Emily is still working towards the release of her EP ‘Auaha’, and here is the latest single to keep us going. Of all the singles I have reviewed of hers to date, this is in many ways the closest to her work in Aro with her husband Charles. We have the multi-layered vocals I have come to expect with Emily, but here there is also a complex arrangement with real instruments, plus finger clicks. This all makes it feel less electronic than the others, and although it is still firmly in the soft jazz/RnB style, as always it is her wonderful vocals that takes this through. I can imagine this being sung by her and Charles, just with an acoustic guitar for accompaniment, but here it has been made much richer with some delicate basslines and some gentle chords from the electric guitar.
Her voice is pure, and all she needs is a little touch of reverb, no room at all for any studio trickery such as autotune. I once saw her watching a friend soundcheck, and once that was over, she was convinced to join on backing vocals for a song during the set that she had never actually heard before. Needless to say, that was not an issue, as she has a wonderful talent and even when I may not like the actual song she is performing there is something about her vocals that instantly make it compelling. This is somewhat repetitive at times, but again it is her voice that makes it special, just like Emily.
8/10 Kev Rowland
