This completely unoriginal and declarative statement is almost certainly based on personal bias, but the northeastern United States, more specifically New Jersey, will always be the hotbed for rock music. Archie Alone is a four-piece emo powerhouse hailing from the township of Montclair. Hometown to the seemingly unstoppable forces of Pinegrove and Hodera, it’s clear that there is either something in the water or some supernatural force responsible for the sheer amount of talent that comes from this suburb. Unlike the other two groups, Archie Alone seems to pull a lot of their influence from their post-hardcore past. On their new self-titled EP, the sound is equal parts The Promise Ring and Saosin; using traditional midwestern emo as the foundation for which their oft sweeping and always crashing brand of rock music rests.
The album’s lead single, “Motives,” is probably the most straightforward song of the six present. The song is a slow-burner — taking it’s time to march towards an infectious chorus that takes us for a ride before spitting us back into the smokey and slowed nature of the next verse. “Mend” is next, and it treats us to a break from that slow crawl. Archie Alone waste no time crashing around the phrase “If I fall apart again/the best parts of you will mend.” It’s this constant state of ebb and flow that will peak your interest, but it’s Archie Alone’s knack for writing hypnotic verses that lead into infectious choruses that beg you to stay.
You can listen to Arche Alone’s new, self-titled EP in full below.
Archie Alone‘s self-titled record will be available on September 29th. You can pre-order the record via their Bandcamp page, here. The band has an EP release show on September 30th at The Meatlocker in Montclair, NJ. You can RSVP to that here.
