EXCUSE ME, WHO ARE YOU? (EMWAY?), the Madison-based screamo infused Midwest emo / post hardcore band, has just released their highly anticipated debut album, “Double Bind“, which we’re stoked to give you in full, along with the band’s special track by track comentary below.
Full of their unique fusion of post-hardcore, mathy math emo rock, and screamo with melodic this captivating offering resonates deeply on an emotional level, while not losing the heavy kick and harshness that goes along with their heavy stuff.
“Double Bind” is an intensely personal album that navigates themes of loss, grief, and self-discovery through the lens of Kyle Kinney’s experiences.
The album opens with a heavy breakdown in the track “EMWAY?” reflecting Kinney’s tumultuous emotions following his father’s death. Tracks like “Maybe That Truck Hit Me… And This Is All a Dream…” and “Curses!! I’ll Get You Next Time, Powertron!” delve into the struggles of moving on from significant relationships and dealing with complicated paternal bonds.
The deeply reflective “Https://mimasroom.com” and the introspective “Volcano Balls” explore the transient nature of friendships and the aftermath of breakups. The title track, “Double Bind,” encapsulates the mixed emotions and pain associated with his father’s passing, culminating in a powerful message about finding ways to cope.
The album’s final track, “Let’s End All of This,” reveals Kinney’s insecurities and the complexities of trust in relationships, wrapping up an album that is as emotionally resonant as it is musically compelling.
The band, consisting of Stuart Benjamin on guitar, Hayden Johnson on drums, Kyle Kinney on vocals, and Jackson Pertzborn on bass, burst onto the scene with their EP “About That Beer I Owed Ya,” which was filled with top-tier midwest emo sensibilities.
This debut effort was recorded fully DIY, with James Goodrich-Ryan as the recording drummer and writing partner. It captured the attention of emo enthusiasts with its blend of twinkly riffs and cathartic screams, leading to over 400K streams and spots in several 5th-wave emo showcases.
EMWAY? has shared stages with bands like BEN QUAD, YOUR ARMS ARE MY COCOON, BLIND EQUATION, RILEY!, STARS HOLLOW, KHAKI CUFFS, and TINY VOICES.
Their latest single, “Let’s End All of This,” released on April 19, 2024, is a perfect prelude to the full album. Directed by Evan McConahay, the music video takes viewers on a surreal journey into the central Wisconsin woods, complementing the song’s heavy breakdowns and ethereal chord voicings.
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This single followed the release of “Maybe That Truck Hit Me… And This Is All a Dream…” on March 8, 2024, marking their first new music in almost two years. These tracks set the stage for “Double Bind,” an album that delves into themes of loss, introspection, and emotional turmoil.
Track by track commentary by vocalist Kyle Kinney
EMWAY?
My roots are in heavy music so naturally I wrote this and thought it would be sick to have a breakdown opener track for the release. The lyrics are about my father who passed away. Everything around me felt like it was falling apart at this time of my life and I was filled with a lot of emotions when my father passed on top of it. The lyrics “will I find my rest like you” is a call to the lyrics in Double Bind “how will I ever rest if you never can” and “what did I expect to find?”
Maybe That Truck Hit Me… And This Is All a Dream… (feat. Tyler Stodghill)
This was the first new song we wrote and started playing out after our EP. In fact, this whole release was written on guitar in 2021 and we were playing this live by the end of that year. I was having dreams about my ex every night and it was really starting to get to me. It’s brutally honest about how things were between us and it’s hard not to reminisce growing up together as well as learning to move on from something that was a big part of your life.
Curses!! I’ll Get You Next Time, Powertron!
We workshopped this song to absolute death until one day I rolled into practice and was like “we are keeping it the way it was originally!” This song was written around a memory I have with my dad telling me over the phone that he would still be happy if he never saw me again. “I can’t wait til I die” refers to feeling the same way as he did about myself. That maybe I will be happy also then.
Https://mimasroom.com (feat. Hey, Ily)
I wrote this entire song in one sitting when I was told my dad was in the hospital and I didn’t know which one. Nor was I able to see him once I called around and found out where. The lyrics are about how friends come and go. Things change growing older and either you or them grow closer or apart with age. “It’s easy to stay the same” and not make change in your life or who you spend time with but, unfortunately, things will always change over time.
Volcano Balls (feat. Tiny Voices)
I wrote this song around the line from Perfect Blue: “I know I’ll never see HER ever again. But, thanks to her, I am who I am today.” It’s about my ex and how I was questioning how she felt about not being together anymore as well as how my life is now since. This was a time where I spent most days on my hammock outside drinking by myself.
<3
Just a little breather since I felt like we kind of beat everyone to a pulp throughout this release. This wasn’t going to be on Double Bind initially but we tracked it last minute to include it.
Double Bind
The title song was the last full song we finished and added. It’s the culmination of the mixed emotions I had about my father passing and my difficulty coming to terms with the past as well as how to feel. Sometimes you can’t make sense out of things that don’t make sense and you have to find a way to be okay with that. Not only that, but also finding healthy ways to cope with the pain. Shoutout to Maxwell Culver who is featured on this track for helping with the lyrics on this one as well as others on the release like “Maybe That Truck Hit Me… And This Is All a Dream…”
Let’s End All of This
I initially wrote this song as a homage to my friends and it became more of a double edged sword. The director of the music video for the song, Evan McConahay, described it really well: “few things in life are creepier than feeling like you can’t trust the people closest to you, or even worse, yourself.” To be very clear, I love my friends to death and this track is ultimately about my own insecurities.
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