As a founder member and one half of the songwriting team in ’90s alternative legends Lush, Emma Anderson needs little by way of introduction. Despite only being active for less than a decade, Lush were one of the most influential bands to emerge from both the shoegaze and Britpop scenes, releasing four critically albums and a host of EPs and singles, all of which received similar levels of reverence. Their eagerly anticipated but shortlived reformation in 2015 and 2016 also yielded an EP (Blind Spot) before disbanding once more, but their influence lives on having been cited by numerous bands and musicians both past and present.
In between times, Anderson also formed the band Sing-Sing, releasing two albums in the early 2000s (The Joy of SingSing, Sing-Sing and I) but it’s her brand new (and debut) solo record, Pearlies, Under the Radar are here to talk about.
Released last fall on Sonic Cathedral, Pearlies showcases Anderson’s immeasurable talents as a songwriter, singer, and musician. Fusing styles as disparate as folk, electronica, shoegaze, and pop, Pearlies was one of last year’s most essential releases, so we sat down with its main creator to discuss its origins, the past, and what might come next in the future.
Dom Gourlay (Under the Radar): How long has Pearlies been in the making? When did it become apparent this might be your first solo album?
We had the Lush reunion in 2016 which collapsed, and there’s a little bit of music on that was going to be for Lush. Not a lot, just a couple of bits. Then, because I was a little bit disillusioned with the band stuff, I thought about writing music for TV and films. So, I gave it a go with Audrey Riley, who I’d worked with in Lush. We did some tracks together, which I
