We don’t talk much about music at Gadzooki. But today marks the launch of Jeremy Enigk’s second solo album, World Waits, and I simply couldn’t resist spreading the word.
You see, in my view, Enigk is one of the few musical geniuses of the past 2 decades. His voice is perhaps the most distinctive in modern rock but he’s been heard by far too few people. That’s partly to blame on his unwillingness to “play the game” of self-marketing.
Jeremy Enigk emerged as the frontman for the hugely influential Seattle band Sunny Day Real Estate in early 1990s. That band is often credited with birthing the genre of emo, though Jeremy thinks it’s a myth. Regardless, countless bands in today’s market cite Sunny Day as one of their primary influences.
Despite their high influence, and critical acclaim, Sunny Day Real Estate never became a commercial success. After a few albums, Jeremy Enigk became a Christian and the band broke up. That’s when Enigk put out what I consider his masterpiece solo album Return of the Frog Queen. There aren’t many albums that I would consider timeless works of art, but there’s no doubt about this one. Pure musical genius.
After Enigk’s solo album, Sunny Day later reunited for two more solid albums, How It Feels To Be Something On and the Rising Tide though many felt that The Rising Tide was too much of a departure from their roots. The band then disbanded over creative differences, this time for good.
Shortly thereafter, 3 of the 4 members of Sunny Day Real Estate reunited in a band called The Fire Theft and subsequently put out a superb album by the same name. Following this album, Enigk wrote original songs for the feature length film The United States of Leland.
That’s a little background for ya. But without further ado, I implore you to check out the brand new album from Mr. Enigk entitled World Waits. You won’t be disappointed. And while you’re at it, make sure to check out his old stuff too.