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Artist: Emery
Album: …In Shallow Seas We Sail
Label: Tooth & Nail
Release Date: 6/2/09
Reviewer: Tyler Hess
Tracklisting:
- “Cutthroat Collapse”
- “Inside Our Skin”
- “Curbside Goodbye”
- “Twelve And Fading”
- “I’ve Got A Way”
- “In Shallow Seas We Sail”
- “The Poor and the Prevalent”
- “The Smile, The Face”
- “A Sin To Hold On To”
- “Piggy Bank Lies”
- “The Edge of the World”
- “The Ghost Of You”
- “Open Hands Eyes Closed”
Rarely does a band come along that causes so many ruffles among their own fans as does Emery, who are set to release their fourth full length album, In Shallow Seas We Sail. It was less than two years ago that they had released I’m Only A Man, which was met with such fan disapproval for stylistic changes than only Showbread could probably relate. Emery had toned down their Post-Hardcore/Emo/Screamo sound and came out with a more straight ahead rock album, taking away a lot of the intensity (read: Josh Head’s screaming) that they had mixed so well with the melodic harmonies of Devin Shelton and Toby Morell. Though some of us gladly received the experiment, other fans were left to debate if Emery was terrible because they no longer sounded like they did on their debut, The Weak’s End, or if it was because they no longer sounded like they did on the follow up, “The Question“. Some were left wondering if they had anything left in them, others were sure they didn’t.
A funny thing happened on the way to the tomb one day, Emery came out with an EP last year that gave fans hope for a comeback. While Broken Hearts Prevails seemed to send two messages. The first was that the guys of Emery were rather disappointed that many of their fans were so quick to desert them. The second was found in the music itself, which had clearly brought back some of their earlier influences. That brings us back to now, where Emery was probably in a do or die situation, at least in terms of popularity.
Thankfully, Emery did a whole lot more doing than they did dying. Much like previous releases, In Shallow Seas We Sail has some typical themes that are evident both lyrically and musically. It doesn’t take long to receive with joy the music that they have come out with, but it does take awhile to really get a good grasp on what I’m listening to, except that they are obviously singing about broken relationships, which is Emery’s MO. The best thing that they did in this album is that they combined the best of what they did on The Weak’s End and the best of what they did on The QuestionWhile Broken Hearts Prevail (and included the best two songs from ) to make what I believe will prove to be the most complete Emery album to date.
Overall: If fans can be fickle, older Emery fans will have to decide if they can move forward with them or move on, but if they didn’t check out In Shallow Seas We Sail then they are missing out on what I believe will be one of, if not the best album of the year.
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| 03/15/2010 11:36 am | Interviews
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I preordered my copy from Bestbuy but it hasn’t shipped :( Dang. They shipped Rancid but no Emery. Bummer.
hmmm. i know that my pre-order of emery from interpunk has been shipped, but i havent gotten it yet :( i hate usps, so slow. did you get anything with the best buy pre order? if not, you should have just picked it up at a local store its probably cheap today
Track four on my disc is called Churches and Serial Killers. Did they change the name or something?
yes, they changed the name, they switched up tracks 2 and 3, they made track 12 into track 12 and 13 (split one song into two) and made track 13 a B-side. the CD i got in the mail was WAY different than the download t&n sent me, but musically it is the same, just arranged slightly differently
tyler, you nailed it on the head buddy. this album is definately a 10/10. not one bad song on this album. i mean its not an album where you cna just pick one song to listen to, and not the rest. kinda like TCC’s “The Silver Chord” was. One thing worth asking, in your pic, is that a Packers foam finger??? LOL
i love tcc too…that foam finger was just something i found at a thrift store…completely generic…as long as your team has green and white colors
hahaha..hey what are everybody’s thoughts about the lyrics to Dear Death Parts 1 & 2? To me, it sounds as if it’s to his mother, or something, but I’m curious what everybody else thinks..
Alrighty ladies and gents…..we have a candidate for album of the year here….
Blah, you guys are crazy, this is no AotY. :P
Well, not to me anyways but I’m sure it’ll be on a lot of lists judging by the way people are talking here. I still haven’t found any AotY candidates but I think August and September are going to have a few.
mm3…i think you are a great individual…with terrible taste in music :)
Wish I could say the same about you but you’re just a terrible person WITH terrible tastes…. so nyah!
:lol:
ya cut me deep, shrek
Slightly off topic butAugust Burns Red- Constellations has to be a candidate for AoTY, hands-down the best I’ve heard so far this year, aside from this. :)
more like completely off topic
To the reviewer:
Josh Head did no screaming on Emery albums until I’m Only A Man. He is the low pitched scream you hear on the two most recent albums. Toby does the high pitched screaming.
Just a factual correction.
ah, i thought he came in on the question…and he does the screams for “Walls” live so I just count that as him anyway haha thanks though
Josh definetly screams on every CD, most commonly seen on The Weak’s End. Until this CD, that is. He’s on this one alot. His scream has definetly changed alot, but he does plenty of highs on this CD. As for the CD’s before, he’s usually the backup screaming while Toby and Devin will be singing. Live, however, he does almost all of the screaming.
I have listened to this album… hmm.. let’s check itunes… got it on june 17th listened to the entire album 43 times in two months…
this is AOTY for me…
What do you think is their best album?