By Jim Rowland
Back at the start of the Nineties, Gloucestershire indie rockin’ ravers EMF were an instant hit with their debut album ‘Schubert Dip’, and big charting singles ‘Unbelievable’ and ‘I Believe’, but by the middle of the decade they had split. In 2022, they reformed to release their first new album in 27 years, the acclaimed ‘Go Go Sapiens’, and now they’re back with the follow-up ‘The Beauty And The Chaos’.
‘The Beauty And The Chaos’ sees the band re-united with Ralph Jezzard, who produced their their first two albums ‘Schubert Dip’ and ‘Stigma’. The album doesn’t stray too far from EMF’s familiar mix of guitar driven indie-rock and dance-friendly electronics, but there are a few interesting twists and turns along the way.
The album kicks off with a belter in the shape of ‘Hello People’, the first single, an up-tempo anthem that has a lot in common with those big hits at the start of their career, and frankly deserves to give them another hit. The CD version includes the ‘Facts vs Fear remix’ featuring none other than Stephen Fry, a celebrity long term fan of the band. ‘Reach for the Lasers’ and ‘The Day The Music Died’ are the most dance-pop oriented tracks, transporting you back in time to when ‘baggy’ was in, ‘21st Century’ melds that dance feel with driving guitar, whilst ‘Read The Room’ and ‘Red Flags’ add a spikey, punky edge to the guitar driven approach.
Elsewhere, ‘Stardust’ and ‘Lookout Mountain’ are solid slices of spaced-out, trippy pop-rock, the sassy elecro-shuffle of ‘Ive Been Down’ has a hint of Muse to it and the album’s closing track ‘Do It Again’ heads in a slightly more laid-back, almost psychedelic rock direction.
I must admit that like a lot of people outside of EMF’s hard core fan base, I know virtually nothing of what they did after that initial burst of instant success in the early 90’s, and so was not really sure at all what I would make of this album, all those years later. I must say I’m very much pleasantly surprised.
‘The Beauty And The Chaos’ is a slick, well produced album of great songs and tons of energy, not that far removed from those early days although there is a clear progression, but relevant enough for the here and now, both musically and lyrically. It’s the sound of a band doing exactly what they want, and having a damn good time doing it.
‘The Beauty And The Chaos’ is released tomorrow (Friday 19 January).
