Braid

Add Date: August 16 

Artist: Braid 

Album: Closer to Closed (EP) 

Label: Polyvinyl 

Genre: Rock 

Comments: The seminal '90s Illinois band Braid returns with the Closer to Closed EP, the band's first release since its 1999 breakup. Often grouped with the likes of Sunny Day Real Estate and The Get Up Kids as progenitors of emo--a genre that was later warped and given a bad rep by pop-oriented followers--Braid takes a turn toward indie rock on this 4-song set, which sends them more in the direction of bands like Pinback and Joan of Arc. Try tracks 1 and 3.