‘Time To Kill‘ is the debut album of New Jersey based band The Uneasy, fronted by powerhouse vocalist and songwriter Emily Jean. Composed of additional members Kevin Grewen, Max Yassky, Travis Smith, and Johnny V, the quintet can only be described as rock. There are no frills, no subgenres, this is genuine straight to the core rock, constantly moving like a raging river of uncompromising attitude and grit. If you know anything of tarot, you’ll notice The Uneasy’s logo is a Three Of Swords, symbolizing emotional sorrow, loss, trauma, and separation depending on who your reader is, whereas reversed it speaks to overcoming grief and reconciliation. ‘Time To Kill‘ was inspired lyrically around frontwoman Emily Jean’s previous obstacles, her journey through heroin addiction, temporary hearing loss due to an overdose, and the path to quitting and now living a happy, stable life she could only have previously imagined. The subject matter is uneasy indeed, yet makes for an unflagging listen. ‘Prelude‘ opens the LP sinuously, with the slow buildup and storytelling of ‘All That Jazz’ (another opener) from the musical ‘Chicago‘. As I was imagining myself in a cozy underground jazz venue ‘Want Some‘ began pounding it’s electric intro I realized ‘Prelude‘ was aptly named, giving us a warm-up to Jean’s dynamite vocals we were about to experience. ‘Why‘ is one of the highlights of the album and possibly my favorite track, as a slight change of pace from the rest, it features echoey howling bringing on the Mannequin Pussy vibes and thunderous instrumentation, whereas ‘Slave‘ another highlight sticks closer to the cohesive gel but shines through with it’s mysterious L7 zeitgeist. ‘Slave‘ is easily an anthem for addiction, whether it’s similar to singer Emily Jean’s or something uniquely your own, the track brings understanding. ‘Inside‘ is sexy, dynamic, mystifying and best of all, within a minute it’ll have you dancing – yet another highlight! ‘In The Depths‘ oozes early 2000s rock atmosphere, lyrics questioning past behaviors as you’re very clearly in the depth of it all (not to be punny).
Despite stating there are no subgenres here at the beginning of this review, let that not confuse you, ‘Time To Kill‘ follows the twists and turns in pace, making detours when needed. Certain tracks roar, others gently caress. One of the goals of the album seems to be expressing a compassion for the darkness interspersed with the light and The Uneasy have succeeded in this task.
Sarah Medeiros