Reach Out was a hardcore band from Northern California. Along with Sleeping Body and Honeywell; Reach Out was one of the pioneering bands in the shrieky, chaotic vein of hardcore that would later be known as "screamo". Starting out in 1992 and dissolving in 1993; Reach Out managed to record 7 studio tracks for vinyl releases, a few practice demos and a few live tapes. Their material is desperate, emotive and exploding at the seams; Reach Out is one of the only bands I am aware of that uses the Jerome's Dream style of shrieking (the muppet screams... lol) this early on. In sound and structure, Reach Out was obviously heavily influenced by new-school hardcore bands like Downcast and Born Against. They are a clear missing link between that early era of D.I.Y hardcore and the mid 90s "emocore" sound in riffs, political spirit, screams and lyrical content.
Even though it is evident Reach Out was one of the more influential "screamo" bands of the early 90s, I feel they are often overlooked and under-appreciated. I rarely see posts dedicated to Reach Out on emo archival blogs and the like. If you are interested in the history of "screamo" or are a fan of the genre in general, I would highly recommend listening to Reach Out to get a better idea of the progression of "screamo" in the early 90s. I wish this band was more thoroughly documented, but at least we have the practice tapes and live tapes as context to their undeniable legacy.
Reach Out 7" 1994 (The Great American Steak Religion)
Honeywell Split 7" 1993 (Anomaly)
In Memory Of Jason 12" Compilation 1996 (Monopoly)
2 comments:
Thanks for posting this. I played in Lost Ground which played a few times with Reach Out. Lots of memories...
Those must have been some great shows. Did Lost Ground ever record anything?
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