On the back of her third album, almost half-a-decade in the making, Emmy The Great makes her way back to Manchester to showcase her bold new sound. A spiritual homecoming of sorts, she recorded 'First Love' here in Manchester in 2008, the stage is set for of 2016's most magical musical moments.
Taking to the stage alone, Emmy The Great immediately delves into the depths of her back catalogue to open proceedings with 'The Hypnotist's Son'. For a musician who recorded much of her early material in this very city, it's a fitting tip-of-the-hat to her origins. As on the last headline tour, Emma-Lee Moss is flanked by two life-size video screens which spend most of the night showing abstract dance moves alongside her new material.
'Social Halo', one of the highlights from her new album, provides an early glimpse of the new material and, as with many of the cuts from 'Second Love' the live interpretation breathes interesting life into the track. Based on Hong Kong's Soho district, it's a heart-warming nod to her origins when Moss delivers the second half in Mandarin.
'Algorithm' ripples with forward-thinking samples, which owe more to Kanye West's production values than Moss' singer-songwriter roots. That's not to say that 'We Almost Had A Baby' is met with anything less than adoration when it arrives later in the set. Emmy The Great may only be three full-length albums into her career, but each release has offered a very different interpretation of her musical influences. Tonight, while largely dominated by 'Second Love' offerings, the setlist provides a balanced overview of her varied material to date.
Towards the end of the set, the woman at the sound desk is so moved by a drunk pairing chatting enthusiastically over the set that she utilises the venue's PA and spotlights to quickly silence them. 'Swimming Pool', originally released as part of the EP which hinted at Moss' new sound last year, provides the penultimate cut of the main set, before the fragile 'Lost In You' brings things to a shimmering close.
The encore opens with a rather heated request section. The eventual winner is 'Canopies and Drapes' from 'First Love' and Moss discusses the ironic cultural references of her original lyrics. 'We Are Vanished' is credited as a cover, but cryptic social media messages and a Bandcamp page which sounds strikingly similar to Emmy's own vocals, suggest that all may not be as it seems.
The band, who have capably brought the new material to life throughout the set, re-join Emmy for 'Paper Forest (In The Afterglow of Rapture)' from 2011's 'Virtue'; an album sorely under represented tonight. She may have disappeared for a while since her last album, but Emmy The Great is back and more innovative than ever.
'Social Halo', one of the highlights from her new album, provides an early glimpse of the new material and, as with many of the cuts from 'Second Love' the live interpretation breathes interesting life into the track. Based on Hong Kong's Soho district, it's a heart-warming nod to her origins when Moss delivers the second half in Mandarin.
'Algorithm' ripples with forward-thinking samples, which owe more to Kanye West's production values than Moss' singer-songwriter roots. That's not to say that 'We Almost Had A Baby' is met with anything less than adoration when it arrives later in the set. Emmy The Great may only be three full-length albums into her career, but each release has offered a very different interpretation of her musical influences. Tonight, while largely dominated by 'Second Love' offerings, the setlist provides a balanced overview of her varied material to date.
Towards the end of the set, the woman at the sound desk is so moved by a drunk pairing chatting enthusiastically over the set that she utilises the venue's PA and spotlights to quickly silence them. 'Swimming Pool', originally released as part of the EP which hinted at Moss' new sound last year, provides the penultimate cut of the main set, before the fragile 'Lost In You' brings things to a shimmering close.
The encore opens with a rather heated request section. The eventual winner is 'Canopies and Drapes' from 'First Love' and Moss discusses the ironic cultural references of her original lyrics. 'We Are Vanished' is credited as a cover, but cryptic social media messages and a Bandcamp page which sounds strikingly similar to Emmy's own vocals, suggest that all may not be as it seems.
The band, who have capably brought the new material to life throughout the set, re-join Emmy for 'Paper Forest (In The Afterglow of Rapture)' from 2011's 'Virtue'; an album sorely under represented tonight. She may have disappeared for a while since her last album, but Emmy The Great is back and more innovative than ever.
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