Emma Jane came to my attention in the summer of 2012 when
the song ‘Sunday Monday Blues’
ascended to ‘track of the summer’ status. The subsequent years have seen her
music flicker in and out, but now that is set to change with the release of a
truly outstanding record, simply titled TREASURES. If there is a more
distinguishable album released this year from a solo UK based artist then it
will have to be very good to topple this gem. For this is a record that takes
little time to find its way and successfully steers the listener through a
minefield of emotion. Deeply personal and sourced from a ripped open heart
makes the sort of music that resonates well here. Emma Jane has succeeded on
multiple levels in making a record diverse in sound yet consistent in quality.
A powerful vocal set is used to an optimum level across the
eleven tracks as the small team assembled to support Emma Jane set out on a
journey to bring her original composed songs to life. Stopover sounds include rock,
pop, soul, jazz, country et al, making genre association impossible. Not a bad
open place to be, although you can never underestimate the value of promotional
tags. UK Americana feels right in spasms, but not to the core, even if the
content blows away most of the opposition in that camp. Labels aside, let us explore
the peaks and summits that have made TREASURES an album to cherish.
A strong theme and inspiration across the album is the
onset of personally family experienced dementia and its associated effects,
presence and impact. The writing is in a subtle way as to allow the listener
room for self-interpretation. Darkness mixes with light alongside hope in a
mist of melancholy. Above all, the tunes are well-crafted efforts engaging the
listener from the outset, even to the extent of steering them down an
undulating path.
The album is bookended by two similarly slow pensive tracks,
opening and closing the door on proceedings. The minimalist gospel-like opener ‘Where I’m Going’ sets the scene
resolutely, framed by the explicit lines ‘the mind gives up or the body retires/once
full of life but now I’m so tired’. Forty-five minutes later Emma Jane conquers
the piano ballad world with the painfully, or maybe not, conclusive, ‘Drink You Away’.
If pressed for the moment when the record rides the crest
of a wave, then the country leaning ‘Dreaming
About You’ fits the bill. This feel good story song of unrelenting love is
awash with classy guitar twang and a chorus that projects it to the peak. This
is far from a country album on the surface, but scratch a little deeper and a
substance emerges.
Pushing this track hard in the hooks galore gallery is the
soulful ‘Breathe Slow’, a tip for us
all sometimes. On the topic of tracks reaching out in the promotional sphere, ‘Paper Houses’ with its rock ‘n’ pop
sentiment does a grand vibrant job. All while contemplating the metaphor ‘paper’
does not really equate to a great substance.
It is rather a breathless merry go round of sounds in the
opening phase. ‘Lover Man’ with its
piano opening strays into jazzy territory, while ‘In My Days’ is a straight up acoustically driven rock ‘n’ roller
looking back in time and ensuring a dose of repetition in a song works wonders.
Three tracks, namely ‘Close’,
‘Don’t Settle’ and ‘Treasures’ fall into a rockier sounding realm. The
former builds up slowly before Emma Jane ramps up the vocals into full-on mode.
Always done tastefully, mind you. The latter of this trio acts as the upbeat
climax to the record, just before we crash out in an alcohol haze.
‘Beyond the Rainbow’
completes the track listings and its popular appeal grows out of a
well-constructed base. The eternally seeking title appears only in a first
verse line as the cry of ‘Don’t Let Me Go’ resonates strongly at the end.
Strength is a feeling that emanates throughout from the
vocal adaptations to the musical templates that house the songs. The hopscotch
sounds are brought together in a common bond sourced from the inspiration. Emma
Jane leads, and the listener is compelled to follow. An artist can ask no more
than make a record that the listener believes in. TREASURES has done that and
the music of Emma Jane is destined to not merely flicker on the
horizon anymore.
www.emmajaneofficial.com
