Emmy_The_Great-First_Love-(Advance)-2009-DV8

Description

Artist: Emmy The Great 

Title:    First Love 

Label:    Close Harbour 

Genre:    Folk 

Bitrate:  157kbit av. 

Time:   00:45:42 

Size:   54.02 mb 

Rip Date: 2009-01-22 

Str Date: 2009-02-09 



1.  Absentee                                           3:57 

2.  24                                                 3:01 

3.  We Almost Had A Baby                               2:55 

4.  The Easter Parade                                    3:26 

5.  Dylan                                                3:32 

6.  On The Museum Island                               4:10 

7.  War                                                  1:53 

8.  First Love                                         4:36 

9.  MIA                                                  3:25 

10. The Easter Parade 2                                  1:45 

11. Bad Things Coming, We Are Safe                     4:00 

12. Everything Reminds Me Of You                       5:54 

13. City Song                                            3:08 



Release Notes: 



The title of this album could not be more fitting. Emmy The 

Great's first record strives to capture that magical, muddled 

debut attempt at meaningful connection. It is a startlingly 

intimate, patchy record that is not destined or designed to be 

adored forever. Yet, while it lasts, it is easy to kid 

yourself that it is surprisingly wonderful, for all of its 

blemishes and imperfections. 



It is unashamedly stark in its subject matter, with Emmy's 

young heart laid on the line from its opening and tied there 

until its end. Simple arrangements tangle around her lines of 

loss, affection, despondency and humour. There is little 

inflection from the theme, but the likes of We Almost Had A 

Baby and Dylan are delivered with sincerity and manage to 

cajole fondness for their singer. 



References are sewn throughout, from the aforementioned 

Zimmerman nod to the title track, which picks at Leonard 

Cohen's Hallelujah with at least more invention than a certain 

X Factor winner. The highlight of these artist allusions, 

though, is MIA, a delicate acoustic strum playing with the 

tapestry of an innocuous conversation concerning the singer. 



Emmy's voice is unspectacular, but this fits the sparse sound 

by never overpowering it, such as on Everything Reminds Me Of 

You. It allows the lines to shine more, which betrays her 

immaturity as a writer, but also showcases the standout lines. 

Also, for those who enjoy the soap-style relations between the 

whole new-folk scene, there is plenty of scope for speculation 

about the subjects of lyrics. 



One song that should have been cut is 24, a hackneyed hash 

that loosely hangs upon the foundations of the hit US 

television show and is neither clever nor interesting. But the 

misses are rare, Emmy's dreamy style just about carrying off 

numerous corny moments, such as grating references to 13th 

century Italian literature and the shipping news. 



Regardless, On The Museum Island makes up for these. As she 

focuses on friendship, clarity flows out of lines of a Berlin 

escape filled with renewal and remembrance. If it wasn't so 

dainty it would be harrowing, such is the unrelenting 

emotional nature of the content. 



The album triumphs through its honesty more than anything, its 

personal nature - self released, funded and produced - 

validating this. There isn't a throwaway happy folk jig in 

sight, even the throwaways deal with heartache. But this is 

fitting, creating a record filled with substance despite its 

prettiness, which makes it hard to forget, like your very own 

first one that got away.

Trackers