Emanuel

Black Earth Tiger (Vagrant)
by Scott Hefflon

Louisville KY’s Emanuel‘s last release, their debut, Soundtrack to a Headrush, caused a split between love and hate. I dug it and its swerving melodies and gooses that kept you on your toes while many found it predictable emocore. Black Earth Tiger is more straight-forward, so despite the Terry Date (Pantera) production, it’s pretty much just there, doing its thing. It may connect with fans willing to bend and take it, but for the casual listener, it doesn’t grab you, and the tunes don’t swerve and “whoa” like they did the first time, so they’re just move songs to slog through for me.
(www.vagrant.com)