Review of Emmrose’s new single “Electric Nights“
Emmrose’s singles have always been deeply personal, tackling love, loss, and even being Waitlisted by NYU.
Using her New York City background as constant inspiration, the 19-year-old singer has continuously enticed listeners with her dreamy vocals, relatable lyrics, and various experimentations in genre.
This time, Emmrose is Taylor Swift style, imagining a scenario where she writes from the perspective of a character, a lonely boy alone in the middle of a 1980s prom setting after being rejected by the girl of his dreams.
“My own idea for a 1980’s era John Hughes movie inspired the lyrics of the song. A guy has a huge crush on a cheerleader… and he asks her to go to prom with him, and, surprise-surprise; she says no. I wrote the lyrics as if we were watching a slow dance where you didn’t have anyone to dance with, and you were rejected by the person you liked.”
The song being set to a classic 80s background has a heavy 80s influence while implementing more modern sounds reminiscent of Cigarettes After Sex and Radiohead, two of the singer/songwriter’s favorites.
The soft drums and fuzzy synth instrumental perfectly paints the picture of a slow-dance scene as the singer breaks through with her melancholy vocals, breathing hopeless life into our imaginary protagonist.
Loneliness is a topic not new to Emmrose but projecting the painful feeling through a lens that isn’t her own allows for listeners new facets of the singer, giving a glimpse into her creative background as a writer and poet.
Whereas many John Hughes classics end in triumph for our protagonist and their love interests, Emmrose tethers listeners to a heartbreakingly real setting, illuminating that familiar feeling of unrequited love.
Lyrics “I’m stuck in a dream, a dead fantasy” and “I’m all alone, guess I’ll just drive home”, opposes the happy ending narrative. Even as a massive fan of fairy tales herself, Emmrose acknowledges that not all stories can end with happily ever after.
“Electric Nights” may remind us of the heartaches that make us human but it does so in Emmrose’s signature style. With her meticulously crafted combination of rhythmically dazzling instrumentals, and graceful vocals with a hint of desolation, Emmrose brings beauty to a sad sight that you’ll want to revisit again and again.