Review

Emm Gryner: Burn The Boats (Légère Recordings)

A heavily infused slice of Steely Dan resides in this soothing and soulful track, which could be its saving grace…

Emm’s voice is like lush velvet and her melodically simple approach allows the slick band to shine. Motoric drums, moody guitar and an exquisite horn arrangement give pathos to what the label describes as west coast soul.

Its heavily American influence is apparent as the Doobie bounce is just about in there and the coral sitar guitar solo really cuts the mustard. Verging on soft rock but with smooth jazzy sensibilities, it scrapes just into our remit. I’m intrigued as to how the forthcoming album will sound - I’ll let you know. Let’s see if “Burn The Boats” gets a gust of wind and gathers momentum.
Words Emrys Baird