Emiliana

Guitar playing is a superbly articulated hammer-on/pull-off/tap style similar to emo classics like Cap’n Jazz, but with trailing delay used to great effect, and tinged with post-rock (dreamo?). To compare it to Minus the Bear would be almost appropriate too, but there is so much more going on musically with Emiliana, and none of it sounds like pretentious ornamentation that doesn’t need to be there.

The songwriting, like a lot of good emo, is not repetitive and often leads the listener through a maze of melodies that do not repeat the same way that stand blues-based rock often does. Volume/velocity varies vastly throughout and there are plenty of changes in tempo too.

The best example of these kinds of moments, where radical shifts in the song’s direction take the listener by (pleasant) surprise is around the four-minute mark in “The River.” After a rest, the guitar plays a series of whole notes which are undergirded by glockenspiel. The fact that the glockenspiel only plays during short this part really helps set the appropriate mood. Such nuance.

While there is truly not a bad track on this five-song EP, “America’s Sweetheart” is the most enjoyable. It plays like the overture to an emo rock opera, with an irregular lyrical structure (vocals occur at only three distinct points) and recurring melodic themes.

Kool Kid DIY Cred: Lacking. To score higher, record this poorly to demonstrate how authentic and raw you are.

Overall: +

Five Word Review: Dreamy emo written with care - Ready For The Houston