EP: Emmy The Great – S – Backseat Mafia

The Breakdown

If 'S' does anything, it reinforces Emmy the Greats place at the forefront of UK singer-songwriters. Take our advice and get on board.

Bella Union

Out yesterday was the new EP from singer-songwriter Emma-Lee Moss, aka Emmy the Great. Moving on from her two albums to date, First Love and Virtue which showed her to be a master of the one liner, although not for comic effect, more as a spokesperson for broken and lonely hearts. Although the new EP, titled S, shows signs of looking forward and even outward, Moss is still able to provide moments that completely take your breath away.

The EP opens with lead track Swimming Pool that also features Wild Beasts Tom Fleming. Signalled by these gently pulsing atmospherics that give the whole thing a eerie feel but contrast against the clarity of Moss’ vocal, which sparkles over the top. There’s something heart-stopping about the whole thing, especially when Fleming joins, and the whole thing begins to ebb and flow.

Follow on Social Halo continues in the same manner. Stripped back synth noises and this deliciously wiry guitar accompany the song at the start, but ever the inventive Emmy add layers and sounds and warmth to everything. It’s sugared even further with the melody, something thats settles quickly into your conciousness, seeming familiar and rather lovely. In fact, Moss’ ability to write melodies that are catchy and emotional is one of the strengths not only of this release, but her whole career. It’s just that ‘S’ is a masterclass of it.

Solar Planets again makes use of the guitar, which opens the song by throwing in these rising figures, before these stark chords and drum pads take over. A emotive synth pop number, Solar Planets, complete with handclaps (oh, you have us now Emmy, if you didn’t before) and this constant bass drum, she still manages to wring feeling out of it, even as (in part) the most dance influenced number on there.

Someret finishes the EP in more reflective style, slower and more deliberate than anything that proceeds it and there’s this sense of fearlessness about it, of experimentation as there’s a multitude of sounds added.

If ‘S’ does anything, it reinforces Emmy the Greats place at the forefront of UK singer-songwriters. Take our advice and get on board. ‘S’ is out now on Bella Union.