I'm not sure what it is anymore. Perhaps it's growing up finally (just a little). Perhaps it's opening up my ears to more music. Perhaps it's having weird emotions. Whatever the case may be, I've become more and more everyday appreciative of music that some people would call "emo." I'm not quite an "up da punx" guy anymore. With that in mind, Gates is not a band that I would have ever given the time of day years ago. But now that I'm older and wiser, I have been. And this EP that they've released this year is probably my favorite of 2011 so far.

Gates is a band hailing from one of biggest producers of punk/hardcore/emo bands in the scene, New Brunswick, N.J. But that doesn't really matter for this review. With this EP, it's probably one of the most emotional experiences I've ever had my ears listen to. At points it is very devastating, heartbreaking, and so forth. It feels like it goes around in a cirlce right from the first track, "A Vague Ambition", and ends up almost in the same place with "Sleepwalker" (my favorite track). And the lyrics are just as emotional. For example, from "Sleepwalker", you have the beginning starting out with "What is happiness if you know nothing but a lie? What is beautiful if you don't open up your mind?" I mean, this is pretty much emo at it's finest. You've got a lot of influence heard here from bands like Appleseed Cast and Thursday (also from New Brunswick).

Mathematical guitar playing, big, booming drums, great harmonizing vocals (especially at the beginning of "Sleepwalker"), and devastating effects makes this release really great. If you haven't listened to this yet, please do so.