The overly pretentious anti-folk scene (as it’s been dubbed by many music journos) seems to have practically imploded on itself before it even had a chance to bloom. Bands such as Noah and the Whale and Johnny Flynn appear to have descended back into the abyss they came from, however one survivor of the scene is Emmy the Great, who is a shining example of what contemporary folk can achieve when it really tries.

Emmy, (real name Emma Lee Moss) is no stranger to the live music scene having cut her teeth on the small stages of the folk world since 2005 when she released her first single. One would have thought that the 4 years of performing she has had prior to this (her first headlining tour) would have given her the confidence to become a truly charismatic performer, unfortunately though this is an area of her performance that lets her down somewhat.She sauntered shyly through the crowd to arrive on the stage before attempting at barely audible crowd discourse in between songs. This disappointed to a certain degree especially when she has spoken out and said that her songs were so personal to her. An anecdote or the background of the song would have stopped the audience from constantly muttering in between songs and held their attention more, also allowing them to warm to her.

Despite her apparent shyness her vocal performance was astounding with her silky smooth vocals complimented perfectly by her band, which included the folk band necessity, a violin. She stormed through an epic twelve song set, something that must be applauded by an artist with only one album, especially during a time when one album usually equals a standard thirty-five minute set.She began her set with recent single ‘we almost had a baby’an acoustic track that sounds sweet on the surface, however further listening reveals something different.

Just a shining example of the dark yet witty lyrics that emanate through all of Emmy’s songs. One think that makes Emmy stand out in the folk scene and also allows her to break out of it is the curious and unusual stories behind her songs. ‘24’ for example is about her boyfriend’s obsession with the programme of the same name. She cleverly laments, 24 for every year that I have slipped day by day into the neck of the abyss. ‘Easter Parade’ proved to be a crowd favourite, an acoustic song that transforms during the course of the track into a mini-symphony complete with a chorus sang in Latin. Emmy’s intelligence and wit are once again allowed to shine, she appears to mock pop culture bands like The Libertines and their eulogizing of England (or as they put it Albion).

Her performance in areas however came across as quite cold and empty with the performer choosing to simply look straight above the audience with a blank expression on her face while she sang songs of heart break and lost love, a formula that personally did not work for me. It could have been that the lyrics of the songs are so personal that she becomes encapsulated in a dream bubble from which she cannot escape or acknowledge other peopleEmmy deserves the very modest adjective that follows her name, she clearly has a dedicated fan base and this was reflected in the audience size tonight, at a venue that I don’t believe has ever had anything like this before. However to truly be a successful artist and to resemble less a rabbit caught in headlights she needs to appear more confident and connect with the audience a little more.