EMIKA

Falling In Love With Sadness EMIKA 8/10 Depression proves inspiring for Anglo-Czech Berliner

Following 2016’s ambitious orchestral symphony Melanfonie, Ema Jolly returns to her first loves: electronic music and gloom. “I got this feeling/That I don’t want to feel,” her hushed voice begins on wistful opener “Wash It All Away”, and, lyrically, misery pervades her latest: “I can feel myself dying inside,” she declares on the diaphanous “Close”, while the urgently shuddering title track confesses, “I found pleasure in the tears I cry.” Nonetheless, moments of redemption lurk within “Promises”’ sparse splashes of Omnichord, and her immaculate production glistens, its shadowy menace – like a glamorous Zola Jesus – most impressive on the rubbery “Run”.