Emily Breeze
Rats In Paradise
Sugar Shack Records
CD/LP/DL
Out now
The Bristol chanteuse of pop-noir herself Emily Breeze, follows Rapture and Rituals with Rats In Paradise, her best album yet. Elfyn Griffith reviews.
This is a typically bold, lyrically sparkling production from an artist whose trash aesthetic combines the poetry of pop and the grunge and glitter of rock to tell her tales of life’s travails.
The great niece of legendary Irish writer Brendan Behan she continues the family tradition not only in physical resemblance but with the power of the written word which courses through her songs.
From the hints of Dylan in opening track Romance Is Dead (‘the kind of kisses you don’t get from your mother’/ ‘I heard from a young revolutionary love songs are just a waste of time’) the inventiveness and knowing descriptiveness is there with the guitar of Rob Norbury aiding and abetting. It hits raunch with Fun, the single released in April, a stylish 70s-type glam pounder, and inhabits a lounge-pop lushness with the second single from the album Dating A Model, released earlier this month (‘chatting shit with cocaine communists until the early morning light’, as she so eloquently puts it.).
Forever Money and Yesterday’s Parties have great pop hooks and a vigorous swagger about them in turn. We Were Lovers is a sultry swirling breakneck 60s garage tale of relationship dead-ends (‘His-and-hers tepid baths and mutual resentment’). Last year’s single 1997 reminisces about a summer of youth – “We were raging against the machine…in a haze of hormones and Linx Africa”, “Young, dumb and bulletproof…or “Young, dumb and full of shit. What a beautiful time”. Sung to a jagged ’80s type soundtrack of cinematic depth and raw guitar.
Another single from 2024 (they spew out sharp singles like confetti this lot) the breathless pop ode of The Beatniks is followed by the scorched-earth blistering Anatomy, Norbury’s guitar and Andy Sutor’s drums creating a classic no-prisoners rock thrill. Her broody, powerful, version of Paul Simon’s classic Graceland and finally a paired back synthy revisit of We Were Lovers (Redux) building to a big gorgeous crest
Kudos to synth/keyboards player Helen Stanley and bassist George Caveney who add to the marvellous frothy mix spiced with rum and a nod as good as a wink. Produced by Massive Attacks’ producer Stew Jackson it’s a satisfyingly good record where the tunes do justice to the marvellous imagery, wit and sauce of the lyrics.
https://orcd.co/emilybreezeratsinparadise
Follow Emily Breeze on her bandcamp | Facebook | X | Instagram
The album tour dates are:
12th July – Le Pub – Newport
18th July – Paper Dress Vintage – London
19th July Alphabet – Brighton
14th Aug – Brit Bar – Weston Super Mare
15th Aug – JT Soar – Nottingham
6th Sept – Strange Brew – Bristol
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