With Buckle and Boots only a
week or so away, we’ve been sent an exclusive preview of an EP that will be
released at the festival. Although this
year will be the first time that Staffordshire based artist Emily Lockett will
be performing, its certainly not her first rodeo, having performed at the first
ever British Country Music Festival in Blackpool as well as other big events
around the country, and recently opened two dates for Buckle and Boots favourite Jade Helliwell.
Although she is perfectly comfortable being alone on stage with just a guitar, Emily has put together a new, all female, band this year, and on the new EP you can hear how the fuller sound really adds to her performance.
Initially a CD only release,
with a possibility of digital release in the future, To Be Continued
contains 4 tracks, some of which you may have heard Emily play at live
gigs. The storytelling in the songs
often deals with themes of love and heartbreak, but very much from a modern –
might one say “gen Z”? – perspective, with pop culture references scattered
throughout.
Opening with Blow Your Mind,
Emily’s distinctive vocal is backed with a guitar and drum line that gives the
EP a rocking start, excellent instrumental breaks and backing vocals make this
a song that is going to sound great on stage!
Rush Hour Crush was inspired by the feature of the same name in the
free newspaper you can pick up on trains and buses. It’s the story of seeing
someone, fleetingly, on a train journey.
It’s probably the time to make the Taylor Swift comparison at this point
– Emily’s personal sound does put you in mind of Taylor, as does the modern
take on love songs. There is no question
of impersonation, just a pop country similarity! As the vocal and instrumentation rise, you
can hear the imploring, wanting the object of the crush to notice you –
although you aren’t going to do anything more than wish!
Your New Blonde
jumps straight in – straight in with the vocal, straight in with the emotion “I
hope she hurts you”. Its another real
story, the aftermath of an ugly break up.
Wishing your ex goes through what they put you through is an emotion as
old as time, brought up to date with the idea of watching it from afar over
social media. Describing the new
girlfriend as “your new blonde” helps with the mix of emotion and reluctant
hate, and the delivery feels like the hate is expressed through tears. Final track Back Of The Church really displays
Emily’s gift for descriptive songwriting.
Even those four words conjures up the image of a wedding with the storyteller
creeping in late to avoid being seen, sitting at the back away from all the
other guests – the wedding she doesn’t want to be at, but just couldn’t keep away
from.
Although still relatively
young, Emily writes songs with an apparent lifetime of experience behind them. This
new ep is stories of unrequited love but delivered in a positive way with
plenty of energy. Modern, pop country but very relatable to most listeners. An accomplished guitar and keyboard player,
now backed by her new band Emily has plenty more to show us, and her future is
very much To Be Continued.
To Be Continued,
the new ep from Emily Lockett will initially be released only on CD and will
be available after her Buckle and Boots performance.
If you are at the festival,
mark 6:30 on the Paddock Stage in your planner to see Emily Lockett and her
band playing live.
Find Emily on Facebook and
Instagram, her website and follow her on Spotify
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