ARE YOU LISTENING?! -- So burst the opening lines to Emery's debut record, "The Weak's End." Frankly, it is difficult not to be attentive upon hearing those first few words, or screams, rather.
In their first outing for longstanding indie label Tooth and Nail, the South Carolina six-piece appear eager to carve a niche into the ambiguous emo-screamo scene that has recently swept the country's alternative landscape by storm. One spin of their disc suggests a somewhat refreshing, eccentric sound, though several listens unveil the lack of originality inherent in the group's songwriting aptitude. Simply put, Emery fuses the distinctive qualities of every other prominent act comprising the face of new-age alternative music.
A run through the catalogs of Thursday or Fairweather would be sufficient to understand this band's general direction. For anyone familiar with those acts, Emery won't sound new, but to write them off as another post-punk wannabe would be equally as unsettling. After all, they exude tremendous potential, and for a debut effort, "The Weak's End" is noteworthy, even if minimally so.
From its inception, the album does not hesitate to assault the listener, bombarding full force with Refused-like howls and crunchy guitar processions. The first track, "Walls," jumps out immediately with angry vocals, though its main frame consists of slower instrumentation emphasizing the picking skills of axe men Devin Shelton and Matt Carter.
"Disguising Mistakes with Goodbyes" takes on a similar structure, commencing with a partially muted, quick guitar pattern in the vein of Thrice and evolving into a vast amalgamation of thumping bass intercessions, fret harmonics and heartfelt lyrics. The group's innovative inclinations stand out here as well, as the song strays from a traditional verse-chorus-verse makeup in seemingly natural fashion. Unfortunately, the disc loses much of its aggression past the third track, opting for a more passive feel of vocal collaboration and melody that drive the record to stagnation until its closing numbers.
The standard for most emerging independent artists of late has been to release albums whose eminence is tainted by the likes of one too many commercial hits. For Emery, this is no exception, as the song "Fractions" so painfully illustrates. From its mundane subject matter of female tribulations to its predictable instrumental sequences, the track is anything but stellar. As is the case with many of the album's softer tunes, the vocals sound strangely similar to those of Dashboard Confessional frontman Chris Carraba. For better or worse, this highlights the group's failure to play beyond the scope of their established counterparts.
At the ninth slot on the "The Weak's End" is "As Your Voice Fades." Complete with optimal amounts of fury and passion, the song reflects Emery at their finest, not to mention that it steers the album away from the nose-diving platform it was otherwise heading toward. The song begins as a gloomy meditative session, only to erupt into an aggressive onslaught of merciless yelling. With the exception of the drums, the song's instrumentals are rather up-beat, providing a unique contrast to its darker, overshadowing vocal component. As might have been expected, this genius is not replicated fully in the last track, "The Secret," which manages to hold its own amongst the disc's 10 songs.
All in all, "The Weak's End" is a respectable first effort, packed with spurts of glory and garbage alike. Though a bit more produced than most compact discs of its kind, it sounds anything but contrived, with the sincerity of Emery's message shining through from start to finish. It would have been nice, however, to hear the band expand on their aggressive inklings, which take one back to the younger years of a Tooth and Nail imprint that once played home to such hardcore staples as Stretch Armstrong and Blindside. That said, Emery fits the mold of its label's more contemporary sound, which is promising to say the least. Let's hope the band recognizes its slipups and grows accordingly. For now, go pick up "The Weak's End." It is worth a listen.
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