EMA – “Down & Out”

Alicia Gordon

EMA – “Down & Out”

Alicia Gordon

Later this summer, EMA, the maker of beautifully cathartic underground rock music, will come out with Exile In The Outer Ring, her third solo album. We’ve already posted the early tracks “Aryan Nation” and “Breathalyzer,” and now she’s also shared the striking, tuneful, intense new song “Down & Out.” It’s a song with an elemental and vital message: That you are still a person of worth even if you don’t have money. Below, listen to the song, read what Erika M. Anderson has to say about it, and check out her tour dates, including a just-announced North American co-headlining tour with the Blow.

On “Down And Out,” EMA writes:

People equate “worth” with money. If you’re not making money, you can end up feeling pretty worthless. It’s a terrible feeling. We need to divorce human value from money and we need to stop treating people like they are disposable.

And on the album in general, she adds:

As I stated before, Exile In The Outer Ring was written entirely before the past election cycle, before the final candidates where even decided. So while I do believe that a lot of the lyrical content echoes political issues — I’m really just proud of this record as a piece of music. I’ve been making my own recordings since I was a teenager: choosing and playing the instruments, deciding how they should sound, tweaking the edits and constructing the forms out of my own chaos.

TOUR DATES:
9/17 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Ideal Bar at Vega
9/19 – Aarhus, Denmark @ Voxhall
9/20 – Hamburg, Germany @ Reeperbahn Festival
9/21 – Munster, Germany @ Sputnikhalle
9/22 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Muzieklokaal
9/23 – Cologne, Germany @ King Georg
9/24 – Brussels, Belgium @ Autumn Falls / Botanique
9/26 – Berlin, Germany @ Berghain/Certain People Festival *
9/27 – Munich, Germany @ Kranhalle
9/28 – St. Gallen, Switzerland @ Palace
9/29 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Rote Fabrik
9/30 – Paris, France @ Le Batofar
10/02 – Brighton, UK @ Sticky Mike’s
10/03 – London, UK @ Oslo
10/04 – Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen
10/05 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Games Room
10/06 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
10/07 – Leicester, UK @ The Cookie
10/09 – Nuremburg, Germany @ Z-bau
1-/10 – Ljubljana, Slovenia @ Hrupni Ve?eri Noisey Nights Series, Gala Hala
10/11 – Budapest, Hungary @ Durer Kert
10/12 – Vienna, Austria @ Arena
10/13 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Meet Factory
10/14 – Warsaw, Poland @ Smolna
10/26 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s ^
10/27 – Vancouver, BC @ The Fox ^
10/28 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios ^
10/30 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop ^
10/31 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo ^
11/01 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge ^
11/03 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda ^
11/04 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada ^
11/06 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade – Purgatory ^
11/07 – Durham, NC @ The Pinhook ^
11/08 – Washington, DC @ DC9 ^
11/10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Night Bazaar ^
11/11 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA ^
11/12 – Somerville, MA @ Once Lounge & Ballroom ^
11/13 – Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace ^
11/14 – Montreal, QC @ Le Belmont ^
11/15 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison ^
11/17 – Detroit, MI @ UFO Factory ^
11/18 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle ^
11/19 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club ^

* with Blanck Mass & Forest Swords
^ with the Blow

Exile In The Outer Ring is out 8/25 on City Slang.

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