While You Were Gone, Heavy Lies The Crown

I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while now, but now that I’ve got it in hand and am listening to it, I’m torn. Don’t get me wrong — I’m enjoying the heck out of While You Were Gone’s new EP and kicking myself for not yet having seen them play live. Vocalist/pianist Misty Gray’s got one of the best voices in the realm of emo-ish rock, hands down; she’s sweet and expressive, yearning but still fiery when she needs to be, and at the end of the day, she’s pretty much the star of the show, at least on Heavy Lies The Crown. I’m reminded of Maura Davis (Denali/Ambulette/Glös) at times, Alison Mosshart (Discount/The Kills) at others, and even a less-punk Stella Maxwell (Austin’s Cruiserweight).

The band I’m really reminded of, however, from Gray’s vocals to the gentle-yet-distorted guitars to the melancholy melodies drifting beneath the surface, is the tragically underrated proto-emo-pop band Pohgoh. The voices of Gray and ex-Pohgoh singer Susie Richardson share the same kind of delicate, uncertain vulnerability, even when they’re really belting it out. On Heavy Lies The Crown, too, the lyrics are all about being unsure of yourself and not feeling worthy, which further deepens the resemblance. I guess that when it comes down to it, While You Were Gone is an emo band at its heart.

Obviously, all the comparisons in the world don’t mean a thing if it’s no good, and While You Were Gone delivers, for the most part. Album bookends “Sinner” and “Thief,” which resemble one another enough that I thought they were two parts of the same song for a little while, are the EP’s twin highlights — they’re beautiful, poignant, scar-baring heartbreakers, and they demonstrate that the band knows what it’s doing. Two of the other three tracks, “Waiting” and “Learn to Fight,” fare pretty well, to boot, the former full of fire and desperation and the latter slow and methodical, like beaten-down footsteps fading as the protagonist passes down a darkened street. The title track, unfortunately, doesn’t come out so well, mostly due to some klunky, repetitive lyrics, but hey, four out of five ain’t bad.

In the end, I find myself having the same issue with Heavy Lies The Crown that I generally have with EPs, at least when they’re good: it’s too damn short. There’s a boatload of promise here, shown especially on “Sinner” and “Thief,” but there’s not enough sonic space for the band to really stretch out and show what they can do. For now, it’s a good start, but it’s too little of what sure sounds/looks like it could be a really, really good thing.