Tickle Me Emo

SteveK Listens to Anberlin and I Am Ghost

This week, I’ve had the opportunity to listen to a couple of true-to-form Emo Rock albums, both of which proving that there is life left in this oft-maligned (even by me) genre of music.

First, I had a listen to the forthcoming release by California rockers, I Am Ghost. It’s been a difficult couple of years for the band. After the release of their first full-length album, ‘Lovers Requiem’ in 2006, and extensive touring, they suffered the loss of Kerith and Brian Telestai, who left the band due to what can best be described as philosophical reasons. Drummer Ryan Seaman also left soon after.

Founding members Steven Juliano and Timoteo Rosales III added new talent to the lineup and went into the studio to record their second album earlier this year. In May, rhythm guitarist Gabe Iraheta left the band as well, replaced with Chad Kulengosky.

If you wonder how so much turmoil affects the production of an album, you need only listen to the raw emotion, the anger, pain and grief seething from the 14 tracks for the answer. The album opens with a creepy spoken-word intro by an anonymous female vocalist (believed to be Chamber of Echoes singer Klaryssa Korol), then dives into “Don’t Wake Up”.

The album is reminiscent in tone and style to 30 Seconds to Mars’ ‘A Beautiful Lie’, in that the songs are introspective studies in the cathartic personal growth people go through following the end of a turbulent relationship. The turbulence for I Am Ghost came from the conservative Christian views of the departed Telestais, whose beliefs are attributed with holding back I Am Ghost’s sound.

Overall, ‘Those We Leave Behind’ is a much harder, darker album than their previous release, and its sound and lyrical style represent a real paradigm shift. “Smile of a Jesus Freak” reflects this change the strongest, and is probably the most direct that Steven Juliano gets about the departure of the Telestais. The song is more of a rant than anything else, including excessive use of the “F-Bomb”. The probable cause of the expletives is a nervous breakdown that Kerith Telestai reportedly had after Juliano said the dreaded “Fuck” onstage during a show.

Songs like “Bone Garden” “Saddest Story Never Told” “So, I Guess This Is Goodbye” and “Don’t Wake Up” are a better reflection of the album’s merits; the songs are all anthemic, concert-ready and manic in their intensity. This isn’t a relaxing album, full of anger and tension, emotion and conflict. It reinvigorates Emo Rock, giving it a much needed burst of freshness and originality in spite of an overabundance of melodrama and Screamo leanings.

I Am Ghost: Those We Leave Behind
Epitaph
Steve’s Rating: 8/10

On the more poetic and subtle side of Emo Rock lies Anberlin, and their latest effort, ‘New Surrender’.

Anberlin tend to be more inventive with lyrical imagery, creating clever turns of phrase on almost every track on this, their fourth studio album, their first with Universal Music.

Songs like the opener “The Resistance” and “Disappear” are great examples of Anberlin’s strengths as a band, with tight music and inventive lyrics. However, as a whole this album seems to suffer with too much radio-friendly production; the treble is turned down on these tracks, the bass tones much higher than on their previous releases. The music isn’t as raw or unrefined as the band’s work with Tooth and Nail Records. There is no doubt about the quality of the music on this album, but I feel that the over-production hampers Anberlin more than anything else.

Anberlin: The New Surrender
Universal
Steve’s Rating: 8/10

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