Singles Roundup: Emerson Hart, Guernica Mancini, Motive Black, & Brother Hawk

If you sense a theme with this week's singles, you're not wrong.

Emerson Hart - Love Conquers All

The build to Emerson's experimental EP continues, and my disinterest is following suit. His last single was perhaps the song he's written I've enjoyed the least, and this one isn't isn't much of an improvement. The spacey sound is already not my favorite thing, but it's the chorus where I'm most disappointed. Emerson is in my top three favorite songwriters ever, so hearing him repeatedly belt the title is a crushing blow. There isn't enough to the music or the verses to overcome such a flat and predictable hook, as it's so sanded down I'm not sure it could puncture a cup of Jell-O. It hurts to hear an artist you love growing apart from you, and that's quite obviously the case with where Emerson and I are in life.

Guernica Mancini - Inception

I said when I reviewed Thundermother's album this year I ended up more interested in what Guernica was going to do with her solo career. This is the first song showing us what that is going to be, and and I'm seriously underwhelmed. She is an amazing singer, and she sounds fantastic on this track. The problem is, as always, the melody of the song isn't even close to matching her capabilities. It's so bare-bones and flat everything is relying on her, and while she has the voice to make up for a lot of short-comings, this song is asking a little too much of her. Damn.

Motive Black - Fight Alone

After their 'comeback' single fell completely flat with me, I decided to give Motive Black one more opportunity to impress me. With only three songs over the course of multiple years, they have put so much pressure on each one to carry the load. When their previous song released in April, it was with an expectation of an album coming at some point. We're nearing the end of the year, and there hasn't been a whisper of that record's impending release. So now we're faced with this song, which is certainly an improvement. It has some energy and hook to it, but it's still radio rock of the normal variety, and doesn't stand out that much. That would be fine, except they're going to ask me to keep them at the forefront of my mind for yet more months on the basis of this one track. Sorry, but that's not going to happen. These singles have killed any momentum the band could have gotten rolling.

Brother Hawk - Southern Sun

There's something about laid-back rock that holds a unique appeal. We think of rock being big and loud, but it can also soothe the savage beast. Brother Hawk is one of those bands that has mastered that feeling, with a southern rock flavor buoyed with organs and shimmering guitars. Their sound is all about atmosphere, and that is where they excel. This first taste of their new album has the right sound, but is also interesting for a different reason. When they finally hit the swell of the chorus, it's the bass, and not the vocals, that are most prominent in the mix. The rumble is easy to feel, and it adds some grit, but it also is rather strange. It almost makes it sound like the song is receding when it needs to rise, and perhaps they are taking the soft sound a bit too literally.