Stockholm’s Emmon have established a reputation for classy pop music, infused with sexiness, energy, and melody. Recent releases have seen the evolution of Emma Nylén’s project, as it has absorbed vibes from the alternative club night: in particular, old school Nitzer Ebb and Front 242.
RECON, the fifth Emmon album, gathers the material from recent EPs and adds new recordings impressed with the sounds uncovered by digging through Nylén’s record crates. This exercise in sonic archeology has given new fuel to the project.
The background is that a support slot for Nitzer Ebb made Nylén rethink her entire approach. While Emmon’s driving pop has earned respect and a solid following over the years, she missed the feel of the songs she used to play as a DJ. With help from her partner, Jimmy Monell, she set out to capture the textures of those sets. That might explain why, besides the usual EBM heroes, we hear John Foxx in “Purebloods” and Goldfrapp in “Machines,” Depeche Mode in “The Battle,” and Miss Kittin in “Mindfull.”
The entire album is a love letter to the scene Emmon emerged from. The sexiness of “Lips on Fire” is still underlying proceedings, but with a heavier, sequencer-led rhythm section substituting for the electroclash tension. This is serious, grown-up stuff, but it clearly has poptronica in its DNA. RECON is designed for the night.