Kentucky’s Emarosa have been on quite the musical journey. Emerging in the mid to late 00’s as a metalcore act, they honed their sound over the years, dropping the metal elements in the process, and establishing themselves as one of the finest purveyors of pop rock since The Killers. “Peach Club” is the latest installment in their evolution and is the sound of a band comfortable in their own skin and flourishing at their art.
Kicking it all is the lead single from the album, “Givin’ Up”, a gloriously upbeat tune, including some great sax work and funky guitar, reminiscent of Duran Duran during their pomp. Bradley Whalden’s vocals backed up by glorious keyboard and piano work carry the balladesque tones of “Don’t Cry”, a track that truly showcases just how far the band has come. The introspective lyrics of Cautious bring to mind the songwriting skills of Brandon Flowers as Whalden explores broken relationships- a theme that resonates throughout the album. “Get Back Up” sees the band at the furthest point they’ve ever been away from their initial output and could be mistaken for something Justin Timberlake had written for him. The soaring “Hell Of It”, for my money is easily the stand out track on the album taking the band into 30 Seconds To Mars territory and I can see the hands swaying at the gigs now.
Whilst they may have alienated some of their longtime fans along the way, there’s no doubting that if they are capable of writing tracks like this, then they totally should. Hell if it’s good enough for Bring Me The Horizon then it’s good enough for Emarosa. With “Peach Club”, the alt-pop 4-piece have created a very modern album taking influences from all over the place and not pigeon holing themselves, showing that they are not afraid to push the boundaries in any way they see fit. This could well be the soundtrack to your laid back chilled out summer evenings this year.