EMA returns to Europe this week to kick off a tour with Depeche Mode, she’s shared ‘Dark Shadows’ a second track from forthcoming EP, Outtakes From Exile, which will be released on February 2nd via City Slang.
“I wrote “Dark Shadows” for the film 20th Century Women” explains Erika M. Anderson. “ There was a moment when they were looking for a band to play in a punk club and thought maybe EMA would be a good fit. That didn’t end up happening, but I was intrigued by the premise — badass women living in 1970s Santa Barbara getting into punk. That’s all I knew! But I wrote the song with that in mind. I think of it as a survivor song, someone leaving a dark past behind, emerging again into the world. Whoever it is they definitely are wearing sunglasses.”
EMA situates herself in what she calls “The Outer Ring.” It’s a zone between the country and the city, both literally and figuratively — a surprisingly diverse world of people united only by poverty and tension, and by the anger that comes from having your story and your struggles erased from the narrative. The vignettes here are less about an actual place than scenes that could be unfolding anywhere in America, including the stories of recent immigrants, defiant feminists, nihilistic mall teens, police shootings, and ex-urbanites who’ve been pushed out of city centers by stagnating wages and rising expense, forced up against resentful rural communities swallowed by sprawl.
EMA is not new to material that speaks truth to power (“Active Shooter,” “Song For Ghostship”), and while these songs pull no punches in confronting ugly realities, they never wallow in despair. Exile In The Outer Ring and the accompanying forthcoming ‘Outtakes From Exile EP’ are a portrait of resilience that render American poverty and resentment with frightening realism and deep empathy.
‘Outtakes From Exile’ EP track list:
1. Dark Shadows – YouTube
2. MopTops (Twist While The World Stops) – YouTube
3. I Don’t Treat Anything Good
4. From The Love That We Made
5. Breathalyzer Instrumental (EMA long cut)
EMA European live dates 2018:
January
15 Monday – Dresden, DE @ Groovestation
16 Tuesday – Berlin, DE @ Auster-Club
17 Wednesday – Berlin, DE @ Mercedes-Benz Arena (w/ Depeche Mode)
19 Friday – Berlin, DE @ Mercedes-Benz Arena (w/ Depeche Mode)
21 Sunday – Nuremburg, DE @ Arena Nürnberger (w/ Depeche Mode)
23 Tuesday – Paris, FR @ Le Supersonic Festival
24 Wednesday – Bordeaux, FR @ Bordeaux Metropole Arena (w/ Depeche Mode)
26 Friday – Luzern, CH @ Sedel
27 Saturday – Milan, IT @ Mediolanum Forum (w/ Depeche Mode)
28 Sunday – Bologna, IT @ Freakout Club
29 Monday – Milan, IT @ Mediolanum Forum (w/ Depeche Mode)
31 Wednesday – Prague, CZ @ O2 Arena (w/ Depeche Mode)
February 2018
01 Thursday – Brno, CZ @ Leitnerova Club
02 Friday – Budapest, HU @ BSA (w/ Depeche Mode)
03 Saturday – Kosice, SK @ Tabačka Kulturfabrik
04 Sunday – Vienna, AT @ Stadhalle (w/ Depeche Mode)
