I’ve always thought of Emery as a good band who were never really destined for greatness because they had feet in two camps – trying to be melodic and heavy – without ever excelling in either. This EP is arguably their best material yet. From the Taking Back Sunday-esque ‘Say The Things You Want’ to the harder more Chiodos influenced tracks, Emery twist and turn and sound bigger, better, harder and more melodic than they have ever done before. And yes, it’s still not the most original sound around, but they’ve turned everything up a notch and ended up sounding pretty darn sweet.
I’ve been pretty hard on bands like Emery who just rip off other bands and churn out sub-standard copies. And there are certainly elements of other bands within this EP. The start of ‘Ten Talents’ sounds a little like Armor For Sleep before it gets a lot heavier. ‘Edge of the World’ is a heavier beast, while ‘Always Depends’ reminds me of ‘What It Is To Burn’-era Finch. So while the band sound like the usual suspects, they manage to give things their own little twist. The chorus are catchy, the guitars riffy and this EP in general is another adjective ending in ‘y’.
‘While Broken Hearts Prevail’ isn’t the most original release you’ll hear all year, granted. But it’s a very good stab at a thoroughly dull genre of music and comes well recommended.