Emma Pollock - Watch The Fireworks
1 Comments Published by Trev Lostmusic on Friday, October 19, 2007 at 09:54.
Emma Pollock was in The Delgados. The Delgados came to a dignified end (no grisly tales of rock'n'roll excess or ego clashes) in 2005 after releasing 5 LPs in 10 years on their own Chemikal Underground label. The label continues to go from strength to strength. So it seems odd that Emma has chosen to release her first solo record on 4AD records. Maybe the need for a change goes much deeper. Either way, this LP sees Emma return to music with 11 songs that match her work in The Delgados. That's no mean feat, either. The Delgados were a very good band.'Watch The Fireworks' sounds exactly like you expect it to. It's no great departure from the sound of her previous band. A little more pop and of course all the singing is handled by Emma on this record. It's the sound of someone who is happy in their musical skin. We get beautiful guitars, simple keys, haunting melodies and Emma's vocals, all cosy and warm. Recalling bands like Throwing Muses and Belly. And you get the feeling that The Delgados cover of 'Mr Blue Sky' by ELO was probably Emma's idea as that cover song would fit nicely here. Emma is a pretty neat song writer and what she has learnt over the past 10 years is how to make an LP fit together, as one. This LP is best consumed whole as no one song stands out - but as a complete album 'Watch The Fireworks' is a good record. Enjoy it.
i'm not hugely surprised about the 4AD thing considering beggars banquet own both 4AD and chemikal underground.
just shifting the money and artists around.