MY, BUT she knows how to get inside a song and bring out the emotional depth, the resonance, the beauty, does singer-songwriter Emma Swift.
Coming out of Nashville, Tennessee, Emma is poised to release what is only her second LP, following her self-titled debut for Laughing Outlaw back some six years now.
And this time out she’s turned to a whole set of reinterpretations of the songs of Bob Dylan, entitled Blonde On The Tracks, which she’s releasing via Tiny Ghost Records this Friday, August 21st.
Let’s face it, it takes a mighty talent to take the songs of Mr Zimmerman and make them your own. The Byrds made a grand job of it; and Emma is more than up the task. Her readings are a delight.
We reviewed her last single, “Queen Jane Approximately”, here and noted for the record: “Hell, it’s beautiful. She takes it for a deep spin towards Gene Clark country, and lays it down as a chiming weary tune, with 12-strings chiming in from Wilco’s Patrick Sansone.” (Patrick’s also behind the controls for the album).
We depart not one iota from our previous impression in our reception of “You’re A Big Girl Now”, which stays musically faithful to the original; but the vocal grace she brings reifies the song as a heart-swell of female Americana that can’t not seduce any of you out there who adore a song sung as it should be. And that should be most of you really, right?
It comes with a pretty animation that you can watch below, and which has a particular visual and design aesthetic.
Emma explains: “[It] was created as a loving tribute to graphic designer Milton Glaser, who died in June this year. His bold and fabulous designs have inspired so many, and his iconic 1967 Dylan poster is a favorite of mine.
“As artists, no matter what field we’re working in, we’re always in search of what Glaser famously coined the ‘wow’ factor. His colorful surrealistic vision was more than ‘wow, though; it was revolutionary.
“From his famous ‘I Heart NY’ logo to the spectacular closing credits for the final season of Mad Men, Glaser left behind a tremendously inspiring visual legacy and I am forever a fan.”
Talking the wow factor: Blonde On The Tracks is available to order now on digital, CD and vinyl formats over at Emma’s Bandcamp.
You can also keep up with her at her website, on Twitter, and at Instagram.
