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Posts Tagged ‘Emery’

  1. Interview with Devin Shelton of Emery

    May 18, 2009 by Steph

    Emery, image used with permissionThis interview is with Devin Shelton, the bass player and vocalist for Emery.

    I asked him a few questions about the band and their new album coming out June 2nd …In Shallow Seas We Sail.

    How are you guys feeling about your new album …In Shallow Seas We Sail coming out June 2nd?

    We are super excited about it. We feel like it could possibly be our best album to date…or at least the best representation of who we are as a band.

    ([click here] to check out our review of the album)

    It’s got some pretty cool cover art (and looks like the same artist from the EP?). Who does that for you guys?

    His name is Marc Johns. We came across him online and like his work, so we decided to use him for our EP and LP. We wanted to tie the records together in every way that we could.

    How was your first European tour?

    It was amazing. We had been so anxious to get there for so long and it was definitely worth it. We were fortunate enough to be on some festivals with some great bands like Taking Back Sunday, Underoath, Inner Party System and several others. It was a great experience.

    Are you looking forward to more time on the road with the Zumiez Couch Tour and your headlining tour? What cities are you most looking forward to playing?

    Yeah. The tour will be interesting for us playing all mall parking lots, but it should be great. We are also excited about our headliner since our album will be out and we can play some new songs with some really good bands.

    You guys tour pretty tirelessly. Is it hard being on the road all the time?

    It definitely gets hard, but we have a good time since we are all best friends. We’re really fortunate to be so close. Dave and Toby are having kids this fall, so we will probably be spending more time at home in the future, which is fine by me.

    What albums are you guys listening to right now? What’s going to be on your playlists while you’re touring?

    Well…my wife bought the newest All-American Rejects, so I’ve given it a couple listens. Lovedrug’s latest album is cool. I’ve listened to our new record a good bit…but I imagine a lot of bands do that.

    Do you have any pre-show rituals?

    We use to stretch out and warm up together, but now we kinda do our own thing. I try to warm up my voice and my body so I don’t pull anything on stage and focus my mind on what we’re about to do.

    You guys have toured with some pretty amazing bands—Chiodos, Silerstein, Alexisonfire—who has been your favorite band to tour with? Or your favorite tour lineup?

    We really enjoy touring with Canadian bands like Boys Night Out and Alexisonfire. We had a great time with Jonezetta and As Cities Burn, but we pretty much get along with most bands we tour with. Flogging Molly was awesome to tour with.

    Emery, image used with permission

    My favorite Emery song is “Ponytail Parade” from your first full-length The Weaks End really because of the great lyrics. What is your writing process? Does someone write lyrics, someone music? Do you all write everything? And where do you draw inspiration?

    Toby and I write all the lyrics and most of the music. Matt writes a lot of music too. He is great at helping arrange the songs once we get a basic form. We usually write the lyrics once we have the parts arranged and know the form of the song.

    The new single “Cutthroat Collapse” has some pretty heavy content. Are your songs autobiographical?

    Some are, some aren’t. We write a lot of both. It just depends on the song and on the person who wrote it. Toby wrote this song and I’m pretty sure it’s not autobiographical.

    It seems like you guys have found a perfect balance between heavy and melodic. What musical influences do you have and how did you come up with your sound?

    Originally, we wanted to incorporate an indie rock/emo sound with a hardcore sound. We were big fans of bands ranging from Mineral, Sunny Day Real Estate, Pedro the Lion to Zao and Hopefalls to 90s rock like Tool, Nirvana, Soundgarden, etc…So I think our diverse taste in music came through when we wrote. Our earliest music had more of an emo/indie feel and eventually transformed to our more current sound. I was always a huge fan of good vocals and harmonies from R&B and other styles, so that has also had a huge impact on our music.

    Anything else you want to say?

    Buy our new album or else.

    Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it and I hope to catch you guys play when you’re out on the road!

    -Steph@A2S

    Category Interviews | Tags: | 1 Comment

  2. Emery’s …In Shallow Seas We Sail

    May 18, 2009 by J-Man

    …In Shallow Seas We Sail

    On June 2nd, Emery’s new album …In Shallow Seas We Sail hits shelves (Click here for Our Interview with Bassist and Vocalist Devin Shelton). Now, I could tell you how Emery delivered on their ever present ability to seamlessly blend hardcore primal screaming with gorgeous melodies and layered harmonies. I could tell you that they took a step back into their The Weak’s End roots, without losing the lessons and maturity that they’ve earned over the years. I could tell you that this album is probably going to end up on my Top 5 List for this year. I actually DID tell you all of that. Those things, however, are not going to be the focus of this review. There is one piece of Emery that I did not mention; a very large piece…

    The Lyrics.

