Emergencies - "Hello"

Isn’t it sweet when a Halloween cover band evolves into a real-life project with some legit original material? That’s precisely what happened with Emergencies, the brand new Jersey City-based outfit featuring vocalist/bassist Lindsay Sanchez, drummer Corey Zack, and guitarist Brendon Masters. The three originally came together in the summer of 2019 with an eye towards performing as legendary New York City post-punk revivalists the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the annual Ghost of Uncle Joe’s. The trio (along with the uber-talented Bram Teitelman on keys) sent shockwaves through the Historic Harsimus Cemetery last October with their lively and fun performance, which in my opinion, was pretty damn close to the real thing thanks to Sanchez’s ability to emulate Karen O so well. They had so much fun and vibed so well that they kept practicing, wrote some tunes, and recorded those tunes at drummer Corey Zack’s Cocoon Studio.  Their first-ever single, appropriately titled “Hello,” dropped last Friday, and it merges several early-to-mid aughts dance-punk influences with a little dash of emo-pop. 

“Hello” opens with a whirlwind of guitars and drums and proceeds at a relatively quick clip, packing some serious punch in its sharp guitar melody and propulsive beat. Sanchez’s strong voice guides the first few verses, while the choruses weave in some weighty riffs and the love-struck, hooky refrain “you had me at hello.” I keep picturing that part of the song kicking in immediately after that dramatic scene in Jerry Mcguire - try not to now that I said it! The song comes full circle at the end with a similar cyclone of guitars and drums, but this time Sanchez’s voice ties things up with an exclamation point.

Stream “Hello” on Spotify.  Keep up with Emergencies by liking them on Facebook and following them on Instagram.