Emmy the Great - Virtue

Hailing from Hong Kong and located now in London, Emma-Lee Moss has now released her sophomore album despite not really being a name I've heard of. Whether I've been living under a very large music-based rock or not is irrelevant: the songstress is of the perennially difficult-to-pinpoint "anti-folk" genre (where recent carriers of the same banner have varied from Kate Nash to Laura Marling) that basically means "she gets political over some strings".

But then from time to time the politics takes a backseat whilst we sing about 'Dinosaur Sex', to borrow the European Union's motto. The track thrives off a quiet, echoing twang that builds a bizarre and ethereal atmosphere - whilst Moss sings "dinosaur sex led to nothing, and we will lead to nothing". An ominous tone about the insignificance of humanity in the greater scheme of things there, but it conjures mental images of pterodactyls in fun positions, so it's forgiven. The recent years haven't exactly been reluctant to throw Kate Bush-inspired indie pop at us: and 'A Woman, A Woman, A Century of Sleep' could quite conceivably belong to Bat For Lashes or Marina and the Diamonds. Everything, from the choral chants in the background to the multi-layered instrumentations, screams "unoriginal" but it happens to be a sound I'm particularly fond of: I think, to Emmy's credit, she has taken it in a slightly more conventional direction (which Bush fans would naturally spit at) with accessible riffs.


The intro to 'Iris' sounded a tiny bit like Duran Duran's 'Rio' and with its bassline and drum rhythms it's almost as catchy. Understandably released as the first single, it touches upon the age-old complaint of indecision:

Princess impermanent,
princess always looking for the next result
And when they serve you it
don’t you always wish that you had something else?

In 'Paper Forest (In The Afterglow Of Rapture)' however there's a little more uplifting message (the chorus crows "I'm blessed just to be, no more or less") - whilst the strings swell and exhale with a slight pomposity. However this is quickly tarnished with the line "Now you're standing in the afterglow of rapture, but there is no rapture left", which carries a bit of weight bearing in mind the recent split from Moss' fiancé. 'Cassandra' however takes on a Roman à clef: "I know it's awful, I know it's bruising,/ I know you can't see past the conclusion/ but still the world turns upon its axis/ and we make circles so we can match it".

'Creator' has obvious religious undertones (carrying on from the Rapture) that are purportedly about the ex-fiancé's sudden desire to search for God. Quite a clever track, it takes on a doubtful mantle to explain her frustrations despite being of a non-believer stance. From my perspective anyway. Her voice is at its finest on 'Sylvia', one of the catchiest tracks with an almost Florence + the Machine backdrop, as she sings "And tell me if my character is fate/ Do I confine myself til I find a way to dream us all awake?" On 'Exit Night / Juliet's Theme' there's some lovely lyrics ("taillights they circle like the roses of an infinite bouquet") about urbanisation and its fatal side-effects, but is a little unadventurous in terms of instrumentation or sequences.

'North' returns to a slightly sinister atmosphere coping with rejection and the idea of paradise (yes, that Christian one) - "they die to be born" could just about briskly underline any religious nutter though. The tragedy of lyrics like "I'm a relic of a love gone by/ kneeling to address the sky" in 'Trellick Tower' are a solid reminder though of how personal and emotional this entire album is. Set idyllically over a contemplative piano piece (think Lily Allen's "Littlest Things" with a bit of poetry), it gives an otherwise allegorical and empowering album a little bit of a defeatist attitude. "Praying and I don't know why" could of course serve as a cynical mockery quite ably but I don't think that's the intention with the atmosphere the music's thrown up.


Aside from that ending, the album is full of refreshingly uplifting and bluntly emotional soul-searching that, with the help of a knack for some really great tunes, pulls off the remarkable feat of standing out in a crowd of Esben and the Witches.

Rating: 7/10
Highlights: Paper Forest (In The Afterglow Of Rapture), Iris, North, Sylvia, Trellick Tower
Avoid: n/a
Artwork Watch: Could quite easily be Roger Hargreaves' "Little Miss Nostalgia".