To me, Emma McGann excels at both ends of the conceptual spectrum: she has the vision for substantial projects of both complexity (her ‘Monsterverse' EP was part of a much wider project which included an immersive game based on the same creative plane as the songs) and of philosophical & ethical profundity (not least addressing mental health issue) yet without sacrificing the immediacy and accessibility of the songs within such frameworks. Even when not working at such elevated levels, Emma seems ever ready for a mental & musical challenge like creating a track from random items from Temu (see my article at https://hotmusiclive.co.uk/MAGAZINE/magazine/article.php?article=14001)
Now her latest release, ‘Treehouse Tapes Vol. #1' isn't as conceptual as ‘Monsterverse' in terms of the songs relating to a common thread, but there is a high level idea embedded in there: albeit less obvious to those unaware of her "Treehouse". Perhaps if you go to Emma's own video about how she set it all up, she can explain better than I can: it's at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EwJZZFtoMA Personally I find it hard to remember always that the treehouse effect is the product of much ingenuity & not actually in some jungle.
It's up in her treehouse that Emma creates all her live streams & videos as well as recording tracks so you've almost certainly spotted it over her shoulder.
The environment she has lovingly created there is in itself an immersive one for her & these songs ("Don't Slow Down", "Homesick", "Three Dot Bubble" "With the Seasons" and "Your Last Page") were all wholly recorded there and feature none but Emma herself. This includes production and she is proud of this career milestone of a totally autonomous release. The ever faithful James Plester was her only collaborator as he mixed & mastered the EP.
She has dubbed them "demos" given her sole presence on them, but I wonder if that gives quite the right impression? To me, a classic demo was one where the writer sketched out the basis of the song with their voice and an accompanying instrument with the view towards adding more to the arrangement later, with others. The feel was innately "incomplete" & the fuller version more realised.
These are much more than sketches: you only "know" they are demos because Emma tells you so. They certainly do not sound unfinished to me: the only signifier is a lightness of production touch, which in itself is no bad thing.
Let's face it, Emma is known for playing her guitar live but she is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and perfectly capable of playing the multiple parts heard here: to me, these are not preliminaries but the real things: just solo recordings. This was good enough for classics such as "Memphis Tennessee", "Maybe I'm Amazed" and countless Prince tracks & it works for me.
Doubtless Emma could conceive of alternative arrangements with additional elements but as I often say in my reviews, strong songs manifest themselves in multiple possible arrangements, including & especially simpler ones.
That they are strong compositions is validated not just by the identity of their composer but through two other factors: firstly that they were selected from among forty or more possibles (written over a fourteen year period) and secondly, they are fan favourites: so that blows any accusations of vanity projects right out of the water.
The selection also helps the diversity aspect: with that many options, we get variety and it's interesting how the songs offer both Emma's characteristic insights and a range which is much broader than say would be possible within a ‘Monsterverse' type concept.
That variety is however consistent with the Emma McGann brand of essentially accessible songs which appeal instantly to a pop sensibility yet listening to the words, they are always deeper & often darker. Emma does not waste a good tune on a disposable lyric: they are vehicles for her values & concerns.
As her career progresses & life offers her more experiences, both sad & happy (and she's had both of these recently), the level of expression deepens and becomes heart warming & heart rending at turn.
Incidentally, in a recent review, I expressed the notion that hiding a good song behind a dull title wasn't perhaps a great invitation to the listener and I went straight to "Three Dot Bubble" on ‘Treehouse Tapes Vol. #1' since I was intrigued by what a song of that name would sound like: I wasn't disappointed. That kind of backs up my theory I think.
I'm assuming that "Volume One" is a sign of more to come (sounds like she has plenty to choose from). If you like contemporary pop wrought by someone who's extremely adept at it, you'll enjoy the EP. If you are a caring, thoughtful person, you'll get even more. If you rejoice in hearing someone fulfil herself and move up the self-actualisation mountain, then you'll delight for Emma McGann as well.