#vsheadvsheart

[maoltive]

Songs i love. Jungle-Emma Louise

[ichloemorales]

Emma Louise : Vs Head Vs Heart (2013)

There is a new breed of singer that bridges the gap between indie and mainstream by combining the established with the new. Such abilities are embodied in Brisbane native Emma Louise, whose silky croon pours over her melodies with a sound reminiscent of the understated, vocal prowess of musicians like Florence Welch.  

While she might not yet be a household name, Louise is a force of nature with which other artists should not trifle. Her debut effort, Vs Head Vs Heart, released May 21, 2013, introduces itself with a sound that, with each cut, takes the listener to a place that seems to dissolve beneath his or her feet.

A chorus of low, reverberated coos pours in like wine as “17 Hours” commences, and already the listener cannot help himself to the taste, drawn in like a moth to the proverbial flame. Every word is a caress; every verse is a prayer. “Hands on her shoulders, hair down her back / Lying to her lover back home…Words hurt when you wait too long / Words hurt when she’s in your arms,” the songbird laments. It begins like a ballad, slowly—but surely—evolving into something more intimate and more emotionally charged to the point that every word seems like exposure. And she sings, “But in my anger, I’m on fire…You left me naked / I burned in his arms like her.” The energy in this song is raw and uncompromising. It is a lover’s confession of betrayal and vulnerability, picking up the pieces of one’s self and confronting not only them, but also the person who caused the damage in the first place.

The first thing one notices at the beginning of “Mirrors,” the fifth track on the album, is the catchy, borderline-upbeat rhythm that preludes the liquid velvet of Louise’s voice, her words a flirtation between notions of jealousy and territorialism. “Spider and web you sew…You bend, bend to be heard,” she sings. “And eyes off of my love…And keep the skin under your dress / It’s only yours to play with / And you know I’m not a fighter, so glue your arms to your side.” It is a warning. A plea. A chastisement. The speaker recognizes the flurry in the water, the potential for corruption of something she holds near and dear, and she wishes to protect it.

Vs Head Vs Heart takes a turn for the sensual toward the end in its penultimate track, “Pontoon.” But the sensuality that exists here is not in the stuff of vampire novels; it is unassuming, flowing in the undercurrent of the melody and melting into Louise’s sugarcoated melancholy like wax from a candle. “Dip my head in the water / Feel my thoughts / Wash over me, over me,” Louise coolly chants. “And I’m ready for disaster / I see you standing over me, over me.” Words ride the wave of suggested surrender. “And I never meant to be the girl who broke your heart / I know I’ve been bad and did you wrong, and now I’m all alone…So, lay with me now / I’ll tell you how it went,” she song continues, opening the listener up to impressions of regret. More prominent, perhaps, is the recognition of reunion, if only in the most carnal of conditions, emphasized by the lines, “And my body feels your anger like a fire burning deep, burning deep.” But regret ultimately rings true at the end, an almost ominous feel accompanying such conclusion.

To some, Emma Louise is an enigmatic figure whose rise to celebrity seems to have occurred overnight—a pretty face with a rich, transcendental voice. But it is that exact amalgamation of mystery and talent that will keep her interesting and, more importantly, keep her around.