James Arden checks out the garage rockers latest album.
The Christian rock band from Brighton bring religion to the masses.
Recipe for modern R'n'B album: liberal helpings of guest rappers and an overdose of sexual euphemisms.
Her debut album, First Love, was released last month to quite some acclaim, and whilst she claims not to have “a fucking clue” about much of the coverage, there can be no denying that members of the press have been clamouring to get a piece of her.
Born in Hong Kong to an English father and Chinese mother, Emmy moved to England permanently when she was 12, eventually leaving home to move to London when she turned 18. Five years ago, around the time she arrived in London, Emmy made the switch from being a “groupie with nothing to hold onto” to writing songs herself, and since then has garnered a loyal following through regular gigging and appearances at festivals.
Playing now, the same faces from her early gigs still reappear: “I don’t even notice the people who are new to it, I just see the same guys, who’ve always supported us,” she notes, content to be living up to their expectations. Seemingly oblivious to the hype surrounding her debut album’s release, that night’s gig at Brudenell Social Club in Leeds was completely packed out with fans old and new.
Since she began writing, Emmy the Great’s songs have frequently been placed within the category of some British approximation of the New York antifolk movement. However, her favourite bands (Weezer, Cake, The Lemonheads, to name a few: the mere mention of Cake is enough to get her singing ‘Short Skirt/Long Jacket’ from their album Comfort Eagle) come from places far removed from antifolk, and the sound of more recent songs has moved away from that style:
“On the album, I’m proudest of the songs where we moved away from folk.” Rather than being a folk-indie crossover, the songs fit either side of a divide: “An album is a record of a time, and at that time [of recording the album] I was in that exact transition from being a folk artist to where I’m heading next. For example, ‘MIA’ was when we started experimenting; I was like, “fuck this, I never want to hear another fucking violin, can we use that synth?” We just wanted to see what sounds we could make, and borrow sound from other places.”
It is true that First Love has been viewed as something of a crossover, drawing popularity to a genre as relatively uncool as folk. Emmy’s style has drawn comparisons with a number of other female solo acts, most notably Laura Marling, and she has toured in support of Kate Nash.
Softly spoken but by no means introverted, Emmy is confident in her judgments of such comparisons: “I love Kate Nash. I actually love her. She’s the closest we have to antifolk”; on the other hand: “I hate the comparison [to Marling], but that’s a personal thing. If people hear a similarity in the music, then so be it; I can’t run into every sitting room and be like: “STOP! Don’t hear it like that!” You can’t stop the tide…”
The comparison with Marling is understandable on a superficial level, at least; both combine female vocals with acoustic accompaniments, and relatively gentle sounding songs with sharper lyrics (often based in some “fantasy world,” for Emmy). But “Laura’s [songs] are very serious, and I think that if you asked us our influences, then even if they crossed over, it would be different eras of certain artists.”
Three weeks into a month-long tour, playing the same songs every night has been a frustrating experience, Emmy noting with indifference that “you create something and you feel proud of it, but before long you hate it and then you let go of it.”
Whilst passing the time by watching The Wire on the tour bus (“if you’re willing to give up a severe portion of your life, it’s worth it”), and making playlists of Cake songs for her backing band, Emmy feels the pull of writing something new, and will get down to work on her next album soon. She wrote some new songs before the tour, and is eager to carry on developing her style.
There will be no sudden reinvention anytime soon, but those of us who’ve been lucky enough to hear Emmy the Great at this stage in her career will be happy to see where her musical journey stops off next.
Emmy the Great’s debut album, First Love, is out now.
You must log in to submit a comment.
