‘From Another Planet’ is the latest album from the Edinburgh based band EMPORIUM, and covers the time from their formation in 1998 up to the present day. The band started as a three piece and remained a studio band for several years, centred around singer songwriter Ewan McKenzie. They've released three previous albums, with the last (‘Silver Brainwaves’) appearing in 2005. In between, the band has concentrated on developing their record label, Whimsical and its subsidiary, Platform Records.
This album is a Best of, and serves more than adequately to acquaint the listener with a band which in all likelihood has slipped under the radar for a lot of reviewers and listeners alike. There are seventeen tracks, the earliest dating from 1999 and the latest from 2011.Emporium have been described in the music press as “a psychedelic cross between The Small Faces and The Beach Boys." I’m not sure that I’m in agreement with that statement, but they do produce some really good easy listening pop with some superb vocal harmonies.
Opening with the appropriately titled ‘Intro’ an a capella reworking of some of the lyrics from their latest single ‘The Umbrella Shop’ (well worth listening to), this eases the listener into a world that in the 1980s only bands like The Associates seemed to inhabit.
The lyrics on the tracks here turn the tracks from being just songs into mini kitchen sink dramas, for example ‘Mindbender’ is atmospheric synch pop and seems to centre around relationship problems: -
“What do you see when you’re looking at me with your eyes in the back of your head? What did you say yesterday? You know that some things shouldn’t be said/ You’re like a twister in my head. You’re a mindbender.”
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‘Elevate’ is a classic work of skewed genius. The band collaborated on this with Freddie Phillips, who worked on the Half Man Half Biscuit-endorsed Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley television series. This was recorded a couple of years before Freddie’s death in 2003.
It starts off with the tune for Windy Miller played on acoustic guitar, before you hear Captain Flack command “Elevate”, whereupon the track morphs into some delightful synch pop, before returning to the Windy Miller theme. This is brilliant, and why it never got to number one, I’ll never know!
‘Don’t be alarmed’ is another great track, featuring some fine drums and bass, and with keys that at times are reminiscent of Soft Cell. Once again, the lyrics appear to deal with problems in relationships: - “Oh, I tell yaw to open your eyes. When it hurts you shouldn’t be surprised/ Better to be truthful, I’ll tell you why. Even if you lose your alibi/ You were not prepared, it’s obvious. You react with bitterness and fuss/These days you are shouting all the time. Someone found you out. It’s not a crime.”
'From Another Planet' sounded good in places, but spectacular in others. Hopefully its release should ensure that Emporium don’t slip under the radar this time.
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