An overwhelming surrender unlike any we’ve heard all year, cehryl’s new single “angels (emily)” is as intense as it is intimate: A raw indie pop upheaval driven by warm sounds and visceral emotion.
Stream: “angels (emily)” – cehryl
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An overwhelming surrender unlike any we’ve heard all year, cehryl’s new single “angels (emily)” is as intense as it is intimate: A raw indie pop upheaval driven by warm sounds and visceral emotion. The Hong Kong-based singer-songwriter-producer, signed to Nettwerk, has outdone herself on a confessional diary-like song that showcases her breathtakingly soft, delicate vocals against a subtle and nuanced whirlwind of ethereal instrumentation and production – all of which evokes this sense of floating without an anchor, and hanging on for dear life.
what have i got to do to reach the angels
what have i got to give to turn the tables
i caught you baby near the end
never thought i would ever see you again
emily, why do we play pretend
what have i got to lose to win your blessing
what have i got to be don’t keep me guessing
i caught you baby near the end
never thought i would ever see you again
emily, why do we play pretend
“This song is about announcing to someone that you would do anything to change yourself for someone else/something, and asking them what it is,” cehryl tells Atwood Magazine. “There are no Emilys in my life at the moment; I honestly just stuck the name Emily in the song to use again as a blanket metaphor for whoever I’m subconsciously addressing (myself? god, if there is one? a friend i fell out with?). This song was co-produced by Andrew Sarlo, who’s produced some of my favourite, favourite records (Nick Hakim, Big Thief)!”
“angels (emily)” is an easy song to fall for.
Beautiful and tender, it is a total subversion of structural and sonic expectation that literally stops two thirds of the way through, only to return stronger and even more dazzling than before. Beyond that it is hauntingly heartfelt, unassuming, and unapologetically vulnerable. “What have I got to lose to win your blessing?” cehryl asks at one point. It’s a plea for no games and no pretending: Just honest, authentic, real connection. I’m speechless. Why couldn’t Spotify Wrapped wait another week? This would’ve been my #1.
(she said, she said
don’t you wanna be famous
so i said, i said
how can you be so shameless)
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:: stream/purchase “angels (emily)” here ::
Stream: “angels (emily)” – cehryl
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