Emma Gatsby’s ‘2 Steps’ Finds Luxury in Its Modernity [Stream]

Smoldering blue scale-pool scenes. Damp, whispery vocals. The subdued flick of a lighter. Here is Emma Gatsby, whizzing in and out of low, velvety beats, conveying the culture of modern life. Emma might be nineteen, but she’s equipped with world-weary bar table smarts that can peel right through the wrapper of a free beer to see the gesture for what it is: drab, “typical” uncommitted suggestiveness. “2 Steps” sings of electric chemistry and the con that is young love in the modern age, almost leaning in to say, “Want to take a girl for a ride today? Try again. They’re not stupid, they’re two steps ahead.” The debut track from Gatsby is provocative in the same way as Swedish singer-songwriter and “beautiful garbage” contemporary Tove Lo. Much like “Cool Girl,” “2 Steps” is coherent, rich and pleasantly predictable. We are left mulling over the stark hypothesis, wondering if, in fact, cigarettes and viral messes are the green light at the end of our dock and Halsey’s New America, our contemporary West Egg.