When a band calls itself
Coretta Scott, students of politics cannot help but notice the name. Coretta Scott King was, after all, the wife of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. -- undeniably one of the most important and consequential civil rights leaders of the 20th century (along with Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, Medgar Evers, and Mahatma Gandhi). One naturally assumes that a band named
Coretta Scott has some type of political focus -- perhaps a reggae band, perhaps some members of the Black Rock Coalition (BRC), perhaps something along the lines of
U2 and Bono. But
Scream and Shout, surprisingly, isn't a political album, and
Coretta Scott is far from a reggae band. Actually, this alternative pop/rock effort is on the emo side of punk-pop; the lyrics are about emotions and the ups and downs of romantic relationships, not politics -- and the valid comparisons include
Jimmy Eat World and
Good Charlotte, not
Black Uhuru,
Rita Marley, or
Gil Scott-Heron. Melodic yet hard-driving,
Scream and Shout is quite typical of the alternative/emo discs that combine introspective lyrics with extroverted melodies -- a combination that would have been considered unlikely back in the arena rock climate of the '70s and '80s but has been quite common in the post-
Nevermind '90s and in the 21st century.
Scream and Shout falls short of remarkable and isn't in a class with
Good Charlotte's best work, but it isn't a bad or weak album either -- slightly uneven, but not weak or bad. Overall, this disc indicates that the not-so-political
Coretta Scott is worth keeping an eye on. ~ Alex Henderson