We Do What We Want

On We Do What We Want the songs detail painful breakups, helpless longing and unfettered angst, acknowledging self-destructive impulses without denying the ultimate power of faith. Tobey Morrell’s sweet-toned singing makes a perfect foil for Josh Head’s guttural screams as Emery’s arrangements shift in mood and tempo according the contours of the tunes. Sonically, the album moves from the mouth-frothing intensity of “The Cheval Glass” and “Scissors” into the brutal yet poppy passages of “I’m Not Here for Rage I’m Here for Revenge” before hitting a patch of deceptive calm with “Daddy’s Little Peach.” The band even manages to pull off the remorse-filled “I Never Got to See the West Coast” in a mostly acoustic setting. By the time We Do What We Want ends with the reverent, grandly melodic “Fix Me,” Emery has taken the listener on a careening emotional ride, skirting the edge of the abyss before offering the hope of salvation.