Emo has become so pervasive (and so mall-friendly) that it’s developed a bad rap over the last five years or so, but anyone who weathered the bored detachment and smirking irony of the ‘90s could tell you that a little impassioned screaming isn’t such a bad thing once in a while. The best of the emo bands understand what Springsteen always has: Even if rock & roll can’t really save your life, sometimes it really feels like it can, and that’s enough to get you through a few dark nights of the soul. Tommy Harrington, frontman for Portland’s Wanteds, gets it, and even if he isn’t the greatest singer in the world – or whichever city block he happens to be standing on at any given moment – and his songwriting isn’t always up to par, he’s got the blood-curdling intensity thing down pat, and that – along with the band’s penchant for playing loud, live, and just long enough to keep from wearing out its welcome – rescues Failure Looks So Good from the Vans rock ash heap. Harrington says the record makes him feel the way he did when he heard Appetite for Destruction and Nevermind, which is a hell of a lot more than it’ll do for you, but you can’t fault him for his chutzpah, and he’s got the right idea. Lord only knows what he’ll write about if Harrington ever finds what he’s looking for, but in the meantime, this is a record well worth turning up. (Ultra Mookie 2008)
