This is refreshing. One woman and a guitar would normally be sensitive singer songwriter material but, instead, Emma Rush takes the musical fluency route with her classical guitar to make her EP “Home Sweet Home” into something that should not be different yet, in these digitally enhanced days, actually is.
There are three songs for the classical guitar on this EP - “Valse Espagnole”, “Treue Liebe” and “Home Sweet Home” – and all are respectfully taken from the pen of Catharina Pratten whose name, drawn as it was from the history books, was unfamiliar to me. I am, however, all in favour of musical resurrection especially when such treasures are retrieved and presented with both respect and a suitable degree of skill ands dexterity. Fortunately, Emma Rush has taken the time and made the effort to do both and, while there are many echoes of familiar melodies to be found in these three songs, she nonetheless makes all that she plays seems like it was the work of merely yesterday.
You won’t find me arguing about three examples of the soon to be underground art of making music through sheer ability and hard work and Emma Rush deserves to be heard by more than just aficionados of the classical guitar.
Available on vinyl from Bandcamp and also from the usual digital places.