Sinking & Arms Like Roses Split
Two great emo bands are collaborating to bring you a very special release that I’m positive will still be on everyone’s minds and at the top of their year end lists when that time comes.
Sinking, based around the Massachusetts area, and the Connecticut based emo act, Arms Like Roses, had begun sharing the same drummer, Thomas Shrieve, roughly about a year and a half ago. Aside of now sharing the same drummer they’ll also be sharing the same upcoming release date for their flawless split dropping on April 19th, physicals will be on CD and cassettes through @realoemo and @milkcrate_merch, each side containing 3 brand new songs a piece and a classic emo cover song from each band. Thomas claims despite him being the drummer for both bands now that they thought of doing the split before he even joined Sinking. “It came up when we did a weekender with each other back in 2021 and we became friends very quickly.”
Both bands are at their best on this split and it offers everything that great emo songs should have, a perfectly lawless use of dynamics and tempo in the rhythm section, emotionally introspective, poetic lyrics that tug at the heartstrings, captivating vocals that make you wanna sing along and scream as loud as you can and guitar work showcasing that the “hardest hitting” and most well written riffs don’t need to be oversaturated in distortion to pack a punch and burrow into your brain.
Sinking kicks off their side of the split with ‘“Doze” by first instrumentally setting the tone so that you know this split is gonna be nothing short of magical. The guitar work immediately gave me nostalgia for old Jimmy Eat World tracks like “Bleed American” and “Sweetness” and Matthew Good Band (Beautiful Midnight era) the early emo sound of the aughts on this track poured out of my earbuds and turned into unfiltered energy that made its way to my bloodstream and gave me goosebumps. I was later informed that the album “Bleed American” was actually used as a reference album when it came time for mixing these songs.
Vitality ensues from one track to the next as “Thistle Blossom” hits suddenly after a movie quote from well.. ”It’s actually not from a movie, it’s from a video of a drunk frat bro we met after a show haha”. Energy rises with jump happy rhythms while octaves glide, bend and melt into the vocals and rhythm guitar work on this radio friendly track.
Currently streaming online are “Untitled Love Song (Dedicated To No One)” by Arms Like Roses, (which is their first new single released since 2022) and “Thistle Blossom” by Sinking, the music video for this track originally debuted on Realoemo and can be viewed right here as well.
Sinking’s third track “Horace” I feel is their most layered and technical song. Every instrument is doing its own thing almost completely separate of their counterparts for the entirety of the song although at one point the lead guitar does match up in a similar scale to the vocal melody that sings “neighbor, bloated, sweet like swine, bent and grown, taking up our precious time” from 01:14 - 01:33 is a sync up worthy of thee highest praise.
At last we have the Apleseed Cast cover “Innocent Vigilante Ordinary” and it fits so well with their originals on this split that it’s no wonder why they chose to cover it. Often times a cover song can sound forced by bands, a joyless practice to engage audiences who may know the artist well but will know the cover song far better than the actual artist covering it. That is not the case in this cover, Sinking have put a new coat of shiny paint on an old classic and it sounds brand new again. (Not to mention that being able to hear this 21 year old classic emo heater with better production is in itself a pleasure all its own).
Arms Like Roses’ side of the split starts off with “Untitled Love Song (Dedicated To No One)”. As two clean guitar riffs dance along the fretboard romantically for a brief moment before being greeted by the beautiful vocals of Estelle Angel as the drums and bassline kick into a light gallop completing the full rhythmic framework that supports the opaque opening lyrical query “they say rejection just protects you from what could've been, well if that’s true when will these bruises fade?”. This song has everything on my checklist to be considered as an impeccable track, including all the required criteria I mentioned earlier in this article, this song also highlights some excellent backing vocal patterns and flawless vocal vibratos, guitar leads with octaves that jog through the chorus rhythm parts and exceptionally vigorous tom drum patterns to accompany the noodly riffwork in the latter half of the song.
Whisk all that up with some enchanting gang vocals and a few crackly screams yearning to be heard “I deserve to be flooded with love, I deserve to be flooded with love, instead searching through dried up wells. I deserve to be flooded with love. I deserve something” and you’re left with an emo anthem you can listen to on repeat and never tire of.
“Glass Thoughts” is quite literally a toast to mental illness (lyrical pun intended). A lonely guitar part enters and sets the stage.. “Open your eyes and face the silence, you can’t hide yourself anymore, they can see right through your glass thoughts”. These lyrics had me holding my breath in anticipation while the song lulls you in with a slow and slumberous melody, the drums punch in gradually building up the tempo and melodramatic dynamics for two minutes only to have it all stop dead in its tracks to hold you in the mid air suspense of a tame single note picked riff for a few breaths just before it smashes into another massive wall of sound from the full band that doesn’t stop evolving until it’s end when Estelle finally sings out the rest of this ballad with honest thoughts and important steps for us all to consider “You don’t have to pretend to be alright. Dust off your old jean jacket and take a good look at yourself”.
“New Moon” stumbles in with an uneasy vibe as frantic, anxious lyrics and stressed vocals tremble and quiver out a poetic spoken word monologue in a fashion that La Dispute would be very proud of. Estelle’s rant begins “Pacing miles around this vacant room. Holding hands and taking turns reliving our childhood traumas. I'm the worst kind of person that you're somehow obsessed with. Through depression we can coexist and still feel conflicted. All the question marks and made up words, they're so claustrophobic and exhausting”. Beginning to relate and feel the pain on a very personal level right as the lyrics then decided to personally attack me with “just to live another day throwing fists and slurping ramen from the bottom of the trash barrel”. As the words hit my ears I damn near spat out my ramen in a fit of depressed protest.. Seriously.
In Estelle’s own words “The song is referring to a specific friendship I had for several years that had many ups and downs. There were a lot of emotions involved because my friend had been struggling with addiction for a long time; specifically being an alcoholic. The pandemic especially made it more difficult due to having limited access to help, support, and feeling isolated. I had played a significant role in their life for such a long time, but I was beginning to have pent up resentment because I felt like I made such an effort to help, and it didn’t make a difference. It really hurt to watch such a close friend slowly kill themselves day after day.
I have struggled with plenty of my own mental health issues, and tried my best to show my empathy, but at a certain point it was just damaging our friendship. After some time there was this sort of “revelation”. I wanted to move on from my past trauma, and learn to genuinely love myself despite all the hardships I had endured, they wanted to live a sober and healthy life.”
Each band finishes their side with a classic emo cover, Arms Like Roses cover “Oh Messy Life” by Cap’n Jazz and I know I’m gonna anger the purists and oldheads who will think this isn’t allowed or will tell me this opinion is “wrong” but I really enjoy their cover more than the original. So sue me. It’s an amazing rendition of the song and no one can debate that.
Physicals will be on CD and cassettes through @realoemo and @milkcrate_merch on April 19th but until then..
Checkout the EP here : Sinking / Arms Like Roses Split
Writer : @just_reidz
Editor : @letsgetpivotal
04/14/24
