Connecticut foursome A Will Away are jumping on the Emo-punk band wagon, with a sound that is reminiscent of The Early November, Hidden In Plain View and more recently Moose Blood and Boston Manor. Their latest EP ‘Bliss’ opens with ‘Play Dead’, the Americana guitars replaced with the punchy vocals of Matt Carlson. It’s emotive, it’s energetic but also comes abound with an edgier warmth and an unplugged style chorus that gives that hands round a hot chocolate feeling from the get go.
‘My Sitter’ is a slow burner, and has that instant melancholy laced throughout, both sonically and lyrically, “that American dream” summoning imagery of youth imagination. The song builds up where “hey” introduces a trickling guitar overlay that will have hairs on the neck taking note, but the very strong vocals of Carlson brings the song to it’s heaviest and most joyous moment, before a brief respite; finishing with a wall of glorious sound, the melodic scream of Carlson adding that realism to the prose.
His vocals in ‘Cheap Wine’ show his ability at holding a note to perfection, the sonic warmth of the track providing the perfect canvas for the beauty of the vocal parts, both lyrically and aurally. “You let me test your patience, you let me overstay” makes you sit up straight and just listen, it is one of those moments that all records try to achieve, that singularity of quality that supersedes the rest.
’10 or 11′ launches in with an acapella vocal part before the EP’s most upbeat moments, the screams of “I belong here” visceral and heart felt. A Will Away will take listeners on an aural journey and it would seem impossible that these boys aren’t set for much greater things, their rawness mixed with the classical emo-punk sound is sure to wet the whistle of those so inclined.
‘Be Easy’ is the poppiest of offerings on the EP, with an incredibly infectious chorus. The strength in this band lies solely with Carlson who has a unique way of drawing you in, like a fire in winter, and without him A Will Away would blur away into the cacophony of other artists saturating the scene. But with him, they offer something gorgeous, something fresh and something worth checking out. Whether they are here to stay is yet to be seen, but this strong EP gives hope and songs like ‘Play Dead’ are up there with any other in the scene.
With producer Gary Cijoffi (Four Year Strong, Transit), A Will Away have created an honest EP that sounds perfect in places. Live, the EP is supposed to sound completely different, and intentionally so, so as to provide two experiences of the same record. We look forward to catching their “innovative spontaneity and nostalgically-driven” live shows sometime in the near future.
DAVE BULL