Many years ago Bad Manners did a song called 'Night Bus To Dalston', it was the b-side to their hit single 'Lip Up Fatty' - I still have the 7" vinyl. The 'Night Bus To Dalston' title always amused me, it was just so British and devoid of romance. Zoom forward 46 years (gulp!) and the perfect segue arrives from E.M. Kane with her new single 'One Night In Dalston'.
Glaswegian E.M. Kane spent ten years in London before returning home, and ‘One Night In Dalston’ turns that experience of big-city loneliness into something wonderfully raw and relatable. Built around a guitar-and-vocal core, the track has a satisfyingly rhythmic pulse, while Kane’s expressive delivery shifts from intimate confession to full-blooded release. She really sings her heart out here, with some wonderfully brave vocalisations that match – and at times seem almost to compete with – the grinding guitar solo.
Inspired by a tear-filled night in an East London club, the lyrics capture that peculiar feeling of being surrounded by people yet somehow completely alone. The closing refrain, “I’m just so lonely all the time”, brings the emotional punch home. With a background spanning music and acting, Kane clearly knows how to inhabit a song – and this one feels like a particularly personal performance. For her, it was possibly more a case of longing for a night bus from Dalston.