bands held in extreme high regard in the scene. Releasing just three short albums in their time together (along with several splits), the group’s total amount of music released in their life time only hits around an hour and a bit. While their early work was suitably abrasive emoviolence, their final LP is where they started to expand their pallet.

This is one of the greatest screamo records of the 21st century, perhaps even ever. It’s a rough, but supremely well crafted emotional tour de force which kicks you down and never lets go for the short 25 minute runtime. It’s painful, uncomfortable but god damn spectacular. Highly recommended.