reax music magazine :: music + culture » Reviews » Emanuel - Black Earth Tiger

I have a simple theory: interesting, evocative album art is often times a red flag that the accompanying music will surely disappoint. This has been the case not one, but multiple times in my album-critiquing past. Emanuel's Black Earth Tiger immediately captured my attention due to the pleasingly disturbing collage art decorating its outer shell. Against my better judgment, I carried it home with me and, once settled, proceeded to endure the longest 43 minutes and 3 seconds of my entire adult life. Black Earth Tiger, despite its attempt to tackle meaningful subject matter, is unimaginative and stiff. Tween Hot Topic shoppers will be all over this one, but more for the girlishly-adorable band members than the mediocre tunes. Forgettable. 100%. - Aubrey Bramble