Album Review: EMF - "Go Go Sapiens"

 

Well, here's something we weren't expecting in 2022. Even though EMF officially reformed two decades ago, new music has been notably absent since then but this year has finally seen the band break their protracted silence with a new album. I have to be honest, I wasn't a huge EMF fan back in the day although given my love of a lot of similar bands in this era, I probably should have been - you can probably put it down to just how omnipresent and subsequently annoying Unbelievable was at the time although I'll concede they did have a couple of good singles dotted in among their output, Getting Through and Lies notably.

The main thing that strikes me about Go Go Sapiens is that it's a much more guitar-heavy sound than the EMF of old and I have to be honest, I think that's a good thing as it gives this album a bit more of an organic sound rather than the slightly blaring noise that was their trademark back in the day. It allows a crucial bit of subtlety to underpin the likes of Sister Sandinista while We Are The Free rumbles along on an almost Madchester style drumbeat and the frenetic claustrophobia of closer Sparks And Flashes is another highlight. More mature? Arguably. But for once that's no bad thing. And for those who liked the synths and electronica, don't worry, it's still there bubbling in the background.

The only thing that really lets this album down is the lack of a genuine killer top drawer tune (which, to be fair, was always EMF's Achilles heel back in the '90s as well) although there's plenty of decent moments on here such as the sinister Crime of Passion, the breezy Equilibrium and the brooding Dr Strangelove. The gentle acoustics of Greatest Day deserve a mention as well - certainly this isn't something you could've seen the 1990 version of EMF coming up with. Overall, this isn't a bad comeback effort at all and I'd argue it's certainly as good an effort as we could have expected from EMF here in 2022.

Bandcamp Link

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)

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