4.52am Issue: 043 20th July 2017 The Only Echoes Remain Issue

DEERFUL
Staying Still E.P
Emma Winston, who is better known as
Deerful, is wonderful. I think I’ll start with
that. Wonderful, quirky (in-a-goodsense)
and the writer and performer of
some of the best pop music you will have
heard in years.
She has a new album out (which I am yet
to explore) called ‘Peach’ (you can find it
HERE) but over the last couple of weeks
I have been playing catch-up, having
bought a copy of her ‘Staying Still E.P’ on
cassette which was released last year and
had otherwise somehow passed me by.
And I have to say that that is criminal, if
you like proper pop music, and here I am
thinking of Pop in the style of pre-SAW
indie pop music – then Emma is definitely
the girl for you. Recording in her bedroom
or on the bus using small, old school, lofi,
probably battery driven – yes, it would
have to be battery driven, she is on a bus
– synths, musically Emma is definitely in
the Giorgio Moroder style rather than
Kraftwerk-chilled as there is a joy always
running under the surface of what she
describes as ‘sad little pop songs’.
Don’t get me wrong though, many bands
and artists have proven (with their
failure) just how hard it is to write that
perfect pop song, and Emma’s music is
experimental at times and goes way
beyond what you would think the
technology would stretch to. This is
seriously clever music that toys with
your feelings and constantly surprises.
Vocally, you are probably expecting (I
was probably expecting) something fey
and dreampoppish, but quite the
opposite was true. In fact Emma’s
singing has a purity and strength to it
that you rarely hear these days – no
affectations or trilly bobbins, and no
bluesy-Americana. Instead she places
words in the perfect position within the
mix and always delivers a faultless
performance. She has a beautiful voice
and an easy comparison would be
Sarah Cracknell and Saint Etienne, Lilly
Allen with a side order of Mary Poppins,
as the next dollop of magic is only a
delve in her Novation carpet bag away.
Deerful, Emma, is somebody special
and really worthy of your time, just be
aware things may never quite be the
same again once you are under her
spell.
Check Deerful on Bandcamp HERE