Customer Reviews

Stigma

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

EMF's Stigma is a real overlooked gem, in my opinion, that must have completely missed it's target audience. Shubert Dip was a perfect bit of high-school music -- not too deep, great pop hooks, and just enough edge to annoy the parents. Stigma is a gigantic leap in maturity, songwriting, and complexity from Shubert Dip, and so it must have sailed high above the heads of EMF's teenage audience at the time. And, of course, those who could best appreciate it wouldn't touch an EMF album with a stick. Too bad, because this album is a real find -- no single song sticks out like "Unbelievable" did, as an instant mind-numbingly catchy hit, but you'll find yourself hitting repeat on the stereo again and again -- the quality of the songs come out after a handful of listens, until you find yourself absolutely hooked. Stigma joins the short list of 5 or 6 albums in my collection that I have worn out playing, that I could listen to exclusively for a week without tiring of it -- and Shubert Dip did not make that list, by far. It's still has that definitive EMF sound, with the same almost-snottiness from the lead singer, but at the same time is so stylistically deeper than the previous album that you wonder if they are the same band. They take the same dark, sinister tone of "Lies" from Shubert Dip and really run with it for an entire album.

It's a real shame the album didn't do better commerically, as this band really should have been rewarded for making such a fantastic leap in skill. No band that successfully graduates from teeny-bopper fluff to what I have to call more "adult" music should have been squashed like they were. Imagine N'Sync suddenly putting out a Neil Young-worthy album, or more accurately, imagine the Spice Girls morphing into the Indigo Girls in the span of two albums. Shouldn't this be more encouraged? If "Unbelievable" is your guilty pleasure that you think you've grown out of, give Stigma a chance. There at least really ought to be a moratorium on the EMF bashing -- give 'em a break, they put out some great music, they've gone through enough, they're not beneath a place on your CD shelf!

Sadly overlooked, this is a once immensly popular band's greatest artistic achievement. Since it wasn't as poppy as their debut, or grunge like Nirvana(who had just begun conquering the world), this album received non-existant airplay. The energy and command over the music that EMF had in Stigma is a wonder to behold. Every song is up to the best of any industrial/techno/pop-rock standard out there. It's a very moody, much darker/harder album than the bubble-gum pop debut, Schubert Dip, and the change suited the band well musically. Even now I can see how several popular late 90's bands have been influenced by EMF(even though I'm sure they'll never admit it). They're Here kicks off the album in a brilliant fashion, with a distorted vocal and seemingly out of control guitars and samples, but it all meshes together in a way few others could pull off. Then this approach continues for the next 9 songs! If you missed Stigma when it first came out(you probably did), don't miss it again if you have a chance to hear it, you will not be disappointed.

To many, this album would fall under the category of a "sophomore slump"; to others, it was never even heard of. After their immense success with "Unbelievable," EMF just seemed to drop off the planet. This album, which strays greatly from their previous recordings' moods and messages, was just too heavy for most people to grasp.
It's a real shame that so many people have missed out on this album, because it is truly a masterpiece. From beginning to end, not a single note or pause or lyric should be altered. It ranks among the very elite group of what I call "flawless" albums.
Stigma features a vast sampling of various musical and lyrical styles and themes, yet it's so coherent and so fluid that it can only be listened to straight through at a single setting. In a sense it is a "concept album," telling the story of a man seeking meaning and God (the common thread of nearly all concept albums); but it avoids the self-indulgent monotonous or obscure tracks that so many other concept albums contain.
This album has stayed in my tape deck for weeks at a time (usually during the winter); it has served as the underscore to some pensive hours; it has whispered me to sleep; it has given me an adrenaline rush when necessary. It's just one of those universal, anytime, anywhere albums that I would recommend to fans of classic rock, jazz, pop, rap, new wave, techno, alternative, nearly all genres of music. Every tune is so intricately structured with so much going on that every listen reveals something new.
Some particular standout tunes are: She Bleeds - not quite ballad, not quite rock, it's just a tearjerker; Inside - a real rush, and a great stress reliever; and of course The Light That Burns Twice As Bright - an epic theological, sociological, emotional journey that certainly challenges Schubert Dip's Longtime.
Basically what I'm saying is BUY THIS ALBUM AND NEVER LET IT GO!

I must have bought a thousand records over the last ten years and I would definitely say this is the most underated of them all. It was a commercial disaster at the time and pretty much killed the band, but the songs live on.Nine of the ten songs are really outstanding ( the only bad one is 'Dog' i'd say ). The guitar playing is great and musically the songs are very clever, especially 'it's you' , all dramatic strings fighting with a led zeppelin style guitar line for control of the song. Brilliant !

I bet you most of the people who have heard "Unbelievable" have no idea who even made it. And most of the people who bought Schubert Dip would've been satisfied with multiple versions of that song. When EMF released Stigma - a much more dark and grown up album, nobody bought it. Why? Probably because it wasn't the same thing all over again and... didn't have "Unbelievable" written anywhere on it.

Stigma was a great album that sold terribly. If you're a fan of EMF I definitely recommend picking this up. I feel it was some of their best work and it was a shame it was overlooked.

This album sounds significantly different than EMF's previously constructed "Schubert Dip", which I regard as a highly good C.D.; but Stigma still has the same rhythmic styles except with such new features as angelic voices and an overall more noisy feel to it. The vocals on Stigma are a bit more outgoing than on Schubert Dip also, with two songs having unneeded language in them. The tune that I'd most recommend on this C.D. would probably be "Inside", which has the usual electronic patterns in the background, as well as high-pitched backing vocals and wild electric guitar. Although I would not recommend Stigma at full store price, I would at the dollar price I got it for.
I recommend:
They're Here
Never Know
Inside
Getting Through
The Light That Burns Twice As Bright

How do you fuse hundreds of different musical styles in every song yet every song sounds the same? Perhaps that's the stigma that 'EMF' were going for on 'Stigma'? Or is it an enigma? Stigma, enigma, they all have igma.

I can see why AMG like this album; it's dramatic without going to melodrama; it's more sophisticated than it's predecessor. The lyrics are generally more thoughtful about young men's issues than the usual 'mummy I learned how to punch myself in the head'. But then, too often the vocals are buried in the mix, or just delivered a bit too quickly to catch what was actually said. Well, not entirely, after a while you can figure most of it out.

I could also see why some people wouldn't like this too much, what with that mono-tonal half-rapping, like an economics lecturer on helium, and a cacophony of guitars, samples and synths. But the songwriting depth is good. The best songs are 'Never Know', 'Getting through' and 'Blue highs' are my pick for the best, with 'It's you that leaves me dry' being particularly evocative. Can't pick a bad song.

About *** as a rating.

After listening to EMFs opening Album I was expecting the usual second album syndrome where the band drifted into mediocrity after a half baked Album which pretty much rehashed the first. While this album never reached the dizzy heights of "Schubert Dip" in terms of chart success , it is a far more accomplished album in terms of eclectic musical artisrty. While their first album was a more pop orientated effort, this album cements their musical credentials as a solid synth rock alternative (right description?) to the British drab alternatives at the time.
Give it a listen and see how it makes you feel . This is mood music - dont expect a blast of hip happy B-52 type music. Even though the emotion portayed by the allegory of music seems more hard edged than previous works its still has a strangely uplifting feel to it. Get a copy and message me if you like it.

A VERY VERY UNDERATED ALBUM!!!!

The other reviewers have got it right - completely underrated CD. Found this CD in the bargain bin without knowing who the band was and blown away at how great it is. Let me repeat - this is seriously great music. Catchy, mulitlayered, major grooves, and tight. Check it out.