#Risingartist: Emily Henry sees the light
Emily Henry is a DC-based singer-songwriter who performs her own personal brand of elegant electro-infused indie pop. Known for her powerful yet sweet vocals and authentic musical instinct, she has been compared to artists such as Joni Mitchell and Sylvan Esso.
As a child, she began writing songs as soon as she was old enough to communicate. Enthralled with reading, storytelling, and fantasy, young Emily Henry would write melodies to the poems and lyrics recited by her favorite characters. She performed heavily throughout high school and college, releasing her first body of work shortly thereafter.
Her debut EP, Matchsticks, brilliantly showcases Henry’s angelic vocal strength while taking her music down a slightly darker, more mysterious road. The songs of Matchsticks unearth the complex emotions hidden inside stories both fictional and true, the spoken and the unspoken, in the little moments and in the big, transformational turning points — all done with a light folk-infused touch and a razor-sharp pop sensibility.
After a five-year absence, Emily Henry is set to release her highly anticipated sophomore album. Entitled The New World, the album is an eight-track collection of dynamic pop songs oozing with an atmospheric haze. Finding inspiration in “stories about love and magic and what it means to be a person,” the full-length album is “all about vulnerability and connection, feeling your way in the dark toward something new,” confides the songwriter. The result is a brilliant collection of enrapturing tunes that resonate deeply.
The first single, “I See the Light,” is a heart-wrenching song about finding a glimmer of hope in the darkness and climbing your way out of tough times. The song’s narrative is a personal reflection for Emily Henry and features dreamy, layered vocals over a fluid melody that offers feelings of comfort, inspiration, and wisdom to those who need it most. The song also draws influence from acclaimed author Naomi Alderman's novel The Power, which she references in the lyrics, confiding, “You can get there — it might be a hard journey, but the new world is out there if you are determined enough.”
“The Sound” is a clever collage of rhythmic and charismatic pop that blends together to form a slinky song about “taking joy where you can find it.” Brimming with hope and passion, “The Sound” combines echoing vocals, snapping beats, and a downtempo atmospheric landscape to create the sweetest escape.
The third single, “Reach Out,” is a tribute to one of her favorite pieces of fiction, “The Adventure Zone,” a Dungeons & Dragons podcast created by the McElroy family. In their first campaign, “The Adventure Zone: Balance,” the McElroys tell a story of “found family, radical compassion, and optimism in times of great darkness and uncertainty.” Greatly affected by their profound message, Henry shares her unique interpretation in finding solace and community through a kaleidoscopic musical experience.
