“The Willing”
from the album Soundtrack to a Headrush
2005
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“Hollywood’s acting depressed / Medicate yourself, the teacher said to the gun / … Buy American machines / Abductor shopping at home, wiretap the phone … / God lives inside your TV / Turn it off and he goes broke and gets crucified.”
One thing is for sure-Kentucky hardcore act Emanuel has aptly named their debut. Soundtrack to a Headrush is filled with lyrics that only remotely make sense, sung in throaty screams and intermittent, catchy melody. It makes sense in a doesn’t-make-sense-at-all kind of way. These are the kinds of odd phrases that run through your head when half-awake/half-asleep, under the influence or otherwise mildly impaired and pissed off.
 Emanuel |
Putting aside the lyrics, Emanuel avoids falling into the all-too-specific subgenres of hardcore that have developed (metal-core? emo-core? screamo? post-punk?). There’s no denying the traces of metal, punk and emo on Soundtrack, but the resulting sound is best described as straightforward hardcore. Other than “Make Tonight” — an incredibly disappointing down-tempo interlude — Soundtrack is defined by powerful, driving guitars, vicious drums, lyrics with attitude (and little else) and vocals that slip from screaming verse to ultra-melodic, highly produced chorus.
Of course, a lot of this material has been covered elsewhere-and by much better bands, at that. Opener “The Hey Man” starts with lead singer Matt Breen yelling “If you’re down, then get down! And if you’re not, then get the fuck out,” which has long been an old standby for punk and hardcore acts. Listening to Soundtrack is almost like tasting some new hybrid dish containing ingredients you’re quite familiar with. “Buy American Machines” spits forth anti-commercialism vitriol that tastes a lot like Rage Against the Machine. There are dashes of the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Saves the Day and Black Flag all over the place. To Emanuel’s credit, these influences actually come across as influences, rather than as rip-offs of better bands.
Clocking in at only 33 minutes, Soundtrack blazes by quickly. There are a few tracks completely out of place; the aforementioned “Make Tonight” kills the momentum of the two album-stealing tracks that precede it, “Buy American Machines” and “The Willing.“ Album-closer “Dislocated” pales in comparison to ultra-punk screamer “The New Violence” and the more melodic “Breathe Underwater.”
As a debut, Soundtrack to a Headrush is better than most of its hardcore contemporaries, but falls far short of its many influences. While several of the tracks are a little too familiar and quickly drift from memory, others are produced with enough energy that you can’t help but bounce along with them-particularly “Buy American Machines” and “The Willing.” Emanuel’s success or failure as a band is yet to be determined, but Soundtrack is, at the least, a competent start.