Emily Wells #2 - Mama's Gonna Give You Love

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I touched on my disappointment to miss Emily Wells when she was last in the UK in June so I'm very happy to have the chance to make amends when she returns to London at the end of an extensive European tour just before Christmas (with a show at The Lexington on December 17th - details).

To kick start the tour Emily has released a stream of her new single taken from her wonderful album Mama, a track which shares its name with the album "Mama's Gonna Give You Love". I've touched upon it within my Introducing post, with languid dub loops and a thick layer of droning strings it gives a fine taster of the album, full of menacing undertones but carried by the beauty of Emily's striking voice, fluttering between luxurious and mellow it that crosses a multitude of genres within its length. Eclectic yes, wonderful most definitely.

Make sure you grab the deluxe version of Mama, the accompanying Acoustic CD is in my opinion (as a folky) even better than the original.

Emily Wells - Mama

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I was gutted not to get to see Emily Wells last night (well tonight when I'm actually writing this as the clock nears midnight) but family commitments sometimes have to take priority over my compulsive addiction to music, a sure show-stopping set was bound to be on offer for those lucky people at the Water Rats, instead I watched a couple of things on television I’d rather not think about whilst my Daughter’s peacefully sleep in the room next door…

The reason for my disappointment is a new one, I’d not heard of Emily before late last week – Saturday in fact when Resident Records named her debut UK release (there’s been many more in the US) Mama their album of the week – but old or new infatuations can hit just as hard. Mama is a double album released via Partisan Records and contains the original record released last year across the pond and also an acoustic version of nearly all the tracks.

“Passenger” is a fine introduction to a talented artist who refuse to pigeon-hole herself within a singular genre, drenched in luxurious strings and Emily’s strikingly beautiful voice are dubby beats and a layered but mellow melody that slowly , intoxicates itself in your brain, where it remains, creeping around you with intrigue and wonder. “Mama’s Gonna Give You Love” combines a similarly languid dub loops with off-kilter menace and confirms a rare talent.

Avoiding getting into a full album review and switching to the acoustic recordings, “Darlin’” switches out the darkly undertones for quickly picked guitar and beautifully soft vocals, lonesome and stark it makes for emotional, and at times heart-breaking, never more so than on the devastating “Los Angeles”, tender acoustic guitar and ethereal whispers combine to send shivers down your spine.

Come back soon please.