Emily C. Smith – Far From Judd
Emily C. Smith - Far From Judd EP |
Release Date: Out Now
I don’t go much for genres but
Emily C. Smith’s self-certification as a ‘Death Folk’ artist has me hooked
pretty much straight away. This shiny new EP from the Londoner kicks off with ‘Don’t
Leave Me Alone’ and I already love death folk as a genre. Processed beats,
roomy guitars and a primal wail that Polly Jean would give a respectful nod to
all mingle together to make a lo-fi but thoroughly enthralling tune with a
grunge heart and so much soul it hurts. ‘Slow Death’ is more jaunty but the
guitars are still buzzsaw sexy, so much so that this deserves a brightly
coloured, 90s inspired video filmed on super-8 and featuring a number of
musicians in an open topped car.
On ‘I Have No Use For You’, Smith
explores the death element of her genre with the chugging, moody guitars and
her attitude rich snarl evoking sonic images of Patti Smith, Anna Calvi, Belly
and a classier version of Courtney Love. The EP closes with ‘Burn’ which is a
far more sedate affair with elements of Teenage Fanclub and the Lemonheads to
the lackadaisical guitar strum. Emily C. Smith is one of the most rounded,
talented and vital artists I’ve heard in a long time and I’ve listened to a lot
of artists in my time. The funny thing is, when I first wrote that last
sentence, I instinctively put ‘female’ in the description but on reflection it’s
completely unnecessary – this is an artist who transcends both gender and
genre. Stick that in you pigeon hole and smoke it.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/emilycsmithmusic/?fref=ts
9th September – EP Launch @ The Harrison, London
21st October – Hope & Anchor, London