I am a 23-year old physics graduate of Bethel University in Minnesota. The first day of freshman year, my friend Elizabeth gave me the nickname "Thor." It caught on, and many people to this day still refer to me as Thor, even some of my former professors. Some people hate nicknames, I chose to embrace it. Ever since I can remember, I've had an undying love and passion for music, and this blog is where I go to talk about it. I play guitar and sing in the band Filed under: Album Review, Music | Tags: album review, emery, inshallowseaswesail, ISSWS, music
The review I’ve been promising…
I’ve been spending a couple weeks psyching myself up. Familiarizing myself with this album to the point where I almost know it by heart. It was the only thing playing on my Zune for a solid week and a half, a regular occasion with Emery albums.
Album: …In Shallow Seas We Sail
Band: Emery
Label: Tooth and Nail Records
Emery - ... In Shallow Seas We Sail
Review:
I have to announce beforehand that I am extremely biased in this review. I admit it. Emery has been my favorite band for the last five years… since their debut album The Weak’s End. The band has come a long way, with some ups, such as the smash hit sophomore release The Question attaining mainstream interest, and some downs, as seen in the musical departure and some will tell you “lackluster effort” in I’m Only A Man. Upon releasing that album, many Emery fans bailed on the band, expecting the same records they heard the previous two occasions. Emery decided to make music they wanted instead of what the fans wanted, and in a separation of the wheat from the chaff, the loyal Emery fans remained supporting the band. It would be impossible for a band to not notice the kind of criticism they received on their third album, and Emery made the decision to try to regain some fans by releasing an EP by the name of When Broken Hearts Prevail. The EP featured the same post-hardcore heavy sound meshed with the signature Emery melodies that made The Weak’s End and The Question such popular and successful CDs. The EP did indeed regain some fans as well as interest from a music scene that thought the band might be fading out of it’s renaissance.
Enter … In Shallow Seas We Sail. The album, in appearance and musical theme, seems to be a direct followup of the EP, with linked cover art and style. The anticipated fourth album delivers on an unfathomable level. It kicks off with a sock to the face, the heavy breakdowns and screaming vocals of the first single, “Cutthroat Collapse.” This track caught me with such surprise as it begun with the same approach as “Walls” did on The Weak’s End. Naturally the song featured the dual vocal melodies of co-frontmen Toby Morell and Devin Shelton, and featured the weaving lyrics that made me fall in love with Emery in the first place.
Upon reviewing the lyrics, it’s apparent that Emery knows when to stick to their guns, their bread-and-butter: songs about relationships. Most of them broken. They have an uncanny ability to mix darker lyrics with very major, uplifting music. The stories told are of breakups, lust, mistakes, sins, lies, deceit, all of the interactions we take part in as fallen humans, but hold on to hope. A very interesting song to me was “A Sin To Hold On To”, which tells the story of seeing a girl so beautiful that he says “If you’ve got the time, then I’ve got the reason for the sin…” It’s a song that seems to tell of succumbing to lust, but yields to a chorus that reads “I know you’ve got it in you won’t you let it out, let it out. Dig a little deeper and I know you’ll find strength inside. If we could be the ones to hold, to stay strong, then maybe we can make a difference in somebody’s life.” The stories aren’t hopeless. The lust and sin can be refused. The lyricism of the album is probably Emery’s best to date. I’ve already raved about the best song on the album in my last blog post, the title-track album which displays some of the best use of melody and countermelody I’ve ever heard in my lifetime. But the greatness doesn’t end there. The illustrious musical canvasses painted by songs such as “Inside Our Skin”, which has one of the best outros ever written. The theatrics of “Churches and Serial Killers” in its plucked strings and staccato verses paired with the catchy hook of the chorus makes it an irresistable treat. The feeling of betrayal conveyed in “Butcher’s Mouth” that threatens to reveal the betrayer for what they are. The shock of catching a significant other in infidelity on “Piggy Bank Lies”. The sad story of “Dear Death Part 1 and 2″ which tells of a dying girls he’s in love with and how he would give anything to have more time with her. The haunting final words of the album, “Just hear me out, it was all my fault. You brought me death and it’s everything I wanted. It’s the wrong side of fear that kept me out…”
The album is indeed nothing short of a masterpiece. I’m calling it the album of the year, even though the year is only half over. I look forward to Emery’s next piece of work that will redefine the way I look at music once again.
Verdict:
6 out of 5 stars
Perfection
Simple as that. Buy it. Now.
In other news, I just got a hold of The Dear Hunter’s new album, Act III: Life and Death, the third act of the six-act rock opera they began working on in 2006, a whole two weeks before its release! I don’t want to spoil it for you, for a full review is coming next time, but it is their best work so far. More musical (as in play) based than the other albums, so it more fits the rock opera feel, with gang vocals and orchestra. It’s really marvelous and I will expound upon it in the review. Until then, take care!
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[...] Emery has always either shared or held sole position as my favorite band ever since I heard them in the days of The Weak’s End. Their dual-frontman approach instantly captivated me because it opposed the dogma that you need a lead singer, not more than one. There’s seemingly a false belief that bands must have a leader, and can’t be led by committee. Emery takes that claim and turns it on its head, proving that, indeed, two are better than one. Having two lead singers instead of one opens the door for complex vocal layering and harmonies that would be impossible otherwise. Sure, one lead singer can layer his own voice in the studio, but you don’t get the best of both worlds as you do with two. Emery has Toby Morelle, who’s voice is has more of a raw side compared to Devin Shelton’s velvety smoothness, while both possess the support for powerfully driven vocals while often brandishing the oft forgotten vibrato. Having two excessively capable vocalists to command dual vocal parts has proven to be a boon as Emery has taken it’s place in the upper echelon of Seattle-based super-label Tooth and Nail Records. My full review of ISSWS is viewable here. [...]
Pingback by The Four Masterpieces « The Hammer of Thor November 15, 2010 @ 12:03 am[...] and …In Shallow Seas We Sail. If you’ve read my blog in the past you might remember the dazzling review I gave ISSWS. Then this year, news came about their recording a new album and how it was going to [...]
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