ALBUM REVIEWS - Emily Maguire

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When I'm gone
Maybe you will hear this song
I'll be singing it to you
Somewhere in the blue

But I won't be coming home
And we all must leave alone
But I'll leave this song for you
Somewhere in the blue

Somewhere In The Blue

'Keep Walking'

Hear song-clips, read lyrics & order your copy here.

All Emily's songs are available to download at iTunes

'Stranger Place'

Emily's stunning debut album is still available to order while stocks last. Hear song-clips, read lyrics and order your copy here.

Click here
for Emily's photo-diary
recording 'Keep Walking'
Aug-Nov 2006

Click here
for the story and photos of the making of 'Stranger Place'

ALBUM REVIEWS

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Daily Express (UK)

Call her a folk singer or singer/songwriter, Emily Maguire’s debut album is an unashamedly emotional collection of songs.The album deals with a 10-year period of virtual immobility resulting from a car crash. Maguire, who now lives with her snake in a tin shack in the Australian bush, has a voice that slips between the hushed and sultry and the brightness of a Brill Building starlet. [Robert Spellman] 4 stars
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Financial Times (UK)

Emily Maguire, a Cambridge-born singer turned Australian goat farmer, has found herself catapulted to the foothills of fame by this, her second album. 'Keep Walking' collects songs of survival, as in the title track's taxonomy of "better days and wetter days/red-letter days"; what lifts it above other singer-songwriter strum is her grasp of dynamics, rising from folky murmurs to anthemic stadium choruses in the space of a few bars. "Someday", set in a field on the Isle of Purbeck, shows this gift at its best. 4/5 stars
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Courier Mail (Australia)

Emily Maguire is a lovely singer who sits comfortably in the new folk movement, spearheaded by her fellow Englishwoman Thea Gilmore. But Maguire now lives in a shack on a Kenilworth goat farm in the Sunshine Coast hinterland which gives her a different perspective and perhaps a crisper sound. Like Gilmore, this is infectious stuff that grows with every listening, opening up more intriguing and engaging lyrical byways and some just right poppy hooks. Her own introduction to pop-folk is apparent (she is a classically trained cellist who mastered guitar from Bob Marley songbooks) but it’s her gorgeously understated vocal and dramatically arresting lyrics that get under your skin. From the weekend party narrative of the title track (“She’s high Sunday night/Another line will see the light”) to the very funky and direct TV To Take It Away (“There’s bills to be paid and plans to be laid/Trinkets to trade and lands to invade”) you can dip into this like a magnificent Turkish mezze sprawling across a lunch table or pack it away for a picnic-for-one in a spot of rare beauty just for yourself. Another reason to believe there is a folk revival going on and it’s worth your attention. [Dennis Atkins]
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Indie-Music.Com (USA)

It's a good time for female singer-songwriters at the moment – from Mandi Perkins to Brandi Carlile, there's finally a reason to replace the Tracy Chapman CD on your stereo. With her latest self-produced album Keep Walking, English-born Emily Maguire can add her name to this impressive roll call. Now living in Australia with her partner Christian Dunham (with whom she runs the record label Shaktu Records, through which this album is released, and who plays bass on the album), Maguire lists her three main influences as Bach, Bob Marley and Buddha. Far from having a fixation with the letter B, it's the perfect description of her music – classical, talking-to-the-people storytelling, sitting on just the right side of relaxation. "Something" introduces you to the world of Maguire, and there are far worse ways to begin a journey. With a voice that mixes the best of Joni Mitchell and British songstress Dido, it's a lilting reminder of how fleeting moments in life can be. When she sings, Cos something has happened Like a tear in the corner of my eye Something in the air, I'm so scared Of the endless, friendless goodbyes ... it's with the knowledge that we all can relate exactly to what she's singing. Title track "Keep Walking" is a wonderful cross mixture of an upbeat melody tied to a darker lyric, which tells of a woman who needs cocaine to make sense of her life, even though she knows it could easily end that very life with one bad line. As Maguire herself states, But she's high Sunday night Another line will see the light ... And you know something's got to change ... Yet as much as her strength lies in slower-paced eulogies, Maguire also knows how to pick up both the pace and the mood with songs like "Standing." Opening with a guitar riff not too dissimilar to the Lou Gramm classic "Midnight Blue," it's a message full of hope and how remaining positive, even on the darkest days, is what we should all strive for. Using an enchanting combination of cello and violin with the more traditional instruments of choice, Maguire is able to at once sound familiar yet different. And it's these instruments that make tracks like "TV To Take It Away" all the more powerful, with its warning about television desensitizing us to the true horrors around us, with the despondent opening lyrics People keep dying on TV and I don't know where I should be crying but somehow I just don't care ... This is the beauty of Emily Maguire's music – in one instant she can be assaying us with the sweetest melody, yet in another she can be breaking our hearts with nary a care. With a coveted slot at the Cambridge Folk Festival this July in the UK, as well as Keep Walking picking up airplay in her adopted Australia, it's a bittersweet love affair that others may soon start to covet, and deservedly so. [Danny Brown] www.indie-music.com
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Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange (USA)

