EMA

i emailed a friend the song 'marked' by erika anderson, aka EMA. he called afterward to make sure i was ok, and felt it was particularly bleak without being uplifting or generalizable, and at one point joy division was mentioned. two other people i played it for had similar reactions.

so, what do i like about it? viscerally, the expression of her pain is beautiful. i also love the rawness in her voice and messy chord changes which reflect the lyrics perfectly. but my favorite part is the lead up to and repetition of the line "i wish that every time he touched me left a mark". the tension builds like a spring being loaded and afterward even the most subtle vocal changes threaten to release it, making the words resonate more than if she were screaming at the top of her lungs. she's fighting back.