Grapthar's Song of the Day: At the Drive-In 'Rasuache'

grapthar (74)in #music • 5 years ago

At the Drive-In - Rasuache

At the Drive-In are one of my

all time favorite bands, and were a major influence on me when I began playing guitar at the beginning of high school. They were formed in 1994 in El Paso, Texas by Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (guitar), Tony Hajjar (drums), and Keeley Davis (guitar), though he was replaced by Jim Ward, rounding out their lineup until the band's breakup in 2001. They began as sort of a post-hardcore/emo band, but over time began experimenting with stranger, more complex harmonic and rhythmic ideas, and developed an incredibly unique sound.

Listen to Rasuache by At the Drive-In here.

This song is the opening

track on their 1999 E.P., Vaya. The album before this, In/Casino/Out, still retained some of the early punk/emo ideas, but they made a major change around this time, and on their subsequent full length release, Relationship of Command. They began using way more guitar and bass effects, in addition to programmed drums and synths of various sorts, and created songs like this one. The chorus section gets pretty intense, showing their roots, but the verses have a really unique timbre and quality to them that really doesn't sound like any other band to my ears.