Emmy The Great "First Love"

Unlike Bat For Lashes, Emmy The Great is all about the confessionalism, with many songs here telling apparently true stories of romantic and sexual awkwardness and disaster. A lot of this is borderline grim stuff, at least lyrically, yet it is odd how chipper Ms The Great is if you ever see her live. Maybe she is just making it up as well.

There is nothing on this record as good as the title track, but that, currently, is one of my most favourite songs ever, one that almost brings tears to my eyes when I hear it. If I had ever written a song that good I would feel like my work was done, so I cannot knock her.

I saw Emmy The Great live earlier this year in Dublin's Crawdaddy venue. I was impressed by how her band seemed far far better at creating a sonic envelopment than their status as session muso backers of a singer-songwriter would suggest. There is some evidence of this here too, but she is maybe a little bit better live.

Indietracks: Are you ready Art Brut?

Emmy the Great was less enjoyable than in Dublin, partly because the Indietracks crowd seemed less into her and far more inclined to chatter away to their stupid friends over her not that loud music. But one band who did go down well, at least with me, were Art Brut. These fellows could not be described as twee indie-poppers, as they are a band comprising blokes (and one lady) who eminently live to rock, fronted by a guy whose thing seems to be drink-fuelled stream of consciousness vocals. He had a slightly combative relationship with the audience, berating them for their tweeness but accepting that, broadly speaking, the twee-fuckers and Art Brut are on the same side – for are we not all enemies of The Kings of Leon?

Art Brut also touched a lot of my buttons by singing songs about comics (OK so they were songs about rubbish DC comics, you can't have everything) and public transport (buses, admittedly), and they also sang a tune about male erectile dysfunction which dovetailed nicely with one about having an exciting new girlfriend. Fundamentally, though, one must emphasise Art Brut's total rock animal character, and the singer's endearing habit of beginning songs by shouting to the band "Are you ready Art Brut?" He also introduced the band – "Bass guitar – Art Brut. Lead guitar – Art Brut. Rhythm guitar – Art Brut". You get the picture.

Astonishingly, after Art Brut finished it was revealed that the festival had run out of beer. Yes, the pasty-faced legion of bedroom saddos had drunk the Midlands Railway Centre dry. So we left.

image source