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Emery: While Broken Hearts Prevail

29th October 2008 | by Aidan Williamson

Numerous are the sights which should trigger a 'grab and run' response. Boris Johnson with the nuke button, Russell Crowe with a telephone, Naomi Campbell with another human being and lastly and perhaps the only one pertinent to Emery, emo bands with acoustic guitars.

We mean this in the times before 'emo' became a swear word, randomly attributed to bands, leaving them as long a projected lifespan within the mainstream as a man with swollen lymph nodes stroking his pet rat in 17th century London. In a time when it was a word not loaded with venom, emo described heartfelt music, generally concerned with expunging inner pain into something tangible via the occasional violent burst within a soft rock/indie shell. On their debut album "The Weak's End", Emery displayed all of these traits with aplomb.

Few will argue that over time and two further album, the Seattle quintet didn't lose their way. Slowly expunged were the intelligent intertwining of guitars, the contrasting vocals which simultaneously soothed and shattered and the dynamic band which could change direction faster than your average politician.

Should you have only fifteen minutes to spare in listening to the band's latest E.P, all of these beloved characteristics have returned. Should you enter the realm of the last three tracks on the release, your elation will quickly hit the basement level. All because of that darn acoustic guitar. See that picture above? That's where they should have ended up upon laying a single digit on the wood fashioned six string resonator-cavity based instrument.

"The Smile, The Face" works perfectly as an introduction to the rejuvenated act, to the left a distorted guitar warms up for a hardcore extravaganza, on the right, another guitar slides into a few soft rock chords. Completely disparate in melody and tone, silence soon overcomes them. Take a deep breath, your gonna need it boys. No sooner said than done, the violence beckons, placing the two vocalists within the sparring match of the decade. Stylistically akin to debut album starter "Walls", the action is soon overcome by sweeping verses which shove the screams into the distance. This time though, there is no return to its beginnings upon the culmination of the song, this time people, we have a half-time (played at half the speed as the rest of the song) finale displaying more than a small amount of genius.

Whilst there is the occasionally struggle, this return to form is effectively maintained over the initial quad of tracks, especially during the frenzied stabs of the guitars on "Edge of the World" which open fresh wounds for the once-more stellar vocals to gently rub salt into. Come "Always Depend" though, and it's clear someone in the band uttered the perilous phrase "Gee, at least there's no chance of us sucking towards the end of this E.P".

To concoct songs which insult the senses of your fans is one thing, to let loose a veiled attack upon anyone who may voice an opinion about your music is another thing entirely, one which pushes the moderately enjoyable album dangerously near 'offensively pretentious' territory.

"You were with us but you let these thoughts in your head.
We're not who we're supposed to be,
With all the symptoms of the sickness we have seen,
Are you better off leaving?

It seems a somewhat defunct move also, to criticise the detractors while simultaneously acknowledging their points and putting them - for the most part - into practice.

"Are you listening?" the band once declared questioningly. While for now, the response may be "just barely", that's still a foot in the door to bring the legions of fans who joined the mass exodus of this once revered band. Now if only they can stop insulting them, glory could be regained come their new album in 2009.

Rating:  6 / 10

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