
Emily Long
Cosmetic Liquor Love Songs EP
The world can always use another Riot Girrrl. Emily Long’s solid vocal styling and gentle hard rock backups recall the great female vocalists of the ’80s and ’90s, but with less studio fluff. Her voice stands clear and high above the tight arrangements, and the universal themes of love and dickheaded men grabs you in the iPod, if not the pocketbook. By the time we get to “The Blackout,” the music darkens, her roots grow out, and the line “it’s time to kill… I should have known better” leaves an ominous feeling in your little black book. It’s a post-apocalyptic dating world, and the only creatures willing to buy a drink here are undead, and don’t even deserve a Christian beheading. “Near” almost shows some remorse, but why bother? Emily Long is woman enough to make her own way, and my musical attention moves to the Sparks-influenced xylophone lurking in the background. Ms. Long is one of those powerful women of rock; she owns the stage and owns her own sound. This tight little EP needs a follow up album, or whatever we call a collection of 14 great songs by one artist.
Emily Long: http://www.emilylong.net