Emarosa
unveil a new lineup and a sleek, sophisticated, but powerful sound on their third album, 2014's
Versus
. Featuring new vocalist
Bradley Scott Walden
(formerly of
Squid the Whale
) along with founding members
E.R. White
on guitars,
Jordan Stewart
on keyboards, and
Will Sowers
on bass,
is
's most polished and stylish effort to date, but the passion and forceful attack that marked their earlier work is still center stage on this release, as
White
's muscular guitar work reinforces the strong but artful emotional attack of
Walden
's vocals, which fuse R&B influences with a rocker's spirit. Featuring a set of songs that deal with powerful emotions on a grand scale,
is crafted with a skill that should attract new fans while satisfying their old ones with intelligence, sincerity, and uncompromised musical power. ~ Mark Deming