Manchester Orchestra scratched that emo itch at ACL Fest

What do you do when you go from precocious songwriter to mid-30s guy who grows a beard, gets weird and disappears?

If you’re Manchester Orchestra singer Andy Hull, you make palatable but ponderous albums that recall ‘90s guitar rock like Blur and Live.

The emo veterans — 16 years removed from dense and soaring debut album “I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child,” wherein the Atlanta band explored faith and the self with all the bedroom angst of a Hot Topic shopper — arrived on Saturday at Austin City Limits Music Festival's T-Mobile stage in black T-shirts, offering muscular, traditionalist strumming.

Put it in a car commercial. In fits; it was excellent. Here are 3 reasons why the dusty punk band still matters.

They’ve earned it.

“This is our fifth time here,” Hull said before performing “I Can Barely Breathe,” an old cut he said the band performed during ACL Fest 2008. The five-piece rock outfit was straightforward and noisy, stylish if predictable, like wearing a fedora to the pool hall. Don’t knock the retread — it works.

Plan your next show:Who to see at ACL Fest, according to the experts

'Shake It Out' is still a great song.

I didn’t enjoy this one upon its debut. I remember the 2009 song as the band’s “sellout” moment when I thought they were chasing the ghost of Stone Temple Pilots. Perhaps it was just familiar to my decaying ears today, but in a pop landscape where Harry Styles can half-heartedly write about food, rip-off contemporaries like Perfume Genius and sell out a million nights in a week at the Moody Center, someone has to be loud and earnest. Someone should yell. I’ve heard this crashing tune hundreds of times, and I think it’s about a spiritual awakening as it relates to an exasperated and depressed narrator who laments conventional wisdom. So, what most Manchester Orchestra songs are about.

The ultimate ACL guide:All your ACL Fest 2022 questions, answered

A certain type of ACL patron thinks this rocks.

Two days into ACL, the “These guys are pretty good!” award goes to Manchester Orchestra. The person who says this is usually here because a loved one insisted and likes to connect threads between their record collection and what is presented to them at Zilker. Six albums later, last year’s “The Million Masks of God” scratches the itch.

Hull is providing a public service. Now please don’t bump into my Ozark Trail camping chair on your way to Lil Nas X.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: ACL Fest 2022: Manchester Orchestra perform Weekend 1