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It should be noted that in the space of a few days of receiving this debut self financed full length from Hull based singer songwriter Emma Rugg through the post box came a calling albums from Martha Wainwright (‘Martha Wainwright’), Sophie Barker (‘Earthbound’), Andi Camp (‘Magnetic’) and Audra Kubat (‘Since I fell in love with the music’), each and everyone of them a positive indicator that there is indeed more depth and innovation to the art of the female song craft than the artists featured on heavy rotation by the likes of BBC Radio 2. Yet not with standing the competition of these four releases in particular, ‘Isolated Impression’ rises head and shoulders above them on all fronts whether it be in terms of musical presentation or indeed the lasting charm it seeks to imbue upon the listener, in fact you could go as far to saying that this is the finest and most giving release we’ve heard since last year’s ‘One million year old sand’ by Audra Kubat and those who were fortunate enough to hear that release will know immediately that we are in the realms of something truly special.
Emma is a twenty something song stress who emits a depth and calibre that betrays her tender years, from a childhood blighted by the loss and pain of her Father’s death and her Mother’s admission to sheltered accommodation as a result of a de-habilitating illness, this is a young lady who has never been blessed with having a silver spoon. Instead ‘Isolated Impressions’ is the culmination of gritted determination, industry and an inner will to succeed, you sense immediately that there are no thrills, heirs or graces to Emma, instead its on a personal level a cathartic experience – one that you gather she’d be glad you loved.
The roots of ‘Isolated Impressions’ stem from a young 16-year-old picking up a guitar for the first time and while still in education studying for exams summoning the courage to busk on the streets of Hull. From tiny acorns the seeds to an idea of collecting the songs together to form an album where sown. Originally released in 2003, ‘Isolated Impressions’ has been gathering pace slowly but surely, it seems everyone who has had the pleasure of hearing it has been touched and smitten by its softening charms and its easy to see why – for all the money that the majors plough into artificially creating ‘fireworks’, media contacts and the PR bullshit and back hands that muddy the industry nothing, absolutely nothing can stand in the way of good wholesome old fashioned honesty – and this folks has it all in abundance in fact so explicitly so it has an uncomfortable feel about it as though your peering into someone’s inner soul.
‘Isolated Impression’ is equally lush in seduction and solace, deeply touching and affecting it never tires or more so you never tire of it. Within its gentle grooves there’s a deep hurt that asks for answers to questions where no answers exist. A collection of aching acoustics that draws subtle references from the late 60’s Cambridge folk scene and wraps them with an enchanting Gaelic texture that has it sitting somewhere between the early career work of the Cranberries (check out the passionately intense vocal on the statuesque ‘Read your Mind’) and the carefree tranquil abandonment of Nick Drake (especially on the spectrally draped ‘Picture Perfect’). In fact the more sceptic among you who thought it was impossible to fall headlong in love with a song would do best to check out ‘As you go’ which opens the set. Timeless, longing and warm it cocoons you in a safety of a picture book landscape, rustic and alluring with it, captivating with its shimmer like ghostly arcs as though caught in an air of sweet intimacy. For the best part ‘Isolated Impressions’ leaves you dumbfounded and speechless, just when you’ve tuned yourself into its curvaceous folk steps along comes the gem like ‘Prelude to the End’ with its stridently infectious radio friendly pop motif groove to blow you away blissfully. Elsewhere there’s the tearfully astute ‘Today’ and the harrowing recollections found on the tortured ‘Floor’ which though darkly intimate sees the pain lulled by the cleverly executed juxtaposition of the uplifting melodic sweeps sensitively drawn by the dreaming cascade of the tumbling of naked plucked strings. Keep the CD rolling long after the final breath of ‘In your Universe’ has faded into the ether for a hitherto hidden track featuring a gorgeously sedately weaned piano ballad. Perfection can be painfully cruel – ‘Isolated Impression’ marks the start of a deserved fruitful journey – expect nothing but wonderful things in the future.
MARK BARTON
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