Emma Bieniewicz - “Tobacco”

More often than not, when an artist mentions Phoebe Bridgers in their list of influences, we end up featuring their music on our blog. We find this very peculiar since we’ve only heard a handful of Bridgers’ songs– one of which is a Lord Huron track, which we already loved. Long story short, it looks like we have a lot of listening to do, but first… You really need to hear Emma Bieniewicz.

Chances are, since we are, apparently, already so out of the loop with what most of the world is listening to, you’ve already listened to music from Bieniewicz– and that’s fine– you SHOULD already be listening to music from Bieniewicz– we are simply here to tell you what we think of her new and amazing track, “Tobacco.”

“Tobacco” begins with some muted, finger-plucked guitar, and Bieniewicz’s vocals soaring over the top in a soft voice that is as gentle as a whisper. It’s almost as though this song is a secret that she’s suddenly decided to tell every lucky listener, delivered in a cocktail of reverb and delay, airy and reflective, just the way we prefer. And once we are joined by the piano and slide guitar, the song takes its true shape and we are in indie-folk heaven as the second verse begins.

While wonderfully sparse in its arrangement, the song still manages to sound completely full, even without any actual percussion. This is because Bieniewicz’s doubled vocals maintain the pole position and the muted guitar provides just enough of a rhythm to keep the song on its course. Despite the somewhat melancholic vibe, it is impossible to hear “Tobacco” and not feel lucky to be alive.

-TM