Like a cross between Rihanna and Alanis Morissette (one hand her pocket, the other holding up a fist), Emma G makes an art of putting her bold heart on display in catchy songs. They’re mostly songs about self-love and conflicted love affairs (on the last track she has an intro that says, she’s not used to writing pure love songs, though she gives it a heroic and successful go). “Cause I’m a fighter, survivor” she sings on her song “I Am.” “I made it through the darkest weather / Lover, forgiver, / I’m strong enough to make me better / I’m a testament to my truth / And I’m enough to make it through.” And there’s the feeling listening to her music—her conviction, her bravery, her vulnerability, her tenacity—that’s she’s gonna bring you right along with her.
But it’s not all success stories in her songs. On the song “Barbed Wire” she speaks in poetic language about a woman who knows defeat. “The butterfly has clipped her wings / She learnt to fly only to fall back down to the ground / She’s caged / Choking on barbed wire.” The imagery is visceral and anyone fighting a losing battle can feel the pain and the hopelessness captured in the lyrics. The whole album is conflict ridden, but I’d be willing to bet that Emma G would say that she’s thankful for how the conflicts have made her stronger.
There is a confidence that drips from these tracks. On one of my favorite tracks from the record, “Fighter,” a song that sticks in your head like a songbird, she tries to pass her confidence off to someone who she sees herself in (her struggles with doubt, but also her unquenchable fire). “Oh, the goddess shines inside you / If only you could see what I do / It starts when you forgive you / Woman, you’re a fighter.” “Your light is shining brighter / Just hold your head a little higher.” It’s one of the only times on the record that she breaks the fourth wall. It’s mostly her dealing with her. But even in those songs, we find a strong hope to grab onto, coattails to ride on, an all-terrain vehicle to get through the rocky parts of life.
The album shows her range at songwriting, some of these tracks even dating back to 2001. It has the simple but compelling set up of alternating tracks on the guitar and the piano. I have the feeling she could play any of these songs on either of the instruments. But it gives the album a beautiful rhythm and helps you to enter into the newness of each song with each track. There are a plethora of beautiful chord changes and melody lines (one song in A minor, for example, moves to the A chord in the chorus and her melody modulates in the perfect way to move you to a different place). She has a gift and mastery for songwriting, for sure.
My only suggestion, as a writer myself, would be to try writing a song with one metaphor throughout (instead of mixed metaphors). A singer like Rihanna knows how to capture an audience with a single theme. Maybe Emma G is more like Alanis who goes a hundred places in her songs, but even songs like “Ironic” have one theme that pulls her dozen of other metaphors along. Emma G certainly has a way with musical composition to draw you in and keep you there.
Emma G is a powerhouse and she looks like she’s always coming out with something new. This album, what she calls her Unplugged album which she came out with in September of this year, is just one of many iterations that she’s able to shine in. A model, in the literal and figure sense, Emma G exudes femininity and goddess-like charm. Like some of the greatest female singers and songwriters out there, she rises to the occasion. I’m excited to see what she does next.
Prism Reviews 