Emmy The Great – “Swimming Pool”

This tasty morsel of delicate laptronica marks the return of below-the-radar indie popstar Emmy the Great. Hong Kong-born, London-bred and now Brooklyn-based, Emma-Lee Moss hasn’t released any music under her Emmy the Great stage-name since 2011, when her introspective anti-folk seemed primed to capture the attention of listeners attuned to Laura Marling, Regina Spektor and She & Him. Instead, Moss opted for touring, soundtrack composition, and culture writing for the Guardian, Vice Media, and Talkhouse, experiences that have shaped the cosmopolitan sounds and perspectives heard on her forthcoming EP “S.”

Underneath its shimmering guitar, “Swimming Pool” reveals a new electronic element that runs across the new EP. Don’t call it EDM, though — even if the stabs of staccato synth triplets on the up-tempo “Solar Panels” prime that track for a dance remix. On the whole, Emmy the Great’s headphone confessionals are well-suited for today’s coffeeshop and dorm-room listening. Guest vocals by Wild Beasts’ Tom Fleming give “Swimming Pool” an extra erotic charge, while the video (filmed in Southern California’s Monterey Park) puts a 21st-century spin on L.A. noir.

“S” comes out January 27 on Bella Union Records.

EMMY THE GREAT ON TOUR:

Jan 22 – Glasgow King Tuts
Jan 23 – Manchester TBC
Jan 27 – London Oslo
Jan 28 – Brighton Green Door Store
Feb 17th – Washington, DC9
Feb 18th – Philadelphia, Boot & Saddle
Feb 19th – New York City, Mercury Lounge
Feb 21st – Boston MA, Great Scott