Emarosa - Peach Club [Purple]

Emarosa shed the last of their post-hardcore skin on Peach Club, the 2019 album that found the band chasing big, glossy pop hooks, now on purple vinyl.

Produced by Courtney Ballard and released on Hopeless Records, the record pushed further away from the heavy, screamed roots of the band's early years and toward synth-pop, dance-pop and polished pop rock. It was also the first Emarosa album with bassist Robert Joffred, and the change of direction gave the band a brighter, more flirtatious identity, with the lead vocals placed front and centre in a way the band's heavier records never quite allowed.

"Givin' Up" introduced the new sound as the lead single, a sleek, eighties-tinged groove built around a big, soulful vocal. "Don't Cry" followed with a heartbroken hook that refuses to wallow, while "Cautious" and "Get Back Up" round out a run of singles that play like a band discovering how much fun a chorus can be. The synths glisten, the guitars stay crisp and the rhythms nudge toward the dancefloor.

Peach Club is a bold, unashamed pivot, and it holds up as one of the most confident records in the band's catalogue, built for summer drives. On purple vinyl, it makes a colourful companion to the band's earlier work.