Sunny Day Real Estate brought emo to the mainstream with Diary in 1994, and LP2 is the 1995 follow-up that showcases the band experimenting with its sound. This may or may not have been intentional, however; by the time LP2 dropped, Sunny Day Real Estate had disbanded for about a month. The disparities that broke up the group obviously influenced LP2, and it's the very imperfections and the record's shaky ties to Diary (some of the tracks—"8," "Friday," "Rodeo Jones"—are spillovers from Diary sessions) that make the album a must-listen for fans. The sentiments are more raw, and the music haphazardly moves beyond the punk framework that defined Diary, and the lyrics, although half-formed in some cases, leave a lot to the interpretation of the listener, which works in the project's favor. Is LP2 as influential as its predecessor? Probably not, but it nevertheless is an important chapter of SDRE's catalog.

• black double vinyl pressing
• remastered from the original master tapes
• features 2 bonus tracks remixed by producer Brad Wood
• digital download code
• original release year: 1995
• music label: Sub Pop 2018

reviewed by rei kwondo 05/2018