Tess Emma | photo via Facebook

As she puts it, Tess Emma “did a weird thing” at the end of 2014. The local singer-songwriter released a new solo EP on Christmas while simultaneously announcing that she is starting a new band called Lou, which includes members of Modern Colour.  The band had its first show at World Cafe Live’s Mistletoe Jam last month and will appear again at MilkBoy this Saturday, January 10th for Tess Emma’s EP release show.

Tess Emma the EP is a really lovely collection of four original songs and a cover of The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby.” A bed of subtle bird chirps and summer bug murmurings open the intro track as Emma’s echoing vocals brush lightly over a clear acoustic guitar. The next three songs address love in three different ways; the lyrics are reflective on “You Were Mine,” observational on “Cut You Down” and nostalgic on “April.” It seems like an album of rebirth, the perfect antidote for the dreary winter we are about to enter.

Tickets and information for the release show with Ginger Coyle, Family Vacation and Ellen Siberian-Tiger can be found here.  Check out the EP below and listen back to her cover of “Christmas In New Orleans” with Chistopher Davis-Shannon here.