Gollay, Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, Vincent Neil Emerson

“‘Built for Love’, the debut album from Fort Worth songstress Rachel Gollay, is one of the best albums to materialize this year, from not only Fort Worth but North Texas. Exhibiting a preternatural control of not only her whip-smart lyrics but the dense, lustrous compositions in which she places them, it’s a deeply intoxicating listen from first track to last. With a novelist’s flair for detail — ‘Receptionist’ is an achingly beautiful short story — and a musical omnivore’s willingness to absorb influence from anywhere, Built for Love spills out of the speakers fully formed, an incredibly polished first showing (produced by Russell Jack and Joshua Jones) catapulting Gollay to the front ranks of essential Texas artists.” - Preston Jones, DFW.com / Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“‘Built For Love’…a melody-rich mix of sharp wit, self-deprecation, and erotic fire, and, especially, Gollay’s gorgeous and expressive voice.” -Jimmy Fowler, Fort Worth Weekly
“‘Built For Love’ is sign of monster talent bearing a depth of character that sparkles and invites multiple listens.” -Keep Texas Live
"I put [‘Built For Love’] in my CD player, and ever since, it’s been the first thing I listen to when taking a drive…this is an ever-so-slightly pop-ish folk/rock thing, and it works well on many levels. I can’t wait to see where they go with this, and I expect big things from this band."- Steve Wtakins, Concert Review: Gollay at the Live Oak - DFW.com/Fort Worth Star-Telegram
”Indie folk singer-songwriter Rachel Gollay is nobody’s pushover. Gentle but unsentimental, her voice is a precise and adult instrument that expresses her sometimes painfully honest tunes with smarts and steeliness.” -Fort Worth Weekly
"Gollay’s ‘Built for Love’, featuring nothing more than her voice and delicate acoustic guitar, breaks your heart in less than four minutes.” - Preston Jones, DFW.com
"Gollay delivers ‘Built for Love’, a somber and thoughtful warning. Her voice gorgeously aloof and aching at the same time, she laments, ‘I don’t think he’s built for love’ with a precision and restraint barely holding back a tsunami of heartbreak." -Fort Worth Weekly
Best Female Vocalist Performance (with Un Chien) - 2014 Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards
Best Female Vocalist (nomination) - 2013 Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards


Matthew Gray began his young career as a solo performer playing locally while fine tuning his craft for songwriting. Before long it became apparent that his musical vision included more orchestration and hands; enter The Arrogant Sea. The band has been through many lineup changes as they strive to achieve the sound they desire more and more. The chances of seeing this band play the same set twice are very slim.
Matthew and the Arrogant Sea strives to create something new for themselves and the audience each time they play live.


“You can smell the heartache on my breath,” declares singer-songwriter Vincent Neil Emerson on “Lady Luck,” the opening tune of his new self-titled EP. More dramatically, you can hear the heartache loud and clear in this cherub-faced musician’s extraordinary voice. Fitting somewhere between the nasal mournfulness of James Taylor and the cheeky self-awareness of Sufjan Stevens, Emerson has a beautiful, lilting delivery that, like his delicate and silky acoustic guitarwork, takes its time making a point but doesn’t bore with that unhurried ease.

The EP offers a tasty plate of lo-fi coffeehouse folk-blues, just Emerson and his ax (barely) keeping each other company in a hushed studio. “Two Hearts” is even sadder than “Lady Luck,” if that’s possible, as Emerson ponders split personalities and wrecked romances. Believe it or not, tempo and mood start to pick up with the next tune, “Easy to Die” –– Emerson plays a series of quick repeating chords like chimes while he sighs, “I’ve been dreaming lately of the life I used to know / Where the world was an easy place to be.”

The EP’s slightly more upbeat closer, “Southern Belle,” begins with the priceless couplet: “I fell in love with a nice young girl / Who came from hell.” The aristocratic young Dixie woman in question spends a lot of time pondering whether Emerson is too much of a loser to bother with, but listeners know better. This young musician is a keeper, an artist with that rare ability to keep you hanging on every minor chord change and bluesy inflection. –– Jimmy Fowler (The Fort Worth Weekly}


"Less than a minute is all it takes for Fort Worth singer/songwriter Vincent Neil Emerson to make a powerful impression, singing of “smelling heartache on [his] breath” in Lady Luck, the first of four tracks found on his new eponymous EP.

Emerson’s voice is backed by nothing more than acoustic guitar, but throughout this 13-minute showcase, the 22-year-old repeatedly demonstrates a flair for evoking life’s extremes — love, death — in economical, emotional language. ( "Easy to Die" even packs a heartrending twist into its three and a half minutes: “Life can be so hard/But don’t you close them eyes,” Emerson pleads.) It’s a striking collection, and one which suggests a star being born. " - Star Telegram