Emily Jane White
Issue #34
Dark Undercoat (Double Negative)
By Erin Wolf
Published: December 1st, 2007 | 4:03pm
Plunking yourself down to listen to anything for more than five minutes today is a credible feat, considering that music tastes now revel in short, energetic bursts of synths and catchphrases that are as relevant as wearing sunglasses inside, making anything organic and slightly lengthy seem absurd. Emily Jane White swings the pendulum back to music that requires steady listening.
White’s music contains a fearless quality: there is no trepidation in riding on the same verse-chorus-verse formula. The songs are free of any frills and hum to themselves as if the listener were not even the faintest concern. White could be playing to a room of two or 200, it doesn’t matter.
The words are lit by haunting lines of poetry: “I’m a rusty nail / You’re an iron maiden / You’ve closed the coffin / On everything I’ve said” and “Where are you going / Dressed like hell?” (from “Dagger”), and “You keep your heart from your chest / It’ll be gone / Just like the rest …’cause it’s a man’s world / Say all the right words / And hold your heart from your chest” (from “Wild Tigers”). These words ask to be heard, making the indelible impression that in order to fully appreciate this poetry, it must be taken in with repeat listens. Dark Undercoat is a slow stunner.
Comments
Please login to be able to comment on this article.
more