"And there's kids to be raised / and soldiers to slay / Preachers to pray / And TV to take it all away". With lyrics like that, Maguire instantly becomes an artist to listen for. And one can easily hear why she's getting the buzz throughout the UK and her adoptive Australian wilds. No sir, this isn't college girl journal entries. This isn't your standard singer/songwriter stuff that the world sucks and woe, woe, woe. Maguire thinks these things out, and though she may not offer solutions (c'mon, she's human after-all) she does offer camaraderie, that we're in it together and together we'll make a difference. Besides her lyrics, what I appreciate most about Maguire is that you can't pin her influences down. You'll hear a lot of contemporary and the greats of the past in her music, but it's never derivative. "Cos your life is a loan you can't pay / You're providing for kids you can't save" she offers on the effortlessly melodic All That You Wanted. From the uplifting title track we have this everyday, though poetic observation: "And there'll be better days and wetter days / Red-letter days, you pray there's nothing wrong". Bassist Christian Dunham and drummer Shane Nesic provide Maguire a spacious and rhythmic palette for her invigorating vocals, full guitar, and one woman string ensemble. A classically trained cellist and pianist, Maguire understands how music moves the listener, and never fails to do so. [Mike Jurkovic]
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Babble And Beat (USA)

Emily Maguire is an extremely gifted English singer-songwriter-instrumentalist based on a farm in the Australian bush. ‘Keep Walking’ is her 2nd album. Emily’s voice is gorgeous! Think of Tracey Thorn’s (Everything But The Girl), Dido’s and Paula Cole’s vocals equally mixed. The lyrics are candid, warm, and endearingly heart-on-sleeve. The musical arrangements are lovely as well… and they convey emotion & depth just as much as Emily does vocally and lyrically. Christian Dunham plays the bass, Shane Nesic plays the drums and Emily plays the cello, viola and violin. All 12 tracks are pleasing but my personal favorites on ‘Keep Walking’ are: All That You Wanted’ put a lump in my throat and brought tears to my eyes. This track is absolutely beautiful but at the same time it’s a powerful song about desperation and disappointment. This is such a personal song, and was obviously written about someone specific, but I’m confident that this track would strike a personal chord with anyone at some level and at some point in their lives. ‘One Good Thing’ – I really love this track! It’s more rock n’ roll than the others and although it’s about heartbreak it sheds some insight in a humorous way. ‘TV To Take It All Away’ – For me, this song shakes you into thinking about your reality: what’s really important, time that’s been wasted, and deceit versus truth. ‘Passing By’, ‘Wanted’, 'Keep Walking', and ‘Back Home’ are other highlights. [Stacy Sardelli]
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Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange (USA)

Three totally killer songs kick off Maguire's debut. The throbbing The Real World; the utterly transcendent The Borderline ("If we are like water then which drop is me") and the captivating If I Could See You. Think about that for a sec. Any singer/songwriter would readily revisit Robert's crossroads to sign a deal with the devil for an introductory salvo like that. Add the extremely sad fact that most artists today won't have three killer tunes in a lifetime and you can see and hear how far ahead of the game you are with Stranger Place. Though it's easier here to spot her influences (Ani DiFranco, Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant) than on her equally fine and defining follow-up Keep Walking, Maguire's striking, real world lyricism renders Sarah and Natalie mute, while her emotionally textured arrangements—brought to life by bassist Christian Dunham and drummer Shane Nesic—never wander into Ani-like self indulgence. Best listened to as a complete work of intelligent passion, other haunt-your-head tracks include Somebody, I Thought I Saw, Love Song and Stranger Place. [Mike Jurkovic]
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Spiral Earth (UK)

