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One of Scotland's best voices, Emma Pollock has been creating dark and beautiful indie-pop anthems for the better part of 15 years. As primary vocalist of The Delgados, she was a force behind an under-appreciated but consistently brilliant group that successfully walked a sonic line between The Pixies, The Sundays, and Mercury Rev. When the group disbanded in 2005, Pollock took a short time away from music before signing with 4AD Records and heading back to the studio. Using a band featuring her husband Paul Savage (also of The Delgados), she crafted a new set of tunes that happily don't stray too far from the dreamy but angst-ridden stylistic wheelhouse of her former band. 
The result is Watch The Fireworks, which was released in the USA last month. Pollock dropped in to Emo's for a SXSW show back in March, and will return this weekend as part of Fun Fun Fun Fest at Waterloo Park. We recently talked to Emma Pollock about touring with The New Pornographers, hot sauce, and remote-controlled cars.
Given the sound of your new record, it's obvious you had a heavy hand in the sound of the Delgados. Were you gutted about the band's split, and how long did it take to put together this new batch of tunes?
Yes, I was pretty upset by it, and it took me a few months to really accept that this thing I'd been doing for the last 12 years or so was over. I started writing again pretty fast, though, and already had a couple of tunes in the bag. I wrote for a good six months and was ready to record in early 2006.
Watch The Fireworks is pretty big & "epic" sounding in terms of arrangements - we're assuming you're using a full band on this tour?
Yes, I am using a full band - but not as big as The Delgados touring band was. It's pretty tight - keyboards, drums, bass and guitar. Jamie Savage is a bit of a multi-instrumentalist, though, and plays electric and acoustic guitar as well as keyboards. So we have a pretty full sound.
How are the New Pornographers' audiences responding to your sets so far?
Very well, judging by the CD sales! It has been a good match for me and I'm really pleased at how it is going. I think a lot of Delgados fans are coming along too, some traveling for hours, which always really impresses and surprises me.
Is the live show exclusively your new solo record, or do Delgados or cover songs sometimes appear?
The live show is all the new solo record, as I don't play any Delgados stuff just now. I think I need to establish my own material first before bringing in back catalogue. I also view the Delgados songs as collectively written to a large extent, so would feel strange playing those songs with a new band. Maybe later, though.
You played Austin for SXSW and with The Delgados - how do we rate amongst the American cities you've visited?
The SXSW gig was a bit weird, as it was only the second gig with the new band. It was a high pressure gig, and unfortunately there were loads of technical hitches. So, not our best gig I don't think. Delgados gigs were always fun at Emo's, and we often visited the local hot sauce shop nearby called "Tears Of Joy" - which was a big favourite with the Delgados bass player Stewart Henderson.
Are you still involved at all with the record label Chemikal Underground? (We loved that Sister Vanilla record!)
Yes, but not as much right now. I still do a few jobs for them, stuff that can be done out of the office, but I'll get more involved again when I go back home.
As a follow up, do you have a favorite Scottish band to recommend to us right now? There are so many new ones.
All of us on the bus are big Twilight Sad fans. It's also a special record to me, as my husband (Paul Savage - Delgados drummer) recorded it at our studio Chem19 near Glasgow. It's a great record, and the vocals are very Scottish (with a strong Scottish accent) so it's great to listen to. Very loud in places, which is great, and they're very good live. They seem to be going down well over here.
Finally, we noticed on your tour diary that your 5 year old son is often on tour with you. How in the world do you manage that?
Ben and Paul (my son and husband) were over with me for a week at the start of this tour. It was great as we're on a tour bus so Ben was able to go to sleep before everyone else. It can only happen when Ben's on holiday from school, so they had to go back a short while ago. It's great that Ben can do this, and I hope he has happy memories of it as he grows up. He had a particularly good time at the Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee where the staff bought him a remote control car to play with. He had a great day there!
Emma Pollock will perform at Fun Fun Fun Fest on Saturday, November 3rd at 2:35pm.
[Emma Pollock official site]
[Emma Pollock MySpace]
Image via Emma Pollock's MySpace page. Photographer uncredited.
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