EMA

In a world of pigeon holes, a world where every track has to fit into a genre, it is really fresh to find something that really doesn’t fit anywhere and that does it with full intent.

‘Grey Ship’ is dark, melancholic, brilliantly harmonised. It is filled with a guitar sound that is dense and dischordant while EMA’s vocals are wailing like the lost souls of her Viking roots. It also both follows traditional pop structure with a softer and almost folky intro breaking into a harsh second half and defies it with a change in quality of sound rather than intensity – the bass note that signals the change is delicious and fulsome but she never strays from the sound of a Viking Longship drifting into the fog with the souls of the warriors aboard and waiting for ragnarok.

The second track on this – I guess it should be called an EP rather than a single – is a long piece based on a Robert Johnson song ‘Kind Hearted Woman’ but I’m not sure Mr Johnson would recognise it; however I am sure he would approve.

To quote the lady hersef – “ I love really long songs, really long pieces, and I wanted to see if I could make an engaging piece using primarily just voice and guitar. And I love the sound of guitar feedback. Tonal guitar feedback is one of my all-time favourite sounds.”
This has echoes of bands like Suicide or Patti Smith but it is fresh and original and totally honest.
I may not listen to it for fun but it has a magnificent draw that simply keeps you in the music without any kind of release.

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