ARTIST: Emery
TITLE: While Broken Hearts Prevail
LABEL: Tooth & Nail Records
GENRE: Rock
BITRATE: 216kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 24m total
RELEASE DATE: 2008-10-28
RIP DATE: 2008-10-24
Track List
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1. The Smile, The Face 2:45
2. Edge of the World 3:50
3. Say The Things (You Want) 3:03
4. Ten Talents 3:26
5. Always Depends 3:40
6. Thoughtlife 3:46
7. Do The Things (You Want) 3:52
Release Notes:
Sounds like à an unlikely but brilliant pairing of post-hardcore sounds, like
Underoath, Sky Eats Airplane, and He Is Legend, and influences like Dashboard
Confessional, Mars Volta and Mae.
At a glance à Emery maintains the deeper emotional content that they developed
on I'm Only a Man, while reverting back to the hard rock guitar driven sound of
The Question, creating an impressive mix of experimentation and hooks.
Don't be fooled by the cover of Emery's new EP, showing a sinking man with his
arms flailing above water. In a sink or swim industry, Emery is certainly
swimming. Their fourth major release, While Broken Hearts Prevail, combines the
rawness of their earlier work with the maturity of their latest feats to make
their best effort yet.
When the band first broke onto the scene in 2004 with The Weak's End, they
received mixed reviews. Their blend of emo and post-hardcore was interesting,
but it didn't have the strength to leave a lasting impression. Since then, Emery
has continued to experiment with their sound, churning out two very different,
yet musically solid albums. Upon a first listen, one could say that the new EP
is the culmination of all their previous work.
In typical Emery form, the opening track, "The Smile, The Face," kicks into
full-gear almost instantly, barraging the listener with pounding, fast drums and
heavy guitars. Lead singer Toby Morrell's clear, straight-sounding vocals cut
through the wall of sound, adding clarity to the chaos. Such energy continues
with tracks like "Edge of the World" and "Say the Things (You Want)." In every
song, Emery displays an acute attention to musical detail without sounding too
much like a jam band. There's more here than your standard punk beats and chord
progressions; the band changes time signatures, swaps between singing and
screaming, and creates intricate layers of music.
As you continue through the EP, it's clear Emery has abandoned the dueling vocal
melodies that characterized The Question, as well as the experimental dance-pop
sections in I'm Only A Man. However, they have nonetheless maintained their
sense of hook, which is something that many of their contemporaries either lack
or struggle to achieve. In the standout track "Edge of the World," the chorus
repeats "Let's get this over, I'd like to get some sleep tonight!" The band also
explores the softer-side of things with "Thoughtlife" and "Do the Things (You
Want)," displaying some otherwise out-of-place yet shockingly-good acoustic
guitar work.
While the lyrics are not overtly spiritual (in previous interviews, the band has
indicated that they are Christians in a band, not a "Christian band") the songs
do honestly and poetically examine human relationships. "Edge of the World," for
example, deals with the ups and downs of relationships, as Toby Morrell sings,
"My intentions were to never give myself to anyone/Look what I've done."
In any case, Emery is far from sinking here. The EP is short, both in total
length and number of songs, which might irk those die hard fans who were
expecting another full-length. With a history of being one of the most talented
post-hardcore groups around, Emery once again makes good music sound easy.