Reviewed by Simon Eden

On her MySpace site, Coventry-based Emma states she wants to either sound like no-one or an amalgamation of a plethora of artistic influences. So well done Emma, you succeeded. Her style consists of slightly piercing vocals set generally to an acoustic guitar, occasionally supported by piano on the quieter tracks, or electric guitar and drums on the louder ones. This allows a wide range of influences to come through. The title track is clearly evocative of the Cranberries and Dolores O'Riordan, whilst "On My Way Home" has the folky feel for which Eva Cassidy won acclaim. "Take It All" has the rocky feel of Evanescence, but despite Emma suggesting such an influence I didn't spot any Lady Smith Black Mambazo vocal harmonies in there. In fact in one spot a vocal harmony just missed its target. In general, all the tracks which are written by Emma are beautiful in their simplicity, although "My Dad" verges on babyish. They probably come across well performed live (go see her at Greenbelt 2007). At eight tracks, this is neither an EP, nor a full album, especially as the "How Long (acoustic)" version isn't that different from the acoustic guitar led rockier original version. At the end of the day, I would pay to see her live and would probably leave with a copy of this album.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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