Source: Album Artwork
Canadian rock connoisseurs The Glorious Sons have crossed the Atlantic to made their UK debut – and thank God for that. Brothers Brett and Jay Emmons released their sophomore album Young Beauties and Fools on October 13th, and it was a triumph.
The 10-track album is a calculated mix of narrative cliche in the classic boy-meets-girl ‘Josie’, 70s-style rock ’n roll in ‘My Poor Heart’, and bittersweet ballad ‘Hide My Love’. The album is an exploration of the human condition – held together by Brett Emmons’ intricate and incredibly personal songwriting. The album, in fact, originated from a series of messages on Emmons’ phone.
Speaking of the album, he said: “After a few lukewarm conversations about ideas, I said to them, ‘Boys, can I show you something?’ I took out my iPhone and played ‘Josie’ and they just went fucking nuts. They wanted us to challenge ourselves as players and songwriters and pushed me to write from personal experience.
“After that, the hardest part of the recording was choosing which songs to keep for the album. I’m forever grateful to them for teaching me to trust myself as a writer and help find that voice.”
This intricate songwriting is what makes Young Beauties and Fools such an exceptional effort. The band kick things off with ‘My Poor Heart’, Brett Emmons’ soulful vocals cutting through a track almost melancholy in tone. He sings: “I need to rest my poor heart, I think I’ve taken it too far” – and the rest of the track follows suit.
Deliberate drums by Adam Paquette transform the track into an infectious anthem – pulling every skilfully produced element together effortlessly. This smooth production continues throughout feel-good love song ‘Josie”‘heart-wrenching ballad “‘ide My Love’ and radio-friendly bop ‘My Blood’.
The album closes with ‘Thank You For Saying Goodbye’: another result of the Emmons’ brothers skilful songwriting. The track tells an intricate and bittersweet story – “Everything is alright, if only for the night, I forgot what it feels like.” Layered, choral vocals juxtaposed with acoustic moments push the track to another level, and leave the listener in awe of a band who are far too unknown to be quite this talented.
Young Beauties and Fools is only a slight glimpse into what is an exceptionally gifted band. With Brett Emmons’ craftsmanship behind them, there’s no limit to where we could find these boys in the future
