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Don’t let the title fool you; though at times its lyrics wax poetic, this is not an emo record. Rather, it borrows from many (non-emo) genres that maybe shouldn’t work together but do. From the rapidly swirling psych riffs of ‘If You Ride It to the End, You’ll Get What You Came For’, the Pixies-esque guitar line of ‘Sleeping’, and the blues-rock chorus of ‘Stranded’, this album incorporates everything you like about rock and roll into a seamless, danceable whole. The best songs feature an unlikely marriage of driving shoegaze beats with stretches of rapid fire noise that remind us there’s a connection between punk and post-punk. Singer Tina DaCosta’s vocals, authoritatively punchy like Corin Tucker (but more smoky than shrill), are sometimes sweet and sometimes screamed in her distinctive, raspy voice, as she yells prescient lyrics. Though the music gets a tad dramatic at times, one must remember that at heart, Man in Gray is a party band, albeit one for thinking people.
