For their second EP, Elessar promise ‘five slabs of engulfing Emo alt-rock [which] unites hooky choruses with expansive and inventive guitar lines.’ Pitched as being for fans of Mallory Knox and Lower Than Atlantis, you know what to expect, and yes, they deliver it. That is to say, the EP offers 5 well-studied and keenly-crafted assimilations of the aforementioned acts and their ilk. There’s no discernible deviation from the templates, to the extent that the songs feel familiar before they even reach the chorus.
It’s well-played, but the guitar lines are anything but inventive. Yes, it’s melodic, but it’s also mediocre. But, most frustrating of all has to be the absence of a question mark in the EP’s title. Rah!
