58: Sunny Day Real Estate’s Diary (1994)

They were from Seattle, they signed to Sub Pop, but they had nothing in common with their grunge contemporaries. Jeremy Enigk wrote songs that were perfect for lovey mix tapes if it wasn’t for the fact that they were all about God, and Will Goldsmith, their incredibly talented drummer (listen closely to LP2, it’s some of the most intricate and finely tuned drumming ever) Will Goldsmith (along with bassist Nate Mendel) left the band for the Foo Fighters, but in between all that drama, Sunny Day Real Estate wrote the emo album of the ’90s with Diary and followed up with LP2, a shockingly mature sophomore effort. To call it emo is shortchanging it, even though Enigk’s vocals were possibly the most vulnerable and distinctive in rock music at the time, and the songs themselves weren’t simply emotive – they were gritty and thick and assaulting, too. Gorgeous. You’ve got a second chance to realize all this wonder this year, as Sunny Day reform and tour.

Sunny Day Real Estate: “In Circles” (mp3)