O Emperor - Electric Tongues/Erman Gou

Single review by KevW

Double A-side single 'Electric Tongues/Erman Gou' from Cork-based O Emperor acts as a precursor to their second album which they've spent much of this year recording and is set to be revealed to the world in the spring. Having already built a fanbase thanks to their Choice Music Prize nominated debut 'Hither Thither', a top ten album in Ireland, they're looking to spread their wings further afield this time around. They couldn't have picked a better time for it either; both songs on this single are brilliantly realised psych-rock tracks set to dive through the door opened up by bands such as The Horrors, Tame Impala and Pond, although O Emperor's music avoids the electronic kraut-isms of the former and the 60s fug of the Australian pair.

Most upbeat of the two is 'Electric Tongues' which takes a strong melody and backs it with similar atmospherics and majestic touches to some of Mercury Rev's later work. It's drone-rock tidied up to allow it to gradually escalate to a powerful finale. It's rare that the most lively of two tracks that share top billing comes of second best, but in this instance, good work though it is, 'Electric Tongues' pales slightly in comparison to the mellower and more dreamy 'Erman Gou'. Part Beatles, part Flaming Lips, this song has a fantastical chorus that feels otherworldly, as though it's about to float of up into the clouds. When it reaches the end you realise that that's exactly what it has done. Let's hope some more of the UK press catch on and give these guys the coverage they deserve.




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