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Let me ask you a question - when was the last time you picked up an album, or discovered a band which really inspired you? Well for me that moment came when I discovered the music of alternative rock band The Uneasy from New Jersey in the US. Thanks to power of the digital world we live in, the band’s lead singer Emily Jean got in touch to share the news about the release of their brand new album, Time To Kill.
What makes this record so incredible is not just the 11 brilliant tracks, but something even more precious than that - Emily’s ambition to share some of the most personal and sensitive parts of her life and transform those experiences in a way which allows anyone who has gone through anything similar to realise that they can conquer the darkness and come out of the other end stronger and free of the shackles that try to hold them back. Based on that knowledge, even before clicking that play button, it makes me want to root on The Uneasy even more!
With that in mind, I think it is only right that I take even more a closer look at Time to Kill and just some of its mighty fine components which make up this record. The album starts with an opening Prelude. Despite being quite short, the track is absolutely raw and tender as Emily puts so much emotions and soul which is evident when you focus on her stunning voice, thus creating a rippling effect within her music.
After a stunning opening track, the second track sees The Uneasy ramp up the high octane energy with Want Some, which is a song so full of heart and unblemished honesty in its purest form. The spirit of this song exists within the lyrics as Emily tackles something which we can all understand and relate to - our sense of belonging and who we are. I absolutely love the lines ‘I was lost but now I am found’, because it is a reminder that regardless of what is going on around we should never be afraid of re-discovering ourselves again. Making ourselves the mofo damn priority for a change. Listening to this track I feel both emotional and empowered within the same breath.
The momentum keeps flowing with the headline track, Time To Kill, and for me this song symbolises those awakening moments in life, where we don’t reflect but that cathartic feeling where we mentally open our eyes and unpack everything which may have been occupying our minds for so long. This is a song which beautifully grasps the idea of really looking inwardly at yourself from a 360 degree, all encompassing point of view. For instance lyrics such as ‘What did I say, what did i do, while I was out. Heaven knows what people think about me right now. I don’t care, they will say what they want to anyway’, lines like this are a kind of a much needed bit of wisdom where we have to remember to stop allowing the outside world to dominate our thinking and shift the focus on the post important part of the equation - numero uno.
A quarter of the way through this album, and already Time To Kill is having such a monumental impact on me as a music fan. The bond I have with this record is very much real, and what is really wholesome about the whole experience up to now is how someone else’s story can ignite the strong points within your own mind. As humans we tend to hide scars, but with a record like this The Uneasy are encouraging us to roll up our sleeves and just embrace those experiences in life, because they are part of the process which are the fuel to get us to the other side. The scars which make us reluctant to be the true versions of ourselves, are also the ones, where with the right approach have the capacity to also set us free.
Let’s resume taking a look at this epic record. After the energy of the last couple of tracks, The Uneasy slightly slow things down a bit with 27, which is a song which really allows you to place your full undivided attention on Emily’s exemplary songwriting. This is such a honest song, which is written in a way where she gets even more deeper and with that involves even being more raw emotively. Stepping into a place of vulnerability with lines like ‘...you had so much to give and now your six foot deep, you made your way inside our heart, that you stayed. You just took a piece of me then just walked away.’, you cannot help but visualise what such poetic words look like within your mind.
As much as I want to go through this album track by track, I don’t want to give away all the trade secrets, so I will just pick out just a few more highlight track which will enhance your thirst for this album and The Uneasy as a whole. I have so many favourite tracks on this records, but if I had to name some of them one of them would have to be Slave. It just radiates the confidence that comes with just letting go and just speaking your truth, almost in the sense of being on the outside and looking in.
Another of my favouroites and a top recommendation has to be Dangerous Expectations, which takes captive of this idea of not judging a book by its cover or being careful who you mess with. It represents this idea of standing your ground and a reminder to the outside world, especially to those who try think its smart to mess with us, to think twice if they want to avoid getting their fingers burn. I absolutely love the lyrics ‘...it’s a dangerous game your playing, but you could lose any day’. This song for me is about having the ability to reassert ourselves, and not allowing anyone to give us any crap!
The final song I want to mention is In The Depths, and what really captivates me about this track is how Emily really tackles that darkness within head on and creates a safe space to navigate through thoughts such as ‘...was I born to be this way’ , ‘my fear is growing everyday’ and ‘I don’t deserve to be happy’. Those are really overwhelming and painful things to hear, when it comes from other folks, but just think how damaging they can be when we start seeing those words as our false reality where we start thinking about ourselves in those same negative ways.
What a song like In The Depths does is serve as a platform to say, you know what I am to let go of such self-harming toxicity, rebuke and most importantly let them go. Our minds are very precious things, this song serves as a reminder to make sure we are not allowing ourselves to let the mind be consumed by the darkness and to stand strong.
Having listened to this album from start to finish, I have no words I cannot emphasise how enriching it has been to listen to Time To Kill. Not only did I discover 11 intricate tracks, but they also allowed me to do a bit of soul-searching of myself along the way. The way that Emily Jean and the rest of The Uneasy have successfully managed to put such sheer honesty throughout the entirety of this record, is something which as a music fan I am truly grateful and respectful for.
Time To Kill is available on all major platforms as of now, so do make absolutely sure you listen and allow yourself to connect to the record in the same way that I did. The feelings you may feel might be tender at first, but just a moment with The Uneasy will make it one of the most freeing experiences you will ever encounter!
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This review was made possible by SubmitHub
Article By Thushara Chandrasiri
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