On
Little Daggers,
Val Emmich carefully crafts a disingenuous album that's light and frothy, a poppy confection that sugarcoats the hard nut themes within. The entire album revolves around life and love, and never more cutting than on "Got a Habit Now" which is not about addiction, but the need for alcohol to lubricate the truth and ease out emotions one would prefer not to lay bare. That song is one of the most dow-tempo and introspective on the set, but even it has a bounce to its beat and a hook to its melody. "The Lucky Ones" and "Get on with It," in contrast, are irrepressibly chirpy, all thumping rhythm and singalong choruses. Thematically, though, the two songs are polar opposites, the former sitting in its cynicism waiting for fortune to change, the latter exuberantly diving straight into everything life has to offer. The rest of the set falls between these musical opposites, as
Emmich dips down into indie folk, breezes into Americana -- the jaunty harmonica on "We Still Bleed" is a perfect touch -- and in a blur of acoustic guitars takes a stab at folk-punk on "Down." That almost moody latter track pushes towards the grandiose, but still sports a simplicity of sound that is the fulcrum of the set. But that too hides a secret, an arrangement much more complex than it initially seems, and for all its minimalistic feel, there's more going on than originally meets the ear. Which is the beauty of this set; perfect pop for discerning people, and lyrics honed with emotional truth. ~ Jo-Ann Greene