in rememberance - The Sense

I've never been a fan of poppy punk, despite (still) owning the Green Day and Offspring tapes requisite to any seventh grader circa 1993. It'd be fair, in fact, to say I just about hate it, and that's why my appreciation for Jamestown's THE SENSE always seemed so profound. Led by singer Steve Delk, who sounds a good deal like Bad Religion's Greg Graffin and has among the finest live singing voices in the city, The Sense played impassioned pop-punkish rock that didn't limit itself aesthetically; towards the end of the band, in fact, you could very clearly hear elements of new influences creeping into the music, but never betraying the songs or sounding anything like a logical progression, which highlights just how good they were to begin with. The best of their songs are phenomenal; the players compliment each other well, and meet in the service of a damn good song. It was different musical directions, though, that seemed to have gotten the best of The Sense in the end; they split up in the spring of 2005 after briefly renaming themselves City Of Traitors for a final EP. Joey, Kirk and Mike kept the City Of Traitors moniker for their doomish slowcore project, while Doug and Steve founded Diesel And Dust.

Discography: The Sense EP; City Of Traitors EP (both available via the City Of Traitors site); "Wish You Well" on El Deth's Sunspheric Sounds comp

RIYL: Texas Is The Reason, Bad Religion, Hot Water Music

MP3: "Bloodlust Discotheque" (3:33)
MP3: "The Problem With Perspective" (3:18)