I have been stoked on hearing this album since I first learned about Paper Garden Records, and it wastes not time delivering the goods I have been expecting. 

Creating electro-orchestral pop in its finest form, Emanuel takes collaborative elements from Arcade Fire, The National, and Spoon bringing acoustic guitar and synthesizers together and sketching out vivid stories.  With eleven members to handle, Emanuel and co. find their strength in rhythm and ingenuity of sound:  Instruments peek in and slip away in gentle form; cellos harmonize with trombones over top of DIY handclaps; none of the arrangements feel overly-wrought. 

Titular Emanuel Ayvas, frontman and main composer, is exploring very familiar themes in his lyrics, but the simple way in which he conveys these emotions makes them more poignant to hear sung:  "You feel more real if you take your mind away/ From the addiction to your paycheque/ and from the shackles of your job/ and you close your eyes and wonder if you'll ever make enough to feel alive"

"Jimme's Song" plays out like the beginning of a hip-hop sampler with a man's vocals lamenting about the way Burger King treats their meat animals overtop scratched beats and whirling strings.  "Two" and "We're All Alright Tonight" wrap up the EP and leave my metaphorical mouth watering for more.  If we're lucky, Emanuel and the Fear will be releasing a full-length within the next year.  Let's hope it's sooner than later.

*****

Track Listing:

1) The Rain Becomes The Clouds
2) Comfortable Prison
3) Jimme's Song
4) We're All Alright Tonight
5) Two