KUPA, EMMA - It Will Come Easier (Sealed) (CD)

Following successes fronting Mammoth Penguins and (the much missed) Standard Fare, Emma Kupa releases her first full length solo album It Will Come Easier. "The title is a hopeful line, and one that is important to me - it is something I try to hold onto when things feel difficult". The album delves through the trials and tribulations of attempting to navigate through the crossroads of your early thirties. Direct, raw and frank, Kupa leads us through her tender reflections on relationship regrets, the torment and pressure to succeed, and the dichotomy of now finding herself tending to choose logic over impulse - "does her smile light up your heart, or do you just want to get under her shirt?" she asks on Does It Feel New. Picking up from the intimate family portraits of her debut solo EP, Home Cinema, this is her most personal collection of songs yet. "The album explores aspects of love, escapism and fidelity, but there's also a thread which is about ac-cepting feelings of hopelessness when you don't quite meet the many pressures of life's expectations". Despite the brutal directness of the subject matter, It Will Come Easier has an audible freshness and spring to its step. The optimistic jaunt of Nothing At All defies the futility in being unable to influence a particularly toxic situation. I Keep An Eye out is a follow up to Half Sister, written for the eponymous sibling that doesn't know of Emma. Written and recorded over several years, Kupa felt she needed to give these 10 tracks some emotional space before releasing the record. Joined by bandmates from both Mammoth Penguins and Suggested Friends (Mark Boxall and Faith Taylor, respectively), alongside Laura Ankles, Joe Bear, Rory McVicar and Carmela Pietrangelo, the instrumenta-tion is more diverse than in previous Kupa bands. From the sparse, evocative strings of Hey Love and the simple piano backing of unexpected wedding drama in Crying Behind The Marquee, through to the grinding synths of CP Reprise, there's textural flourishes abound that bely her background fronting noisy three-piece indiepop outfits. With nods to Dusty Springfield, The Unthanks and The Postal Service, It Will Come Easier is a mesmerising journey through early adulthood, poignant and expertly detailed. Emma Kupa currently fronts Mammoth Penguins, and The Hayman Kupa Band alongside Darren Hayman. She ini-tially made her name with Standard Fare, whom called it a day at the peak of their success in 2013. Her insightful warmth, eye for lyrical detail and powerful, idiosyncratic voice has made her a firm favourite amongst fans and critics alike.