“I don’t think we ever thought we’d get as heavy as we are now,” Emery frontman Toby Morrell stated in a recent interview, “but I’m glad we have.” Post-hardcore veterans, Emery, have been releasing consistently splendid melodic albums for over a decade now. So when bassist and co-vocalist Devin Shelton decided to take an “indefinite hiatus” from the group to peruse family life, no one would have faulted Emery for deciding 2011 was a good time to hang it up. Calling it quits was not in the fold, however. Instead the now-foursome, Morrell (lead vocals and bass), Matt Carter (lead guitar), Josh Head (keyboards), and Dave Powell (drums), entered the studio to record their fifth album, the appropriately-titled We Do What We Want. 

Emery has always had an eclectic resonance to their albums, but We Do What We Want is, perhaps, the most consistent-sounding album the group has ever produced. As Morrell asserted, this album is also the group’s heaviest effort to date. How heavy? Well, that answer becomes quite apparent after listening to opener “The Cheval Glass” and “Scissors”: it is real heavy. Morrell’s piercing screams rip through the listeners’ ears while the group drops into A Day To Remember-esque breakdown not even thirty seconds into the album! Chanting choruses and scream/sing vocals are complimented by Powell’s bruising kit-smashing. Personnel-wise, this is the same band (minus Shelton, of course) who wrote 2007’s I’m Only A Man. Sonically however, this is a band who have a much heavier message to get across through which only equally heavy music can do justice for.

The group does not abandon the melodic-sound that their career has been built upon. On “The Curse Of Perfect Days” Morrell sings “Tell me that I’m a fool // That I’ve exaggerated the situation // ‘Cause I’ve never been scared like this // Of losing more than I have to give // It’s so unfair,” as Carter provides a well-placed guitar melody layered with heavy bass. As well, Emery does not relinquish their ability to craft some of most elegant harmonizations in the genre. Stand-out track “You Wanted It” has a gorgeous chorus any post-hardcore fan will be unable not to sing along too.

Lyrically, Emery takes on adulthood, faith, and loss. The aforementioned “You Wanted It” finds Morrell navigating a story about losing one’s faith then realizing one is worse off for it. Perhaps the most candid lyrics are found on the two closing ballads, “I Never Got To See The West Coast” and “Fix Me.” The former is a sincere voyage through bereavement and loneliness. The latter is a call for help, as Morrell declares, “My hearts a complex machine // When it breaks it takes more // than the doctors and technology to fix me // Fix me. Can you fix me?” It is a graceful and serene ending to an album that starts off so violently.

Honestly, there is little to complain about regarding We Do What We Want. Sure the plethora of sounds usually found on Emery albums is absent on this album. Yet, one could see this as a positive attribute for We Do What We Want comes off as an organized package despite its hectic contents. There is little left that Emery needs to prove, as they have shown a capacity to release solid melodic records throughout their career. Alas, if We Do What We Want is any indication, the group is not in least bit ready to slow down.

****/*****

*This review was composed by Mike Meeze