Ok, admit it. Hands in the air where I can see them. I’m not afraid to say it. “Hi, my name is Reni, and I’m here because I like pop music.†As much as I dig being a dark horse and rocking out to weighty Scandinavian metal, I’d be fibbing if I didn’t concede here. You know who else isn’t afraid to admit it? Jersey native Val Emmich. That’s who. He’s throwing his hands up too, and makes no excuses for his music. In fact, he makes a pretty darn good argument for the sake of all things sticky and sweet: 
“Pop music is tricky because we’ve been trained not to expect much meaning in it. I love big melodies, but I also love songs with a strong, lasting message. The truly great songs somehow marry the two. Lennon was great at it. Marvin Gaye, Paul Westerberg, Burt Bacharach. They all wrote super catchy songs with lyrics that struck a nerve. Those songs make you want to dance but also make you think.”
And I think he’s right. That’s exactly what I dig about fresh pop music. I’m not talking 100% machine made, prototypical, slick jams. (Disclaimer: I reserve the right to kick it to Samantha Fox’s “Naughty Girls Need Love Too†whenever I want.) But when I say “fresh pop†I am referring to the smart (it means something), catchy (if it were a record, it would wear out), upbeat yet melancholy variety that never exhausts. Val Emmich makes this point very clear with his sixth release, Little Daggers. Emmich offers up hard to resist pop done right about what else? Love. But look close and the message is at times gloomy enough even for this inky soul.
The opening track, “The Lucky Ones,†is a frustrated, lesson learned tune wrapped up in a big pink bow. Complete with hand clapping, and a do-do-do-do-do melody, Emmich quips, “I’m waiting/but nothing comes/every time I take the leap/I think I’ll end up on my feet/but if history tells me anything/I’ll have bruises on my back.†True, without pretense, and oh so pretty, Emmich hooks you in. Imagine Damien Rice after two or three sour cherry Slurpees backed by a chorus and you’ve got “Hurt More Later.†Emmich warns, “it hurts more now but it will hurt more later,†staying close to what he does best. Recipe: one part light melody, one part forlorn lyric, mix well. “Wake Up Brand New†starts out with a bit more of a classic rock and roll guitar riff that leads straight into a visceral chorus “don’t go to sleep just to wake up brand new/in the morning we just hide from the truth.†This one gets to me. How many times have you passed out just to forget? Come on, raise those hands high!
So the thing about Val Emmich is that while I really like all the songs on Little Daggers, I can’t help but feel a little uneasy about how candid he is. Explaining the meaning behind individual songs, album title and personal mission on his website and in his bio, Emmich doesn’t hold back. I mean it’s not hard to figure out. Daggers cut, and little things require one to look close. But I’ll spare you the details because for me, it erased any mystery there may have been to the music. Perhaps I’m a bit too dysfunctional for a happy, healthy bloke like Emmich who likes to talk about all of his feelings without esoteric metaphors and heavy distortion, but either way, I won’t deny him a round of applause for a well-done and thoughtful album. The boy has some skills worth noting.
Tracklisting:
1. The Lucky Ones
2. Get On With It
3. Hurt More Later
4. Darling Denise
5. Too Far
6. Wake Up Brand New
7. We Still Bleed
8. Down
9. Catalyst
Written by: Reni Papananias
Good job!!
I’ve always loved Val. Good for him.
And thanks, now I want a Slurpee….