The Top 25 Albums of 2011
by Mike Conklin, Lauren Beck, Jeff Klingman, Josh Kurp, Benjamin Sutton and Sydney BrownstonePage 6 of 9
4.
EMA
Past-Life Martyred Saints
Key Track: “Marked”
“You know me, I’ll be fine.” That wasn’t a line underlined on listen one, or 20, of Erika M. Anderson’s star-making solo debut. The record was too steeped in damage (sonic, emotional). The drugs were making her so sad. She wishes that every time you touched her left a mark. She don’t mind dyin’. Seeing her tour it, hearing her talk about it, so well-adjusted, so good-natured, helped you see the craft. How a melody line or a resonant image was always waiting there, at the wings of even the darkest stage. How performance can be exorcism. “If there was a way to get it out, I wanna get it out."
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