We all take decisions to follow certain paths in life everyday. One such day Emily Maguire decided to give up her London flat and head for a shack in the Australian outback. Whilst based there she recorded her debut album the aptly named 'Stranger Place.' It proved to be a wise decision as it established her as a critically acclaimed artist down under. Then following a tour back in blighty Emily returned to her new home to record 'Keep Walking.' Initially the albums breezy facade betrays the fact that copious amounts of planning and playing went into this. Emily drew on existing skills as a trained pianist and cellist, then with borrowed violin and viola she creates her own string ensemble. Recruiting a bassist and a drummer to compliment her own guitar and voice completed the desired set. 'Keep Walking' the title track has already been playlisted on Australia's ABC radio. It warrants its place there displaying plenty of commercial muscle. Emily says her intention was to 'give people the same feeling you get when you go and look at the horizon above the sea and you get a sense of silence, space and possibility.' Striving to fulfil this mission Emily does highlight some hefty universal themes of struggle, love and loss. This tends to work to best effect when her lyrics are more oblique. 'Back Home' benefits from some thoughtful moments, 'So I go with the river, go where the river goes. And I flow with the river, I Know what the river knows.' Whereas when tackling more topical matters on 'TV To Take Away' things become a little to literal. Not unlike a news report. There's also a slight tendency to fall for some obvious words in the form of light, night, fight. Not enough though to really detract from what are songs that could be helping Emily into the mainstream spotlight. Evolutionary dots could easily be joined from Joni Mitchell to Suzanne Vega to 'Keep Walking.' There's Joni's love of Jazz and Suzanne's jagged guitar lines all in one sassy package. It's ultimate strength lies in when the best elements converge. 'Someday' has the ideal swell of strings and longing lyrics that could move the most hardened cynic. Emily Maguire doesn't attempt to re-invent the wheel. And why should she? There's already plenty of attention coming her way. We all sometimes need a sense of silence, space and possibility don't we? [Dave Kushar]
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Collected Sounds (USA)

First I want to thank Emily Maguire and every other artist who includes his or her lyrics in the liner notes. I love to sit down with a record on the first listen and read along with the music. It somehow makes it so personal and intimate. This way I am able to really pay attention to the lyrics instead of thinking, 'oh that maybe sounded cool, what did she say?'. So I got to listen to this one the way I most enjoy. Headphones, and lyrics in hand. "Passing By" is a lovely song that has some funky rhythm stuff going on. Then Emily's sweet subtle voice enters and it's magical. You're sucked in. Fuggetabouttit. The more I listen to this track the more I like it. It's especially good on headphones. According to her site, she is classically trained in piano and cello, added violin and viola and recorded all the parts herself to create her own string section. I tell ya, the cello and other strings really add to these songs. "TV to Take it All Away" is a powerful song about how we know things are happening (war, hunger, crime) but it's still kind of removed from us so we can ignore it. Even if just a little. It's kind of got an eerie feeling. "Back Home" has some lovely harmonies that really show case her warm and comforting voice. This whole recording is very solid. While there are songs I like more than others they are all good and special in their own way. This is a great collection of songs and Emily Maguire is a class act. [Amy Lotsberg]
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Womenfolk (USA)

