Far never got the recognition they deserved until after they broke up in 1999. Even when they managed to make a short comeback between 2008 and 2010, people realized their importance after they were gone -- again. The band were an important and influential act to the post-hardcore and early emo scene of the late 90's and early 2000's. Far did leave a trail of great songs and albums behind them, none more important and greater than 1997's
Water and Solutions. The record, which hears singer
Jonah Matranga bear his soul (before his solo career as
onelinedrawing or in bands like
Gratitude and his work under his own name) coupled with the noise and brilliant guitar work of
Shaun Lopez (Who would later go on and form
Crosses with
Deftones frontman
Chino Moreno), Far released a record that wouldn't be treasured until years after it's release.
Water and Solutions was their fourth and best record and took the sounds of 90's angst and gave it a spin that the emerging decade would embrace and that was simply -- emotion. It wasn't screaming, it wasn't someone just pouring out their feelings, it was more than that. You felt it because the guys making the record felt it to. Songs like "Mother Mary," "Man Overboard," "Bury White," "I Like It," "Wear it So Well," and "Waiting for Sunday," were songs ripped from the headlines of your life and put to music. Even now, nearly 20 years later, it still strikes an emotional chord. Despite not selling many copies,
Water and Solutions might be one of the most overlooked records of the 90's and the best record of the early Millennium that came out a few years too early.
