3/5 stars
Much like Kumar Sangakkara, Emperors are going to bow out while they’re still good. That analogy doesn’t really work (I just wanted to make a cricket reference), because I’m really not sure how good this band is. Chupacabra is only their second album too, which makes things harder.
You see, Blue Weezer came out in 1994. That was 21 years ago. Not long after that, Foo Fighters (1995) and Nickelback (1996), to name two, also announced themselves into the world. The difficult thing with Emperors is that it’s almost like they think it’s only 1997 (which isn’t a bad thing; BuzzFeed didn’t exist back then, for one), and in aping the scene of these above bands, they come off as incredibly dated and tacky. Emperors might as well still be wearing shirts with flames on them.
Thing is, Chupacabra isn’t a bad album. Most of the songs on this record are deftly crafted alternative rock songs with strong, sometimes poppy, melodies that easily draw the listener in. Take ‘Green Head’, for example, which had me subconsciously tapping along after two half-listens to the song.
‘Automatic Sigh’ and ‘Eliot Ness’ are two others that also house sharp lures to grab you seemingly from nowhere, like a crocodile, or Weezer’s own ‘Buddy Holly’.
Chupacabrais out now on Gun Fever.