    These boys have a way with words. Just look at the album title. Do you wonder why it starts with the “…”? (That’s called an ellipsis.) It’s because the EP that preceded it is called While Broken Hearts Prevail. Go ahead and put those two together, and then close your mouth after it falls open in awe of Emery’s word-smithery. Okay, maybe I’m overdoing it a little bit, but it’s hard not to give a huge head nod to the words that are woven into Emery’s music.

    Here’s the great thing about being a language artist in the digital world we live in: your fans will use your words as their new motto, and spread your genius to all their friends. In honor of just that, I’m am going to give you one line from every song on this album that is undoubtedly going to end up in Myspace headlines, Facebook statuses, and Twitter updates everywhere.

    1 – Cutthroat Collapse

    “Under this December sky, I walk away
    compromised.”

    2 – Inside Our Skin

    “We all feel real inside our skin, with
    selfish hearts that hide our sin.”

    3 – Curbside Goodbyes

    “I chose every word that I knew would hurt,
    but that was a poor choice at best.”

    4 – Twelve And Fading

    “There
    is a part of me that sees the easy way out. If it doesn’t hurt, then not
    another word…”

    5 – I’ve Got A Way

    “You’re a broken record repeating these
    vanities, over and over…”

    6 – In Shallow Seas
    We Sail

    “I fell apart when I fell for you.”

    7 – The Poor And The Prevalent

    “I’ve got to put a stop to all this. To all this being separated and being cut off…”

    8 – The Smile, The Face

    “You
    rehearsed your lines with rhythmic details, they match the pounding in my
    chest”

    9 – A Sin To Hold On To

    “If you’ve got the time, then I’ve got the
    reason for the sin”

    10 – Piggy Bank Lies

    “If
    lies were wealth, you’d need help counting riches from your mouth’s piggy bank”

    11 – The Edge Of The World

    “My intentions were to never give myself to
    anyone… Look what I’ve done”

    12 – The Ghost Of You

    “Esta noche serás mía.”

    13 – Open Hands, Closed Eyes

    “Take
    a look around, where is your hope found.
    Is it the ones you love, or just your bank account…”

    And there you have it.
    Every song on this album contains, at the VERY LEAST, one line that will be quoted all across the facebook/myspace/twitterverse. You’re impressed (I can tell) and you can’t even hear the music that’s playing behind the words. Combine this with all that awesome stuff I said at the beginning of the review?
    Great. Album.

    Category Albums | Tags: | Comments Off on Emery’s …In Shallow Seas We Sail

  3. Emery’s EP While Broken Hearts Prevail

    October 28, 2008 by Brianna

    The guys from Emery are back today with their third album, the EP While Broken Hearts Prevail.  “The Smile, The Face” and “Edge of the World” open the album and give you a feel for what to expect.  While not far from The Weak’s End and The Question, their 2003 and 2005 releases, this EP definitely introduces some new elements for Emery.  “The Smile, The Face” is full of minor keys and haunting harmonies with intense screaming and a Nirvana-like hallow chorus.  “Edge of the World” starts off with the expected distorted guitar and screaming, but toward the middle of the song, breaks down first into almost a dance beat with the drums and then slows down into a snare beat coupled with quiet tenor vocals and more like yells than screaming.  “Do the Things (You Want),” the closing song on the EP, is a completely new formula for Emery, beginning with electronic elements, leading into acoustic guitar coupled with deep melodic vocals, is almost like H.I.M. in a major key.  Always the defeatists, they sing “Lets write the songs that we want.  I thought they’d love us but they don’t.”  I loved the emotion behind this song—it could move anyone listening to sympathize with them.

    My favorite off this EP would have to be the last song, “Do the things (you want)”. This song with its dark acoustic feel, I believe tells the tale of doubt and a betrayal—a very relatable idea. I think that this EP is definitely worth listening to.  If you listen and you like, more is hopefully to come with a full studio album in 2009.

    Category Albums | Tags: | Comments Off on Emery’s EP While Broken Hearts Prevail