Big Band Review: Emmy The Great
Photo: Francesca Perry
Emmy The Great is a folk-pop band built around the singer/songwriter Emma-Lee Moss but containing a collaborative membership of Euan Hinshelwood (Younghusband), Tom Rogerson (Three Trapped Tigers) Pete Baker (Mohair RIP/ The Bakery) and Kic Astley (Pengilly's).
“The songs are all mine,” Moss says when questioned about the dynamic of her band, “so I write them all before I bring them to the others, but the arrangements are all collaborative. I would never direct anyone on their parts, but occasionally we'd make suggestions for each other.”
The band’s sound isn’t a million miles away from the Omaha Sound made famous by bands like Bright Eyes, Tilly & The Wall et al and there is a connection there. Moss went out to Omaha, NE to provide backing vocals for the Mike Mogis produced Lightspeed Champion record “Falling Off The Lavender Bridge”. But Emmy The Great perhaps has a slightly purer take on folk than some of their contemporaries. Their sound feels closer to its roots… organic and fresh. The songs are believable, honest and more often than not startlingly beautiful despite touching upon themes of young pregnancies, marrying for money and unsatisfying experiences with a first love.
Moss self-released their album, “First Love” on her own label, Close Harbour, in February which may have been a brave choice during an economic recession, but the strong reviews and high positions in independent sales charts suggest a shrewd and considered decision. Moss has managed to maintain control over her music without compromising on the scale or outcome.
“I don't really deal with the business side of things, though occasionally news will filter in. My manager looks after it all.” Moss explains, “She's really into the history of DIY and independent labels, and she really gets how it all works, and I think she'll one day have her own chapter in it. I tend to think of her as the talent in the band.” Maybe Moss is being humble here and slightly understating her talent and contribution to the business side of the label, irrespective of this, Close Harbour seems to have had a success with their first album and the experience must be a warm one for all involved, “It's been good,” Moss agrees, “We'll keep going as long as we can.”
Self-releasing and being so much closer to the business side of things must show a different perspective of the industry for a young artist. “It often makes me chuckle icily. It's the same as any business I guess, once you're in you can see all the discrepancies and it's impossible to take it seriously. My boyfriend and I have been short on money recently and there's been a LOT of bitter laughter. On a creative level, I find the less you think about the business the easier it is to write.”
When the album came out, Moss didn’t read any of the press, but it seems in the last month she’s bit the bullet, “Yeah I've read most of it. I'm no longer affected by it at all. I stared my fear in the face and it stared back and it wasn't that bad.”
Interestingly, routine is something which crops up in conversation with Emma-Lee Moss recurrently. Routine is something which she misses whilst being out on the road (as well as caffeine, which she can’t drink when she has lots of singing to do) and takes her weeks to lock back into when she returns. Routine is something which she naturally locks into whilst away on the road too; the constant routine of travelling, sleeping, arriving at venues, sound-checking, waiting, performing and travelling all over again and tellingly, when asked what the remainder of the year hold for Emmy The Great, Moss says, “Festivals, writing, finding routines.”
Maybe compulsively clinging onto a routine is where the singer/songwriter grounds herself and maintains her sanity amongst all of the decisions which come with steering her career herself.
Despite often sitting in the driving seat in matters concerning the band, Emmy The Great also aren’t blinkered enough to let outside assistance in when it is required. As well as self-releasing the record, the band as a whole self-produced it, but in conjunction with the Anglo-American band The Earlies. The album was recorded in The Earlies studio in Lancashire and despite Moss suffering from food poisoning and a desk breaking at a pivotal recording point the experience appears to have been enjoyable. Ferry Gouw (of the Semifinalists) also came on board to direct the video for “First Love” which Moss describes simply as “fun”. It’s refreshing to see that the band and that is what they are, have the balance right.
Josh Reed