Operating her own record label from a charming shack within the Australian bush, one will find the lovely Emily Maguire. Classically trained as both a cellist and pianist and self-taught with a guitar, Maguire eventually grew tired of the grey skies of London and uprooted her life to the countryside of Queensland, Australia, where she continued to write her songs and prepared for the release of her first album. Stranger Place arrived in 2004 on her own, Shaktu Records, and won wide critical acclaim throughout Australia and opened the door to some prestigious venues. Most notable perhaps was opening for Gail Ann Dorsey, renowned bassist for David Bowie. She would then spend the next couple of years touring in support of Stranger Place, much throughout the U.K. and Australia. Last year, Maguire encorporated violin, viola and cello into the recording of her follow-up, and literally became her own string ensemble, rounding out a sound that is made complete with the talents of bassist Christian Dunham and drummer Shane Nesic. 'Keep Walking' arrived earlier this year and has quickly made its impression. Following its launch in New York, ABC Radio in Australia quickly added the title-track track to its national playlist and Maguire has already booked another tour for the summer to support the record. Dense with emotion and rich with thought-provoking lyrics, 'Keep Walking' is a sublime album to experience. Maguire’s voice possesses that rare timbre that gracefully streamlines its accompanying melody. It soars beautifully in the socially conscience ‘TV To Take It Away’ and carries the uplifting energy in the motivating ‘Keep Walking.’ On ‘Passing By,’ a listener can sense a tinge of mystery and eerieness, much in part to the song’s beautiful strings and Maguire’s cool delivery. And on ‘Wanted,’ Maguire’s cello seeps a deep hum that can easily instill chills. It doesn’t take long to realize you’re listening to something truly great. This year will no doubt be a special one for Emily Maguire. She’s currently scheduled to attend the Cambridge Folk Festival in July and is planning an acoustic tour during the fall throughout the U.K. Hopefully, her growing audience of North American fans will have an opportunity to hear this remarkable songwriter in person. But until then, they have two incredible albums to enjoy by this incredibly gifted artist. [Robbie McCown]
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IndepenDisc Music Club [New York] Issue #93

One of the things I really enjoy, and don’t get the time to do often enough, is sitting down, throwing on the headphones, and getting totally lost in the music and lyrics of an artist that goes leaps and bounds beyond. Emily Maguire is fabulous. 'Keep Walking' by Emily Maguire is an album that mixes hard, realistic social commentary from the perspective of one whose fragile state of mind will not be tied down to the norm and the acceptable response to which may or may not be under one’s control, with amazing musical construction built around electric acoustic guitar, bass, drums and strings. Using studio production that is astounding and string arrangements that ring every drop of emotion from the songs, Emily (vocals, guitars & strings) and Christian Dunham (bass) have fashioned a decades and genre spanning piece of work that should be admired as a whole as much as for each individual song. Rounding out this group is Shane Nesic (drums), who has been playing with Christian as a rhythm section for over 20 years, and they fit Emily like a glove. Here, the tightness of the players resounds throughout; there is nary a wander as they drive the music and arrangements for maximum effect. Packaging individual perspectives of everyday problems - from the most intimate to those experienced in general by all - Maguire and Co. touch us with the harrowing torment that these situations can produce. They do this all from the mindset of an individual who, at times, can be pushed to the edge. Yet, it is the expression of these conflicting scenarios and the solutions presented that push our involvement to a higher level than that of your average 3 minute pop song. Mixing a Suzanne Vega/Beth Orton type vocal/vocal arrangement with a solid writing sensibility a la Joni Mitchell/Joan Baez, while at times skirting Portishead territory, this album doesn’t let up until the final note. Anchoring the CD, 'TV To Take It Away' lays out the decline/fall of mankind and TV’s role in not only bringing it to us, but also how it is there to convince us to ignore it. Using rich tribal drums with a powerful backbeat bass staying underneath to lend even more power to the acoustic picking, a tone of dire straights is set before the shallow echo of a distant, unattached vocal mocks the oblivious and the privileged in a social protest that haunts and shames us into further evaluating our social/global/human conscious. “And there’s kids to be raised / And soldiers to slay / Preachers to pray / And TV to take it all away” “yes, it’s all OK / And it’s all alright / yes, it’s all right.” Built around this are 11 more songs that are each of significant importance to the overall make up of the album. The Title Track, 'Keep Walking', has an uplifting, mystical sound that celebrates the solace in a walk that also bears its own set of problems. 'Passing By' uses an ancient Gaelic sound with a downbeat backbeat to express the narrator’s questioning of the possible cruelty of God, and how it burdens the mind of a good person. In contrast, 'Standing' offers us an anthem to the spirit of man. Soaring, angelic backing vocals add chills to this feel-good, Champion-the-Heart, homage to those who weather the storm and can still stand and raise their fist high in the air. 'Lately' is an edgy Eleanor Rigby with string arrangements that echo ELO style classical leanings in a rock sensibility. It uses an operetta vocal (which Freddie Mercury would give anything to come back and perform) to throw it in the face of an ex who she’s not going to stick around for. While, 'Wanted' builds the perfect beast with Christian and Shane’s solid rhythm section underscoring Emily’s drenching vocals and by using a Cello and resounding electronic accents to construct a paranoid schizophrenic view of the need for solitude and the need to be loved. And, 'One Good Thing' breaks out a secret agent sinister, Talking Heads minimalist approach that channels both Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane) and Martha Davis (The Motels) in a song about almost losing it. Where, just when you think it’s going over the edge, they pull it back again, perfectly mirroring the plot. 'All That You Wanted' is where the brilliance of Emily Maguire (along with Christian and Shane) breaks through and shines with a passion that is simply astounding. The intense music and powerful vocals get the song caught in your throat and bring a tear to the eye. Its tragic beauty has the ability to choke you up in a manner reserved for weddings and funerals. Then, 'Back Home' continues the poetic beauty of song with a nod to the circle of life. Gorgeous acoustic picking brings forth a flow that leads to a final chorus of double tracked harmony that needs to be heard to be appreciated. I can find no words to describe its exquisiteness. One of the things I really enjoy, and don’t get the time to do often enough, is going to a club to see, hear, and get totally lost in the music and lyrics of an artist that goes leaps and bounds beyond. I had the pleasure of attending the CD release party for Keep Walking by Emily Maguire. Emily Maguire is Fabulous. [Gary Vollono]
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Time Off Magazine [Australia]

