We Are The Emergency

If a band’s appeal was judged on name alone, We Are The Emergency would have all they need to draw a crowd. It’s a name that conjures, one that builds and breaks the fourth wall, drawing people in. It presses home an advantage that their high-drama screamo already affords them.

With this latest single (recorded locally, unlike their debut EP Seizure, laid down in the USA) We Are The Emergency maintain full intensity while adding glimpses of elements unseen thus far: a borderline disco-beat intro and the massive but all-too-brief ‘choir’ vocal appearing in the last minute. The devil is in the detail and touches like these make all the difference.

What still impresses is the balance and coherence this six-piece band attains. With so much going on, it would only take one or two grandstanders to plunge things into chaos. The multi-vocalist shriek/sing interplay is as close to ideal as a punter can expect. At climactic moments when Ryan Lake ’s screams meld with the clean precision of James Harris and Sophie Rodgers ’ male/female vocal tandem, it’s the best of all worlds.

Likewise, the keys and guitars are seldom at cross-purposes. The range of tones and textures – all of them complementing rather than distracting – is wide but never needless. Brutal distortion, piercing echo-laden lead guitar tapestries, swirling phased-out sound beds, soft-held strums; it’s a thick unity that can be reined in at a second’s notice for those few tense and restrained moments that are a hallmark of the genre.

Suffice to say these guys are doing their job, delivering whatever is needed to let their vocals – the heart of these songs – work to full effect.

Altogether different is b-side You Can’t Spell Universe Without U And I which is essentially a formulaic acoustic commercial ballad. But it is what it is: a heartfelt, plinky-strum teen-weepy, beautifully delivered and very likely to hit the soft spot it aims for. As a flipside, there couldn’t be a better choice for contrast.

WATE are on-par to achieve their screamotic goals. - Faster Louder

Headliners, We Are The Emergency have been around the state and back again in the last year, playing everything they can get their sweat on. And they really did sweat on everything. By the end of the set, the Manji Town Hall was smelling like a teenaged boy’s bedroom. This is a band that must be seen live and chances are, if you have been anywhere near original live music in this city, they’ve been playing near you.

They are pretty to look at, and musically, they are tight with very catchy hooks and undeniable beats and more energy than anyone has a right to possess. Vocally, well… to many, the brutal screams do not make an awful lot of sense, particularly if you’re listening to a recording but when you see the guy who is screaming and hear the passion that comes out with his voice, you will suddenly understand. Like the two hardcore Manjimup fans who did their best to get a circle pit going and then just contented themselves with throwing themselves around on the dance floor and making the band jealous that they didn’t have nearly as much room on stage.

Astonishing, yes… So you go home and look up the lyrics and discover that they’re not screaming gibberish, but actual poetry, and some of it is pretty good. Do they scream out the words so they don’t sound girly and sentimental for having lyrics that mean something? Perhaps, but after hearing them thus delivered, it seems the only correct way to share the contents of your heart with someone is to belt it into their eardrums with all the vocal force you can muster. Classic indie love songs will never be taken seriously again.

We are the Emergency are addictive. Fans of the genre will love it, and probably already have the merch undies; others should just go check them out. Even if it’s not your bag. Seriously, it’s an adventure and an education, and above all, completely, insanely entertaining. This is how much fun a band should be having on stage. - Faster Louder

WATE are best described as a 'Frankenstein’s Monster' band: a band made up of all the best pieces from different genres to create the ultimate screamo sound. The band gained considerable popularity being the top unsigned screamo band on MySpace, and playing a dozens of shows with big international acts as well as popular local acts.

The album opens with Ryan Lake's screaming vocals (baring a strong resemblance to Emery's Josh Head) as he commands the listener to 'Go back to the start'. Lead singer James Harris flows through gently with his Dallas Green- esque vocals. The song is filled with catchy hooks and plenty of wrong turns giving it a dark and fun feel resembling many of there screamo peers.

An older track 'Drop Me Off At the Bridge' another one of the bands straight-forward begins with a cheeky nod to The Used's 'Take It Away' with an almost identical introduction. The song itself is based on simple power chords and one juicy chorus. Bailey Black lead guitarist proves himself as the driving force behind the bands catchiness. 'The Grass is Greener on Our Side', another one of the bands older songs has a nice orchestral strings sound to open the band before the full song kicks in, another catchy song driven together as another team effort.

