Genre: internet, grunge, edward snowden, selfies, apocalypse

Dramatic folk/noise/industrial/indefinable from South Dakota musician EMA. Her 2011 album "Past Life Martyred Saints" cloaked itself in a mess of distortion and ramshackle honesty. "Future's Void" sees EMA stepping out slightly from the haze, delivering a record full of social commentary, introspection, anger, anxiety, and beauty. Definitely worth a listen.

Others: PJ Harvey, Fiona Apple, Nine Inch Nails

Favorites: 1, 4, 6, 9. FCC: 7

1. (4:18) *** Distortion, hiss, and ominous bass textures. Stark hand clap percussion. Eerie and awe-inspiring with a passionate vocal performance.
2. (3:23) Grunge-y 90's feel to this one. Initially I really wasn't a fan but there are some relatively thought provoking lyrics and the raggedness of EMA's vocals (particularly with about a minute left on the last chorus) make up for it. Still one of the weaker tracks for me though.
3. (4:34) * Nicely detailed piano/synth backdrop for EMA's croon.
4. (5:27) **** Industrial vibe, starts off slowly but bursts into an otherworldly chorus with menacing strings and huge choral we're-all-going-down-so-launch-the-missiles apocalyptic backing vocals. Stunning.
5. (5:08) * Bare, repetitive piano and sample from what sounds like a movie. Transitions into mid-tempo plod with angry shredded vocals.
6. (4:15) **** Mmmmm those drums. Playful false start. Easy favorite for me just because of the mammoth drumming but hey my show is called A Visit From Drum give me a break.
7. (3:39) FCC "fuck". Less developed than a lot of the other songs on here so not a tragedy about the FCC.
8. (5:11) * Solemn piano and fragile vocals. Nice respite from some of the noisier tracks.
9. (4:18) *** Distorted synth intro. Clever percussion throughout. Really cool vocal collage/chant toward the end. Another favorite.
10. (3:18) Organ melody super reminiscent of Amazing Grace/Military Taps. Fireworks sample. Let EMA soundtrack your next Fourth of July party.