Emma Payn

The female singer/songwriter is no new phenomenon, in fact there seems to be a bit of a resurgence going on, as is the way of the cyclical nature of music trends. But whereas the last revival of this broad genre threw up the likes of Suzanne Vega and Tracy Chapman, today's crop seem, by and large, to be a dumbed down, disposable, version for the Hollyoaks generation. For every Nerina Pallot we seem to have ten Lily Allens dispensing a chavesque brand of low brow pop. For each Nelly Furtardo we have been left with an army of Kate Nash clones singing dreary formulaic dross in the hope of being cool or controversial or what ever it is she is trying to do. It is because of his situation that listening to Emma Payns three track taster of her forth coming e.p. "Uncontrollable Thoughts Of Demons" I realise it's not time to jump ship just yet. In fact it's a cause for celebration.

Built of simple and fairly minimal musical components but nevertheless highly effective Fly For Me, is one of those songs that carries you subtly along before bursting open with confidence and infectious enthusiasm revealing a cracking voice and a realisation that you have stumbled upon something good. And if that doesn't do the trick, I defy you to not be bowled over by Burning, a song that could easily bother the charts, if they weren't dominated by X factor winners that dont even deserve 15 minutes of anonymity, let alone anything more. The rockiest of the three tracks to be found here and the most immediate, it's this direction that I think the future lies for Emma. That said, Trouble shows that she is equally impressive when working with the impassioned ballad and again the clean lines of the song showcase an impressive voice.