Emma Louise has truly cemented her place in Australian music and pretty much everywhere else too. The Brisbane-based 25 year old took over the world in 2011 with her debut EP that was home to an absolute giant in ‘Jungle’. Literally everyone has heard and loved this track….probably. Or the many subsequent remixes that ensued which kept reimagining the song for the masterpiece that it is. 2013 brought with it the widely acclaimed ‘Vs Head Vs Heart’, Louise’s first album and 2016 sees the release of her second album, ‘Supercry’.
Straight off the bat, track one floored me. ‘All We Ask Is Time’ whole-heartedly affirms my love for Emma Louise’s voice, I dare say my favourite female voice. Delicate and fragile yet confident and always hits you in all the right places. For me, its one of those voices that stops you in your tracks every time, the kind of voice that has a transportive quality.
I get an overarching sense of maturity from ‘Supercry’. The tunes are set to a very deliberate and relaxed pace that never feels rushed. Even in the production you get a sense of purpose and intention. The vocals are everything and always and the musical soundscape that surround them is just a seasoning, perfectly seasoned at that.
The album truly embodies my idea of the modern singer-songwriter. The instrumentation is fairly straight ahead (piano, guitar, drums) but is frequently embellished with electronic and sampled moments. The seamless marriage of the two achieve an extremely polished and natural sound whilst also keeping relevant to today’s sound. Lyrically, the songs seem like a collection of brutally honest and raw diary entries, with phrases that constantly tug them heart strings. Here’s some examples: “She’s cooking a meal for me, making sure I’m well, and I’m sure that when we’re in heaven I’ll find that she was actually an angel”, and “Oh how I know that you’ve been with someone else, I smelt her on your skin”, plus “I put my white flag in the wind to let love know I’m giving in”. The whole album in littered with sombre themed, lyrical gems.
There is a definite sense of atmosphere on this album, the songs breathe the same air and exist on the same spectrum that allows for an undeniable flow. Having said that, the tunes come with a certain weight and depth. ‘All We Ask Is Time’, ‘Grace’ and ‘I Thought I Was A Ship’ feel like the ballad-y numbers, and no one does a ballad quite like Emma Louise. ‘Grace’, in particular, felt like a retrospective ode to a mother or grandmother, at least, that’s what I got from it.
3. ‘All We Ask Is Time’, what a breath-taking intro to the album, I’ll be spinning this track of a few years to come.
2. ‘Illuminate’ is one of the more fleshed out numbers on Supercry and it’s an absolute beast. Really looking forward to seeing this bad boy live.
1. Her voice, it’s unbeatable.
There is a doubtless cleanliness to ‘Supercry’. It’s elagent and refined, not like a pompous Victorian Prince, but more like someone who’s seen enough shit to know what’s what. She’s a beauty. I’ll leave you with two pieces of advice. One, buy the album, support Australian music and listen to the whole thing from start to finish, no skipping, thank me later. And two, she’s touring around Australia in October, buy tickets and go, trust me – find more info on that here: http://www.frontiertouring.com/emmalouise
Rating: ★★★★
‘Supercry’ is available now through Liberation Music.
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