I should know by now that Emery is always going to work hard and fast to get new music to fans. This is no different. After what seemed like a silly short amount of time, they just released another full length album, Rub Some Dirt in It, and it rules!
These guys have managed to take nostalgia and make it something new. It’s like they are their own genre and everything just works. At least to my ears. Something really cool I learned about this album is that they made it over the course of just a couple of months. In fact, the final product was essentially a live album. One day they all showed up in the same studio a played all 11 tracks straight through. I think there was minimal tweaking in post production, and with that little factoid, these guys continue to thoroughly impress me.
With that being said, the whole album was pretty freaking great. I don’t know that there was even one track that disappointed me. Of course, while there were no let downs, there were some tracks that I liked most. The first three songs off the album, “You Stole God From Me,” “Concussion,” and “Enemy” were all really hardcore, gritty, and intense. These songs reminded me most of their earlier work and I love that they can revisit those sounds still. “Be Cool” was another song that I really liked all the way through and I think part of the reason was because it reminded me of “The Party Song.” I can’t pinpoint what exactly, but that’s what I thought of right when the song opened.
Something neat that was prevelent for a handful of tracks on the album was the acoustic guitar. I’m not saying it hasn’t been there before, but this might be the first time that I really noticed it. It was especially noticeable in “Said Enough,” Daniel, I’m Not Gonna Make It. Go Ahead Without Me,” and “Stranger.” I thought that really incorporating the acoustic guitar reminded me of the creepy attic show I saw them play. It’s cool that it managed to translate to an album. As far as the song, “Stranger” goes, what an epic track! It’s a relatively quiet track, but it layers on so many intricate sounds – including horns! It was kind of reminiscent of Arcade Fire’s “Ocean of Noise” for me.
Overall, this was a really great listen and you know the CD is on its way to my house as we speak. I love these guys and I hope I get to see them on tour soon.