Emerton’s psychological acuity as a lyricist extends to her singing and, specifically, to an overuse of the pause, especially before and after pronouns. The effect of this technique is, again, that the players in the story, the “I,” the “you,” the “she,” are assigned additional weight, and that the cast of characters acquire a powerful reality that far exceeds that which would normally be granted by a personal fiction such as a song. If, as happens in such rare cases as “We Can’t Find It” or “I Doubt,” the pronoun is not framed in such a way, the very existence of that character is thrown into doubt, a distrust that in turn in intensifies the trust that powers the rest of the work. Emerton’s most recent album, Bottle Jack, applies new technology to her trademark technique, adding, in the millisecond before a pronoun, an “underwhoosh,” which can best be described as a susurrus of engrossment. The cover photograph of a fish trapped in a net is a nice touch.
©2020 Ben Greenman/Stupid Ideas
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