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Emarosa - 131 Review

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Introduction
-----------With strong pop hooks and decent musicianship, Emarosa brings a strong screamo i
nfluence to the table. But, does it work?
Sound - 7/10
-----------Pop-rock/post-hardcore hybrids have always been a bit of a hit-or-miss thing for
me. Bands like Coheed and Cambria and The Dear Hunter have absolutely perfected
the formula before taking it beyond into the realm of progressive rock, while o
ther bands that generally fit into the mold usually get lumped under the "scream
o" label and are usually rather bland listens.
Emarosa, now four albums into their career, seem to be flirting with the pop sid
e of things more on their most recent album, "131". Vocally, the album has very
strong connections to the modern pop-rock scene, while the musicians opt for a v
ery mid-2000s screamo-esque sound. Reverb-drenched lead guitar lines snake their
way through nearly all of the songs, played by one of the band's two only consi
stent members, ER White. Newcomer Marcellus Wallace strums his way competently t
hrough the album as rhythm guitarist, while even newer members Ryan Keinle and C
onnor Denis hold the fort as bassist and drummer, respectively. Jordan Stewart,
the band's only other long-term member, adds textures with his keyboard playing,
laying the foundation for vocalist Bradley Walden.
While there are shades of many different post-hardcore and pop-rock bands throug
hout the album, I find myself only really drawing a direct comparison on the son
g "The Miracle", which sounds very similar to something The Dear Hunter would cr
eate. Now, this is definitely my favourite song on the album, hands-down. It has
an excellent intro guitar melody, a really compelling chord progression that so
unds vaguely like some kind of Spanish guitar style, and some excellent musician
ship and vocal work. And many of the songs have elements that stand on their own
quite well, like the a capella intro on "Hurt", which opens the album, and the
really good chorus on the decidedly Thursday-meets-Coheed "One Car Garage". The
album closer, "Re", is a beautiful and epic track with lots of great clean guita
r parts and excellent vocal work.
Overall, though, it feels like the album never really aspires to much more than
just wearing its influences on its sleeve, and it does seem a bit difficult to l
isten to in one sitting, just from not really being able to hold my attention fo
r very long. Individually, many of the songs are good enough to warrant a listen
, but it doesn't seem to hold my attention for very long as a whole.
The production on this record, handled by Casey Bates, whose work I enjoyed on T
he Fall Of Troy's "Phantom On The Horizon", is good as well, with lots of clear
definition between the instruments on the record. His work with the vocals also
sounds very natural, a rarity in this day and age.
Lyrics - 5/10
------------In keeping with the genre convention, the lyrics on this album cover, to put it

quite basically, depression. There's not one track on this album that doesn't so
und melodramatic about anything from lost love, loneliness, living with past dem
ons, and self-esteem issues. Only "Porcelain" seems to have more of a heartfelt
"love song" atmosphere about it. The lyrics seem to try to come off as dark at t
imes, but for the most part, just seem to echo the melodrama of past screamo ban
ds, and kind of come off as rather cheesy. If you're looking to actually enjoy t
his album, ignoring the lyrics is probably your best bet.
That said, Bradley Walden is a pretty decent vocalist. While he does evoke a lot
of modern pop singers, he seems to have a fairly decent, genuine talent. His cl
ear vocals have a rather impressive amount of range, which he uses on a lot of t
he songs. There are also a lot of great vocal harmonies throughout the record. B
ut a strong vocal performance can't really save the lyrics from being particular
ly bad on this record.
Overall Impression - 6/10
------------------------Instrumentally speaking, "131" is actually a very decent record. The musicianshi
p is quite good, the songs are quite well-crafted, Bradley's vocal skills are qu
ite good... but it does feel a bit like this album is missing a few of the thing
s that make for a good album. Aside from "The Miracle" and "Re", there aren't re
ally any other standout tracks. The band goes too far to wear their influences o
n their sleeve that it's hard to imagine them doing anything that sounds truly o
riginal. Even though they are quite good at what they do, what they do isn't rea
lly all that great to begin with.
That said, for folks who were fans of the screamo style of post-hardcore, this a
lbum will probably bring back some memories of the mid-2000s (though this album
does lack one ingredient from screamo, the harsh vocals). And if you're listenin
g for anything but lyrics or musical originality, this can actually be a pretty
good record to take out for a spin.
It seems a shame that this band's lyrics are a bit stale and overly melodramatic
, because there's a lot of potential for this band to revitalize their scene. If
post-hardcore mixed with pop-rock is something you're not interested in, this i
s not an album that's going to change your mind, though there are a couple of re
ally decent songs worth checking out. If you're going to spin one song from this
record, make it "The Miracle", which is a surprisingly excellent song from a po
ol of otherwise kind of just okay songs.

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