"mEMOries" Part 38 feat. Counsels

11 years ago, back on the old site, we did start a series called mEMOries. It was all about asking new Emo-bands or other scene affiliates about their all time favourite (Midwest-)Emo-record. It was about nostalgia. And it was about connecting the new with the old. I had big plans for this series, wanted to collect 20 parts and then release some sort of a sampler with an XL-booklet attached, that features all of the text pieces...

...after 7 parts the series was buried, when the end of borderline fuckup 1.0 was on the horizon. I'm still in love with the idea and tried my best to start a relaunch in 2021, but it mainly was a chore. However, I got back on track somehow, with a lot of support by some lovely people. Now, here's part 38 for your reading pleasure!

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// The band // Counsels

COUNSELS from Leipzig, Germany are among the most promising Indie/Emo-bands in all of Europe right now. Despite being a band for five years only, they already released four EPs, most recently their 2024's "Resign/Align". And the good thing is: They're getting better with each output. Their vocalist/guitarist Joscha sat down for "mEMOries" Part 38 to write something about his all time favorite Emo-record...

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// The record // Mom Jeans. - Best Buds

Release: 2016 // Label: Counter Intuitive Records

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Joscha on "Best Buds" by Mom Jeans.

When it comes to art, I can be pretentious sometimes. So, when I was asked to write something about my favourite Emo album of all time, I briefly considered writing about 'Nothing Feels Good' by The Promise Ring and highlighting all those Sylvia Plath references in 'Forget Me'. Well, I love those songs as much as I love some of her poems, but I have to be honest with myself. And the truth is, the Emo album that had the biggest influence on me is 'Best Buds' by Mom Jeans.

In late 2017 I heard about American Football for the first time and thus started my journey to forming another band. At the time I was playing in a Post-Rock influenced band and took music very seriously. Not making music, unfortunately, because we rehearsed only on Saturdays and everybody was hungover from Friday night, but music in general. I was obsessed with Joy Division and loved all those dark bands. I was convinced that lyrics needed to have a deeper meaning. I was kind of a bitter person when it came to writing music.

That changed, paradoxically, when my Emo phase began. After discovering American Football, I started digging through different Emo playlists on Spotify and discovered all those bands that I came to love: The Hotelier, Pinegrove, Tigers Jaw, Turnover… and Mom Jeans. 'Edward 40hands' was the first song I heard and I became obsessed with it. I thought it was the catchiest song ever. I remember hanging out with my friends one night when I must have played it at least ten times. And the funny thing is, they weren’t really annoyed. At least I think they weren’t, because after a few weeks most of them were listening to Mom Jeans, too. Somehow, for me it felt a bit like discovering Green Day for the second time.

Through the summer of 2018, I listened to that album almost every day. At the last gig with my band at the time I even played 'Movember' acoustically. The songs on 'Best Buds' were so fun, catchy, relatable and simple that I wanted to write songs like that myself. So, when I left home in late 2018 to study psychology, I was on the lookout for a new band. After a very brief intermezzo with a local hardcore band, I posted an ad in a Facebook group of musicians from Leipzig. Timo (former guitarist, now the drummer in Counsels) responded and we met up to jam in April of 2019. We quickly uncovered a crazy coincidence: Mom Jeans had played their first European Tour in early 2019 and had stopped in Münster, which is not far from my home town. At the time I was still at home on Christmas break and had been there with my friends, whom I had shown Mom Jeans in the first place. And he had been there too all the way from Leipzig. I went through videos from the show and spotted his unmistakable head of curls in front of me. Before even arriving at the rehearsal space and picking up our guitars, we decided to make music like Mom Jeans.

The chemistry was there and we became a band. During the first months we wrote a new song almost every time we met and by August, we started recording our first EP by ourselves. Having no clue what we were doing, it didn’t turn out very good. I think the guy who mixed it got the best out of what we delivered him though. Anyway, I’m not here to talk shit about our first release. It is a screenshot of time, and I’m glad we recorded it. But what I really want to say is that Counsels might not have happened without Mom Jeans. The influence isn’t that apparent anymore, I think Tigers Jaw took their place now, but what these guys from the Bay Area created is still the foundation on which our band was built on.

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"mEMOries" Part 1 feat. Mosey Jones
"mEMOries" Part 2 feat. Daniel Becker (Time as a Color Records, Amid the Old Wounds)
"mEMOries" Part 3 feat. Former States 
"mEMOries" Part 4 feat. Edie Quinn (Middle-Man Records, Coma Regalia)
"mEMOries" Part 5 feat. Human Hands 
"mEMOries" Part 6 feat. Alex Miles (Is this Thing on?)
"mEMOries" Part 7 feat. Boys' Club
"mEMOries" Part 8 feat. Keith Latinen (Mt. Oriander, Parting) 
"mEMOries" Part 9 feat. Villain of the War 
"mEMOries" Part 10 feat. John Szuch (Deep Elm Records)
"mEMOries" Part 11 feat. Flight Mode 
"mEMOries" Part 12 feat. Comic Sans
"mEMOries" Part 13 feat. Joe C (What Price Wonderland?, Plaids, Zochor)
"mEMOries" Part 14 feat. Mentah 
"mEMOries" Part 15 feat. Walking Race
"mEMOries" Part 16 feat. Against Realism
"mEMOries" Part 17 feat. Klaus Axmann (Goddamn Records) 
"mEMOries" Part 18 feat. Atlanta Arrival 
"mEMOries" Part 19 feat. Mary's Letter
"mEMOries" Part 20 feat. Sinking 
"mEMOries" Part 21 feat. Lakes
"mEMOries" Part 22 feat. Downhaul
"mEMOries" Part 23 feat. About Leaving
"mEMOries" Part 24 feat. The Arrival Note
"mEMOries" Part 25 feat. Letterpress 
"mEMOries" Part 26 feat. Mr. Princess
"mEMOries" Part 27 feat. Tragwag 
"mEMOries" Part 28 feat. soccer. 
"mEMOries" Part 29 feat. c.h.point (Summer 2000, Elder Jack)
"mEMOries" Part 30 feat. Time Spent Driving
"mEMOries" Part 31 feat. Bicycle Inn
"mEMOries" Part 32 feat. Achers
"mEMOries" Part 33 feat. Jonathan Lee Gonzales (Sunday Drive Records)
"mEMOries" Part 34 feat. Fortyten (Drifting with the Ice)
"mEMOries" Part 35 feat. David of RealoEmo
"mEMOries" Part 36 feat. Chelsea of Sadder Star
"mEMOries" Part 37 feat. Anthony of A Fan's POV