EMA is the stage name of Erika M. Anderson, a singer and songwriter from South Dakota. She crashed onto the scene and into her fans hearts in 2011 with her debut single, “California.” With album success of Past Life Martyred Saints and The Future’s Void, Anderson is about to release yet another album into the mix. 

Exile In The Outer Ring is the upcoming album from Anderson which is due to come out on August 25 vi City Slang. Today, she released the third track off the album titled “Down and Out.” The first two tracks from the album was “Aryan Nation” and “Breathalyzer” which were released earlier. 

“Down and Out” is a song that addresses the importance self worth and how we assert worth and value to the people around us. Simply put, that without money, you are still a person of worth.

The song features lyrics like “Everyone thinks you’re worthless when you’re down and out / No one will scratch the surface when you’re down.” Like her other tracks, “Down and Out” is another song with lyrical purpose and importance that some music today lacks. 

Anderson expressed what the song meant to her in a recent press release stating that: “People equate “worth” with money. If you’re not making money, you can end up feeling pretty worthless. It’s a terrible feeling. We need to divorce human value from money and we need to stop treating people like they are disposable.”

The press release also describes the new album as: “an expansive vision that brings together concerns from every corner of our present moment — and themes that have recurred throughout EMA’s career, from the brutality of late capitalism to the collapsing boundaries between private and public — into one dark portrait of what it means to be American in 2017.”

For fans, the record holds a lot of what Anderson herself likes in the music she listens to when she slides on her headphones and presses play. According to Anderson, she is excited about the record because, “it has everything I personally like listening to: fat synth drones, heavy guitar riffs, singsong backing harmonies and narratives about small town leftovers and complex loves; whispered secrets, kids from the void, static turned into melody and layers of crafted feedback,”

She continues with saying that;  “This is my language, my sonic signature and psychic soundtrack. I’m ripping off the past 10 years of my own work and I couldn’t be more pleased with the results.”

Take a listen to “Down and Out” below.

Along with the new track, Anderson has also announced a co-headlining tour with The Blow. It will come to NYC on November 10 at Brooklyn Bazaar. Tickets will go on sale soon. Check out all the dates below.

EMA — 2017 Tour Dates
9/17 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Ideal Bar at Vega
9/19 – Aarhus, Denmark @ Voxhall
9/20 – Hamburg, Germany @ Reeperbahn Festival
9/21 – Munster, Germany @ Sputnikhalle
9/22 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Muzieklokaal
9/23 – Cologne, Germany @ King Georg
9/24 – Brussels, Belgium @ Autumn Falls / Botanique
9/26 – Berlin, Germany @ Berghain/Certain People Festival *
9/27 – Munich, Germany @ Kranhalle
9/28 – St. Gallen, Switzerland @ Palace
9/29 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Rote Fabrik
9/30 – Paris, France @ Le Batofar
10/02 – Brighton, UK @ Sticky Mike’s
10/03 – London, UK @ Oslo
10/04 – Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen
10/05 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Games Room
10/06 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
10/07 – Leicester, UK @ The Cookie
10/09 – Nuremburg, Germany @ Z-bau
1-/10 – Ljubljana, Slovenia @ Hrupni Večeri Noisey Nights Series, Gala Hala
10/11 – Budapest, Hungary @ Durer Kert
10/12 – Vienna, Austria @ Arena
10/13 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Meet Factory
10/14 – Warsaw, Poland @ Smolna
10/26 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s ^
10/27 – Vancouver, BC @ The Fox ^
10/28 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios ^
10/30 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop ^
10/31 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo ^
11/01 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge ^
11/03 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda ^
11/04 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada ^
11/06 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade – Purgatory ^
11/07 – Durham, NC @ The Pinhook ^
11/08 – Washington, DC @ DC9 ^
11/10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Night Bazaar ^
11/11 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA ^
11/12 – Somerville, MA @ Once Lounge & Ballroom ^
11/13 – Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace ^
11/14 – Montreal, QC @ Le Belmont ^
11/15 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison ^
11/17 – Detroit, MI @ UFO Factory ^
11/18 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle ^
11/19 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club ^

* with Blanck Mass & Forest Swords
^ with the Blow