Settlefish

Answering the eternal question, "Is it possible for a nice Canadian boy to move to Italy and find true artistic happiness fronting an emo band?" is the debut from this Bologna-based quintet. Utilising the emo hallmarks of intricate guitar noodling, slow/fast, hard/soft song structures and articulate, impressionistic lyrics, Dance a While, Upset will appeal to fans of the genre. Evoking at times Painted Thin, At the Drive-In and Coheed and Cambria, Jonathan Clancy and company deliver a standardised, albeit well-crafted disc that only occasionally flirts with mediocrity. It's the kind of debut disc that makes me anxious to see what they will be able to accomplish given more time to hone their sound.