Hailing from South Dakota, Erika M. Anderson, performing as EMA, arrives back in the world of noise rock with the release of her third studio album, The Future’s Void. As a singer known for her folk drone style of singing, Anderson has worked with various noise rock and experimental groups over the last eight years throughout the western United States.
Anderson first began recording solo albums as EMA in 2010, and the release of her third studio album has Anderson working with Matador, the record company that pushed Cat Power into fame over the last decade. She has garnered recognition throughout the blogosphere and circulated around various music publications, including “Rolling Stone,” as an “artist to watch.”
While Anderson gained ground in writing vivid images throughout her pervious albums, some of the lyrics on The Future’s Void seem to get lost in her haunting vocals and loud, bass-heavy instrumentation.
Starting Void off with an odd allegory to satellite communication, “Satellites” features droning instrumentals with lyrics that create images of looking up to the stars and only seeing man-made satellites. Moving forward from the opening, Anderson channels her ’90s grunge rocker on “So Blonde” and then takes a sharp turn into a new-wave romantic ballad with “3Jane.”
Anderson’s strong performance shines in two spots of the album: the middle two and final two tracks of the album. In the middle, “Smoulder” and “Neuromancer” are used as bookends to two very different halves of the album, with the first being more introspective, and the latter a commentary on the Internet as a whole. Referring to the Internet as the “interwebs” on “Neuromancer,” Anderson blasts through the speakers with a powerful condemnation of selfies and narcissism.
The final two tracks of Void seem to show two sides of Anderson: a quiet, inquisitive user of the Internet and a harsh critic of the current use of the Internet. “Solace” remarks on making constellations on falling stars and beauty marks. “Dead Celebrity,” which takes note of people’s homages to celebrities they’ve never met, is especially relevant with the current state of Facebook being constant reminders of which celebrity has most recently died.
Anderson’s vocals and instrumentation carry her third album, and while her lyrics sometimes get lost in the music, the imagery she creates help to further her status as an up-and-coming alternative artist.
Rating: B
