Emmy-Lee Moss, aka Emmy the Great, was born and raised in Shanghai until she was 12, when she moved to London – the homeland of her English father. I stumbled upon her music in pure luck, and am so completely glad I did. She is folksy and cute, her lyrics are creative and sweet, and often laced with delicious, scrumptious sarcasm. I discovered that she used to sing for the group, Lightspeed Champion (whose song “Stay the Fuck Away From Me” [caution: questionable and potentially obviously offensive lyrics] was a bit of an anthem for me last year…) which bodes well for both her sense of humor and the company she keeps.
Last night I dreamed of paper trails
Dolls without faces joined infinitely with fingerless arms
Blank as the air was dead and sound is chasing the stillness all around
Is choking the vibrations
Beady little tales of sewing needles and ball of string
Tear them apart and make them sing
Of sewing needles and ball of string
My useless heart, a wedding ring
Apologies are boring and they’re trite
But if desired, I will see what I can find– Emmy the Great, Paper Trails
“I wanted to be a backing singer and I wanted to have something to hand to people… ‘Emmy’ is a name they called me at university, which I hated, and ‘the Great’ I added on because I hated ‘Emmy’ so much.”
After some inspection and a little (only a little) stalking, I discovered that not only is she charismatic and talented, but also absolutely adorable.
Her face makes me want bangs, her style makes me want cowboy clothes, and her songs make me want a billion boyfriends to break up with and write about.
I’ve been listening to her for only about a week (I only discovered she existed last Wednesday!), but I know I am hooked. NPR calls Emmy “anti-folk”, which has long since been a genre I have followed… but could never describe. Regina Spektor falls under the same category, which I think I understand, but it still will never give me a clear idea of the concept of “anti-folk.”
Then again, I recently heard a quote (I wish I could remember where from) that said something along the lines of, “Folk music is not about the content, nor the sound, but how it is learned.” I like that better than the idea of whatever “anti-folk” is supposed to mean. And I like Emmy the Great even more than that.
Emmy the Great on:
- MySpace Music
- Twitter (“Non-practicing vegan, eco-hypocrite. Complaining about the Internet, on the Internet.” Do follow.)
Emmy the Great – First Love
Get it: Amazon | iTunes
Emmy the Great – Virtue
Get it: Amazon | iTunes