Strong Armed Robbers Releases Debut Album ROOM 18

EmiSunshine and Fish Fisher are more than three decades apart in age but could not be more likeminded if they had grown up together.

The East Tennessee teen singer/songwriter and her 40-something, frequent collaborator have teamed up to form a new band, Strong Armed Robbers (SAR), along with Emi's father, Randall Hamilton (a.k.a. Big Diddy), and her songwriting mom, Alisha Hamilton, running shotgun from behind the scenes. Their debut album, "Room 18," is out now, with songs about people who do bad things, revenge, redemption, and love.

(Listen to "Room 18" on Spotify.)

Emi's long-time fans will be glad to know that she and Diddy are keeping their family band, The Rain, with her brother, John Hamilton, and Uncle Bobby Hill. But unlike The Rain, which has a traditional country and Americana sound, Strong Armed Robbers is more alt-country with a bit of Southern rock.

"The new band reflects more of our outlaw side," Fisher said. "Our album, 'Room 18,' is wild with some dark sarcasm and humor. It has an edgier sound than Emi's previous albums."

Fish and Emi have cowritten many songs before, along with Emi's mother, Alisha Hamilton. One of those earlier songs, "Strong Armed Robbery," tells the tale of a woman's ghostly revenge on the man who killed her. The ballad, which first appeared on Emi's 2017 album "Ragged Dreams," is the inspiration behind the new band's name. It is also the prequel to the title track of the new album, which tells of anther ghostly revenge. A new recording of "Strong Armed Robbery" precedes "Room 18" for the benefit of listeners who might not have heard the original.

"In the song, 'Room 18' is the room in the hotel where the original murder took place, and where something else happens fifty years later," Emi said. "Ever since we wrote 'Strong Armed Robbery,' I've wanted to tell the rest of the story. Now we have."

Almost as dark as "Room 18" is "Mary Christmas," a song about a woman who seems fated to spend the rest of her holidays in prison.

Not all the songs on "Room 18" are so serious. "Judgement Day" takes a light-hearted jab at a music industry that often seems to value conformity over creativity. "The Devil Ain't Lazy" is an uplifting warning for goodhearted folks to be on guard against temptation. "Churches and Bars" is a tongue-in-cheek comparison of two institutions that are surprisingly similar, despite being at opposite ends of the "moral" spectrum.

"We hand-selected these edgier sounding tracks from our song catalog cowritten by Emi, Alisha and me over the years," Fisher said. "Randall cowrote with us on a few, too. Several tunes feature a blend of our voices that folks have previously only been able to catch at the rare live shows where our tours cross paths and we get to team up onstage. We take turns on lead vocals. Randall sings a couple and Emi and I have always had a stage trick where we split the verses. We all get to build lots of choir-like harmonies. It was fun to capture all that in the studio."

Rounding out the album are a love song, "I'll Be Better," one about guardian angels, "Angels On Overtime," a song of hope for the down-and-out, "I Don't Want To Let You Go," and "Rapunzel," a song about personal independence.

"I am blessed to work with a lot of songwriters, but one of my favorite things about working with Fish is that he wants to write songs that are enjoyable for both of us," Emi said. "Strong Armed Robbers started as a side project, when neither of us was doing much else during the pandemic. I hope our fans have as much fun listening to the new songs as we did creating them."

"Room 18" by Strong Armed Robbers is available through most digital outlets.

More information is available at:

StrongArmedRobbers.com

Facebook.com/StrongArmedRobbers

Instagram.com/strongarmedrobbers/