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Arranged as a concept album of sorts, this EP breaks a relationship down into five phases, from the excitement of a new meeting to the budding doubts to confused post-breakup agony. Not only does Emmich boil down 90 percent of the emo experience into five simple songs (an achievement that ought to once and for all prove how shallow the sub-genre is), he does it with enough class, sophistication and intelligence to take the high road and avoid all the melodrama of the style. In short, he's musical proof that most of the overwrought tragedy is, like many have said all along, pretty silly.
Each stage of Emmich's EP breaks down phases of a relationship with the precision of a psychologist who's explaining the stages of grief, Emmich's scientific method proves to be the antithesis of emo's high drama. With liner notes that further add to the objectivity of The Fifteen Minute Relationship Emmich breaks down the emotional responses of each step of a relationship, be it the frisson of thrill at the start of a romance ("Try Me") to the moment when everything falls apart ("We Were So Close (To Being Close)"). It's one part behavioral science, one part lonely singer/songwriter fare, but the message is clear: Emos, your constant turmoil over the doings of boys and girls is nothing new. Get over it.
Emmich couples his lyrics with the sort of no-frills acoustic pop that makes the output of emo/songwriters such as Dashboard Confessional or Ben Kweller sound like they're laying things on a bit too thick. Sure, there's melodies, but they're crafted with the sort of subtlety that doesn't make them fodder for teenage ear-candy freaks.
Emos, you're day is over. You might not know it, the music world might not know it, but Emmich sure does.
