This here is an automated, pre-written post as I’m currently away on one of my spy missions to the USof until the 21st January. Not only does my welcome absence afford TWoTH some much needed ‘down time’ from my giddy ninnying, she also has about 2 weeks of having to only worry about the DCHQ cats dropping half-chewed food on the duvet, leaving suspect puddles on the floor & jumping all over her head at 3am because they can’t sleep & want attention.

This week, then, in a further installment of the Drunk Covers series, TWoTH & I am genuinely delighted to present GUILT BY ASSOCIATION VOL. 2, the second album of intriguing & sometimes ingenius cover versions (recorded by a gaggle of well known, & not so known, indie bands & artistes) on the wonderful Engine Room Recordings. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t want to exaggerate my love for this band – that wouldn’t be fair. Ema (pronounced like Emma, or more like emu with an ‘a’?) & the Ghosts purvey a gentle, slightly spooky toy-town jazz. The sort that sounds like it might be being played behind a closed door on another floor, and you can only just hear it over the din of the conversations of other drinkers.

I came across her MySpace page quite by accident – whilst trying to avoid proper work I should imagine – and it’s pretty uninformative, suggesting a rather low-key enterprise. The blog is set to private and there’s very little information on the band. It’s lovely music though, all tinny ukeleles and lilting accordion accompanying Ema’s fragile voice. She sings with an inflection slightly reminiscent of Alessi actually, and it sounds shy and a little reticent, but that complements the slightly distracted nature of the songs nicely.

So I’m more intrigued than gripped, I suppose, but there’s definitely something rather interesting going on here if you ask me.

Ema & the Ghosts – Whirly Kid
Ema & the Ghosts – Flohzirkus (Flea Circus, for those of you whose German leaves a little to be desired.)