Cool Hand Luke

#4 from the ‘98 greats. __________________

Mineral was one of the most important bands I ever encountered. There was something very honest about Mineral’s music and specifically Christopher Simpson’s lyrics. Despite pitchy vocals and less-than-great recordings, End Serenading is one of the most powerful, evocative records I have ever heard.

Mineral were among the first bands to be called “emo”, a sound that would be imitated and degenerated for the next five or six years until mutating into the disgusting beast that it is today. Mineral’s sound was driven by the interplay of Christopher Simpson and Scott McCarver’s clean guitars and the band’s soft-to-loud dynamics. There were long instrumental bits that built a wall of goose bumps. This record gave me chills the first time I ever heard it, and I can say without shame that often it has brought me to tears.

Simpson’s lyrics are what moved me the most. Mineral was the first band that I could love wholly—music and lyrics. Mineral was never considered a Christian band (they were on a secular label touring bars with Jimmy Eat World and The Get Up Kids), but Simpson’s lyrics spoke of his faith in Christ and his love for his family. I got the impression that he didn’t have any agenda in his writing besides communicating ideas that were important to him with passion and beauty.

To see how Mineral inspired Cool Hand Luke, listen to “Sideways”. That was our emo power ballad back in the day. (I’m sort of joking.) It was dripping with Mineral influence from the guitars, to the drums, to the vocal delivery. I probably listened to End Serenading more than any other record during the first years of Cool Hand Luke. If you haven’t heard End Serenading, come to it with open ears and the understanding that indie rock bands in 1998 didn’t have big budgets or Pro Tools. There is something special in this record that I’ve never found anywhere else. I hope you will, too.