Saturday, September 11, 2010

Emarosa Self Titled Album (2010)



I am a huge fan of Emarosa. From when they released their first EP in 2007, I was hooked; and before I get a bunch of "hurp-a-derp u leik terrible music" comments, I will admit that the introduction of Jonny Craig into the band has been an incredible improvement. Although none of the original members are in the band, they have continuously written some of the most complex and intense music in the genre. In their latest self-titled full length album (their second with Jonny Craig, former vocalist for Dance Gavin Dance), however, it would seem that they are steering away from the fundamentals that put them in the forefront of musical elites.

"A Toast To Future Kids!" debuts the vocal capability of Jonny Craig for any would-be first time listeners of this post-hardcore band. That being said, let me set something in stone right off the bat: if you were a huge fan of the complex instrumentation of Relativity, then you are in for a bit of a change with this album as Craig's vocals definitely take precedence over the music- which, unfortunately, has been pushed to the back this album. One major downfall of the album is the introduction of solid chorus' and more steady song structures, which can get a bit repetitive at times; this is why I preferred Relativity more.

Now you are gonna have to let me rant for a moment as I reach the point that I consider the biggest let-down of the album. For any musicians out there like me, when you hear great music, you don't want that to be covered up by vocals (even good ones). That was my big complaint about the last album, it was and continues to be apparent that Craig loves the sound of his voice; and even though he has an outstanding voice, I would much rather prefer to hear the music. The only redeeming factor in his vocals for Relativity was that his lyrics were superb. The same can not be said about this album however. "Live It. Love It. Lust It" is the perfect example to prove my point. His lyrics were whiny, it was sickening to be honest. I was also disappointed in the amount of cursing he used. I'm sorry, but he may as well have just said that he can't think of anything to put there and moved on, that's just lack of creativity when you can't get the point of a song across without dropping the f-bomb half-a-dozen times.

When it comes down to it, I personally think Emarosa took a step down from Relativity in what appears to be an attempt to attract a larger fan-base. This is a typical cycle in music nowadays it seems though (sound like Damiera much?). A band will come out with an absolutely incredible album, then, after getting a lot of attention, turn around and conform in an attempt to gather more fans. I'm hoping they don't continue in this trend though, I would hate to see a band with as much potential as they have cease to release good LP's. I give Emarosa's self-titled album a 3.5 out of 5. Please leave feedback in the comments if you have listened to the album already.

Here is a link to hear one of their better songs from this album:
Emarosa

If you would like to hear a song from Relativity, check out this link:
Relativity

And if you are interested in their first album, here is a link for that:
This Is Your Way Out



Here are the links to purchase each of their albums:

This Is Your Way Out

Relativity

Emarosa

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