The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMusicLive music

Emmy the Great at Islington Assembly Hall

Emmy the Great at Islington Assembly Hall | Live review
25 March 2016
Aneequa Sameen
Avatar
Shot by Erol Birsen
Avatar
Aneequa Sameen Shot by Erol Birsen
25 March 2016

Music review

Aneequa Sameen

Emmy the Great at Islington Assembly Hall

★★★★★

Highlights

Algorithm, Swimming Pool

Links

Twitter Facebook Website

Following a recent hiatus, Emmy the Great is back in full swing with her new album Second Love, a contemplative and contemporary sound stimulated by her personal evolution as both artist and individual. As she takes her place on stage, ready to share her story, she resonates a sense of stillness and calm. The crowd members smile in contentment, as though they have come to see a friend play.

The venue is warm and inviting, and for a sold-out performance, there is a surprising amount of space around which to meander and enjoy the view from wherever one pleases, without any pushing or shoving. The audience are a real mixed bag, but are genuine lovers of the music and, it seems, Emmy as a person. She effortlessly engages the crowd with her backstories, personal experiences and inspiration for the songs, in a gentle voice and with humorous anecdotes, at times even inviting crowd participation. 

Emmy opens with her solo of The Hypnotist’s Son, the vocals of which are enchanting, with a beautiful balance of reverb and delay that everyone stops in their tracks to listen to. The band then join in from song two, Dinosaur Sex, and deliver a range of pop and folk tales – old and new, some more captivating than others – including Part of Me, a hypnotic fairground tale of love and isolation, Social Halo which is comically introduced as “a song about texting”, and We Almost Had a Baby, which transports the viewer back to a 50s prom, with disco ball lights glittering around the auditorium. The warm harmonies of Algorithm and Tom Fleming’s appearance for crowd pleaser Swimming Pool are pleasantly received, but First Love is the resolute favourite of the night, along with encore number Canopies and Grapes, which receives huge applause at the mention of Bowie (RIP), and 2009 hit MIA. 

Bearing a likeness to contemporary artists Lana del Ray and FKA Twigs, but more charming than edgy, Emmy the Great demonstrates her flair for songwriting, and delivers a contemporary soundscape that feels like it would be an ideal soundtrack for a long journey, with downtempo, mellow beats that cross genres of dream pop, indie folk and in some instances, modern day RnB.

★★★★★
 

Aneequa Sameen
Photos: Erol Birsen

For further information about Emmy the Great and future events visit here.

Watch the video for Algorithm here:

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Related Itemslive musicreview

More in Live music

Vienna New Year’s Day Concert at the Musikverein

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Rufus, Martha and Lucy Wainwright Present: A Not So Silent Night “Virtually Together”

★★★★★
Francis Nash
Read More

Pete Tong and the Heritage Orchestra: Ibiza Classics – O Come All Ye Ravers at the O2 Arena Online

★★★★★
Dan Meier
Read More

Courtney Barnett live from the Royal Exhibition Building Melbourne

★★★★★
Georgie Cowan-Turner
Read More

Gorillaz: Song Machine Live

★★★★★
Sylvia Unerman
Read More

Andrea Bocelli at Teatro Regio di Parma Online

★★★★★
Dan Meier
Read More

Foy Vance: Hope in the Highlands

★★★★★
Georgie Cowan-Turner
Read More

Liam Gallagher: Down by the River Thames

★★★★★
Jonathan Marshall
Read More

Blossoms at Brixton Academy

★★★★★
Mae Trumata
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Music review

Aneequa Sameen

Emmy the Great at Islington Assembly Hall

★★★★★

Highlights

Algorithm, Swimming Pool

Links

Twitter Facebook Website

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Female filmmakers lead nominees for the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards
    Cinema
  • An interview with Ifrah Ismael: Tales from the Front Line and other stories
    Theatre
  • Persian Lessons
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Jeremiah Fraites – Piano Piano
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Lonely the Brave – The Hope List
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • 23 Walks
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Live Lab at The Yard Theatre: An interview with associate director Cheryl Gallagher
    Theatre
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks
    Theatre
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Greg Wohead: Comeback Special at Shoreditch Town Hall | Theatre review
Simple Plan at the Forum | Live review