Now, inspired by 90’s Indie Rock, the band take their influences one step further exploring a multitude of styles from Pop to Metal, and display a sound that’s both dark and brooding and light and fun, complete with catchy melodies and driving guitars.

Formed in 2013 and based in East London, here in the UK, Emma And The Fragments have made their presence known across the city, sharing stages with a great many upcoming acts at venues including Omeara, The Finsbury, Water Rats, Nambucca, Spice of Life, O2 Academy Islington 2, Vann Festival, Dublin Castle, The Underbelly, Fiddlers Elbow, Finborough Arms, 93 Feet East and The Engine Rooms, and have since opened for All Saints in 2017 at KoKo in Camden, which was a testament to their guitarist’s skill after only joining two weeks prior, and having to learn the set and play in front of an audience of 2000 strong at the drop of a hat. Sadly, members come and go as is always the case the formation of any band, and as they bid a fond farewell to their original bassist Doug Rimington, work soon got underway auditioning for the role. By April 2021 they welcomed Jonny Leigh into the fold, and with their best foot forward soon got back in the saddle sporting their new line-up that now consists of-

Emma Kitchen – vocals, Donnacha Mullaghy – lead guitar, Jonny Leigh – bass and Jonathan Kitchen on drums.

“We love creating original music and performing live. We are excited about how our music has developed and evolved, so want to keep writing new material and enjoying the buzz when we get a positive reaction to our songs.”

With that said, I asked them what the meaning was behind the band name, they added;

“There was a suggestion to call the band The Emma Kitchen Band which Emma wasn’t so keen on. So it was proposed the band was called Emma And The Fragments. Since the band evolved from a musical theatre project, each song told a different story and was a Fragment of a story. So essential it means Emma and her stories/songs.”

I followed this up by asking about their song writing process, and how they would overcome any creative blocks, they explained;

“Emma writes the lyrics and the melodies, she either brings a song to the band and then the arrangement is created or a song starts with a guitar riff and then instrumental arrangement. Emma’s melodies and lyrics are then added as the song develops. It is a collaborative process, so everyone in the band writes and has creative input, but ultimately the core of the songs are Emma’s thoughts and feelings translated into catchy melodies and hooks. Donn is also brilliant at coming up with really memorable riffs and building them into a really multi layered sound. As for creative blocks, we jam around ideas at rehearsals, but don’t stay too long on something if we aren’t feeling inspired, we just come back to it another time. We also share ideas for new songs outside of rehearsals, to get ideas flowing. Emma also likes to use song writing techniques which she has learned and developed over the years to get inspiration for song lyrics/themes.”

If it’s a driving backbeat you are after complete with Jazz riffs, crystal clear vocals and a feel-good hooks, then this is the track for you. This, their fourth single release this year, first came into existence at rehearsals where one of Emma’s phrases Proper Everything, normally used if something that was The Best, soon became a reality, and in this case was used to describe how great a relationship can be. Inspired by Victoria Park in London, the band use the imagery of the surroundings to describe falling in love, and lyrically give us a sneak peak into a further track from their forthcoming third EP Smile Til It Hurts, due for release later in the autumn, and recently told me;

“The EP marks an evolution in our music. We’ve always had a real Indie Rock sound, but the latest EP is definitely darker with two of the tracks Circle of Concern and Back to Blue use synths and samples which we haven’t done before. The latest EP will have more contrast than our previous releases which you can hear in the latest single Proper Everything which is really energetic and brings out the more fun, Indie Rock side of our music. We like to go into the studio with songs already written, and ideally already played at a live gig, so we have a feel of how an audience reacts to a song.”

There is a certain innocence in Emma’s vocal, and a purity that allows the listener to hang onto her every word through perfect enunciation, as she walks you through the storyboard with ease. This, coupled with the musical simplicity running through this single, demonstrates that less is most definitely more.

Visually, the animated video boasts cartoon versions of themselves playing Live in the aforementioned park, and displays the very same fun element of the track, and shows the bands ingenuity.

But their creative prowess doesn’t stop there, as the band have recorded jingles for Virgin Radio, and later interviewed as part of their house band feature. Emma has since raised the eyebrows of Ben Lovett from Mumford and Sons, labelling her as Best Front Women, an honour that will put the band in good stead for an already shining future.

In all, this single won’t gather dust in any collection, and will keep heads bouncing and feet tapping from sofa to stage.

Star Rating – 10/10