‘All We Ever See Of Stars Are There Old Photographs’ (watchmen anyone?) is a nice touch, an acoustic/piano ballad between James and keyboard player Soph. The melodies are beautiful and the two voices work amazingly well together as the song builds up to a climax the full band roars through and the two voices soar over Ryan’s screeches. ‘I Was Born Ready, Baby’ and ‘Hello, My Name Is Distance’ have very similar song structure, strong start offs with melodic breakdowns and catchy verses. These songs echo the fact that this band works very well together as musicians.

I’m not going to lie, the clichés are all there: and yes it would be naïve to say this band are straight up original and different. The main thing to take is the fact that they are doing what they love, and they’re doing it better than most. Either way, this is an impressive release on most levels, very listenable and ultimately very marketable. All these guys are missing is a label, which shouldn’t be too far away. - Sputnik Music

“Oh… Knees Don’t Bend the Other Way” is first up Opening with the high pitched screams of Ryan Lake the latest edition to We Are the Emergency’s seven piece extravaganza (You may of herd Ryan before in his pervious band “Christina Rose” or his other current band “Reaching Koda”). This song was a good choice as the track as it shows all of WATE’s high points from there transitions of high screams to soaring vocals and infectious beat of the drums which can not keep these kids in one spot during there energetic and enjoyable live sets!

The next two tracks on the EP “I was Born Ready, Baby” and “Drop Me Off at the Bridge” are just as prodigious as the opener if not more so. With the clear and understandable screams (also sounds like an angry Milhouse Van Houlton), fast moving tempo’s to ambient breaks, interweaving harmony’s and the towering vocals of James Harris.

Countless bands have done the ballad with a dramatic build up that turns into a massive ball on energy but We Are the Emergency do it exceptionally well! The keys in “All We See of the Stars Are Their Old Photographs” is set to pull on your heart strings as the lyrics suggest a love story of lost love and revenge. With the vocals shared in final chorus, Sophie Rodgers (keys) and James Harris give it that extra little unexpected something!

The last 2 tracks “The Grass is Greener on Our Side” and “Hello, My Name is Distance” round off the EP nicely! Not lacking any power or electricity from there predecessors. Catchy lyrics written by the obviously intelligent Sam Hart (guitarist) really take off on the last track which ends the EP with a definite high!
CONCLUSION.
Seizure is impressive to say the least debut release by Perth band “We Are the Emergency”. So many intricate parts, put together so well shows why WATE are the Emergency in Perth at the moment! This could be very well be the best debut EP that will come out of Perth this year and it’s only just begun! - Kill Your Stereo

We Are the Emergency is a post hardcore band originating from Perth, Australia. They may not be the most innovative band to hit the scene in recent years, but that's extremely easy to ignore once you get swept up in the excellent sound they've constructed. Both their excellent vocal and instrument arrangements work to their advantage, and the combination of the two is even more impressive.

The vocals on this album do follow a pretty standard post hardcore schematic. That is, they've recruited both a screamer and clean vocalist, but it's what they do with the two of them that make their vocal approach so refreshing. The vocal tracks are extremely varied and they switch up between the vocalists often enough to keep it fresh. The clean vocalist is particularly impressive between the two and his powerful voice really drives a couple of the tracks (especially the slower "All We Ever See of Stars"). In addition, the scattered female vocals add another layer to the formula when they're used, and many times they incorporate them to great avail. The track that really drives this point home is the aformentioned "All We Ever See Of Stars" where the inclusion of the three vocalists, as well as the dramatic escalation to screamer near the end of the track really give this track a feel that the other miss. However, there's not a problem with any of the tracks; most of them just don't allow for the more powerful vocal displays that you can hear in the slower song.

Even with the impressive vocalists, the musicianship manages to make an impression. They've opted out of the heavy sounding musicianship, and in many places pursue a much more subdued sound. It fits the tracks well, and for the most part there's not a misstep. I'm particularly keen on the piano parts they incorporate throughout the tracks, and it adds a layer that quite a few bands are missing.

Overall, I don't see a flaw in We Are the Emergency's Seizures/i>. For the most part, they incorporate plenty of their own flair without distracting from the music any, and the tracks they present are both somewhat stylistically different and entertainingly straightforward. - The Interlude