Disco de Emery: “I'm Only a Man”

People are giving this album poor reviews because Emery dropped the screamo/hardcore edge for this release. Ignore them. Emery has crafted their most mature album to date.

The music is similar to "The Question", albeit with greatly reduced screaming. Emery writes complex songs lacking a conventional song structure and utilizes a plethora of instruments to perform them. Whats great about this album, however, is the faint (but delicious) "dance groove" interwoven throughout the album ("The Party Song" and "Don't Bore us, Get To The Chorus" are the most obvious). Toss in some excellent throwbacks to Queen, and the best groups the 80s and 90s had to offer, and you have yourself an infectious rock album.

It seems emo/screamo children are incapable of appreciating an album written by a band who is exploring a fresh musical direction. Regardless, "I'm Only A Man" proves Emery is man enough to drop out of their comfort zone and churn out one of the best releases of the year (which also includes one of the most catchy songs of the year, "The Party Song"). Highly recommended.

Nuff said. Maybe it's not as good as some of their stuff and maybe it is. When it comes to Emery music theres the stuff you love and then the stuff you love less. And the stuff you love more then anything else. I wont tell you which column this is in because it's going to be different for every fan.

This is a great album if you already like emery I would highly recommend this but if you are just checking them out I would recommend getting "The Question" first.

so i know that emery has decided to go with the less hardcore/screamo music, and gone with a more clear punk style. Even though i really like the vocals, there is more of a combination a songs where one singer sings and then another sings the next song. This album is really good, just give it a chance.

I'm Only a Man is a bit of a departure for Emery, as they continue to move away from their more hardcore roots and experiment with different styles. Upon first listen I didn't really like what I was hearing, but the album quickly grew on me after a couple more tries. It's not quite as far up my alley as their last record was when it came out, but almost every song had something positive going for it. The screaming is relegated to a much smaller role, but they're not exactly less passionate as a band, still bringing intensity to a lot of their songs. They no longer sound quite so unique, but I still see them as a cut above other bands of the same type.

"Rock-n-Rule" gets it started with a guitar line featuring an interesting twang to it, and has Emery's usual shifts between hard, soft, fast, slow, and every combination. "Party Song" is a single, and a decent one, although it's not as attention-grabbing as most of the other tracks. "After the Devil Beats His Wife" is one of the more ambitious songs on the album, featuring a bunch of great touches and ideas. "Can't Stop the Killer" is another good one, with an unforgettable bridge featuring a creepy, distorted speaking of the title. "Dont Bore Us, Get to the Chorus" is probably my favorite. It begins with an odd, repeating choir, and has plenty more gear changes, including a chorus with a heavy out-of-nowhere electronic component that still fits perfectly. It's followed immediately by "What Makes a Man a Man", slower but with a lot of passion and it's very simply quite enjoyable. "From Crib to Coffin" continues the tradition of excellent closing songs to Emery albums, and is over ten minutes of intriguing music if you include the lengthy computerized segment that it trails off with. Some fans didn't seem to receive the album well, and that makes me feel kind of sad.