Bass-heavy drumming and questioning lyrics set a dark tone on album opener ‘The Real World’, but there are many moments of genuine light on Emily Maguire’s Stranger Place. In fact, there’s a strong sense of mortality and spirituality throughout the English born, Sunshine Coast-based singer/songwriter’s record. Maguire sings of existence (‘The Borderline’), the slow decay of society (‘I Turned On The News’) and devotion (‘Falling On My Feet’). Rich, organic sounds dominate, as do Maguire’s strong vocals, which sit prominently in the mix. Acoustic folk-pop is the order of the day, but Maguire plays around enough with the genre to keep it appealing. ‘The Borderline’ and ‘On The Radio’, for instance, strip things back to a gentle lull, while ‘You Do’ incorporates a Latin guitar feel. ‘I Thought I Saw’ is a pop highlight, a rare instant hit among a collection of songs that are likely to prove themselves more as time goes by. [Sarah Jones]
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Scene Magazine [Australia]

She has the kind of vocals that will melt your stereo. Emily Maguire came to Australia for a holiday last year and hasn't left. Taking time out to record in Australia, she has released a smouldering hard-hitting and socially aware album. Breathless and slinky, her voice is similar to that of Sarah Harmer, Sinead O'Connor and Joni Mitchell. Blending her love of classical music (she is classically trained on cello, piano and flute) with passion for beautiful poetry, this singer-songwriter has released an organic album with simple acoustic riffs ('The Borderline' and 'On The Radio') and bluesy melodies ['Stranger Place']. If she doesn't melt your stereo, she's sure to melt your heart.
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Tsunami Magazine [Australia]

In direct contrast to the girly-pop schmaltz currently infesting the airwaves, Stranger Place combines wisdom, hard hitting social commentary and beautiful poetry. Strong, thought-provoking lyrics are the focal point, with bass, drums, multiple guitars and haunting cello painting a vivd background of musical imagery. Although often referred to as a female Bob Dylan in lyrical terms, her musical influences range from Beethoven to Bob Marley via Joni Mitchell. In so many ways Stranger Place defies categorisation, spanning musical boundaries instead. From this debut album of original songs, it is clear that Emily Maguire is a consummate artist. [Lark]
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Beat Magazine [Australia]

When you listen to Stranger Place, you can feel the pureness and passion with which it was produced and completed. It is an observation, a story, and a hauntingly beautiful melodic voyage through the ebbs and flows of an individual's existence in this world. An English singer-songwriter now living in the 'back of beyond', Maguire's style is a mixture of funky jazzy blues with some Joni Mitchell, Paula Cole and Natalie Merchant-style sounds. Stranger Place is definitely worth checking out if you enjoy a female acoustic sound with strong focus on the words and melody. And anyone who teaches themselves to play guitar using Bob Marley songbooks has got to be good! [Jessica Ball]
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