Released back on the 8th of September, NYC-based Emily Nicole Green’s ‘Thief’ lifted the lid of potential for an artist that admittedly started later than everyone else. In this ballad-like outpouring, so much emotion is present as the track tells the story of abandonment while setting up Green’s debut EP set for release on her 40th birthday.
Now, although it seems Green’s musical ability is clear with this record, it’s fair to say she’s taken her time with it. Green has been writing and performing her original songs since she was a freshman in high school. At 17, she began dealing with debilitating anxiety and panic that stopped her from pursuing a career in music for nearly two decades. In 2019, she decided it was now or never and began pouring herself into her music. It’s a good thing too…
“"Thief" is for anyone who has ever been abandoned. It's about the experience of being betrayed or rejected by the person you love the most, but it's also about the realization that two things can be true. I think this is realization many of us don't come to until later in life. I hope that people who have experienced this type of pain feel acknowledged and seen by this song. It's a ballad that is grounded in Americana but includes elements from many other genres. It's the most raw and vulnerable track on my forthcoming debut EP, which is why it's at the centre.”
Admittedly, Green’s songwriting is where she gives herself permission to tell herself her truth, processing her emotions and not judging what they have to say. She lets the songs be told by the parts of her that still ache and its this emotional foundation that draws listeners in. A base of emotive piano chords and a simple low-key rhythm are the launchpads for Green’s deeply personal vocals to take centre stage. Slide guitar inflections on top of intense lyricism create this true atmosphere of acknowledging damage, yet also self-worth and finding that key strength in the face of adversity.
In Green’s lyrics, she finds solace in underlining the responsibility of her ex-partner as well as herself – before separating the villain from the person’s mistakes.
“When you found her, you rarely looked back / But you didn’t break me, only I can do that”
Even a sense of acceptance comes to the fore in parts:
“I nearly died from the pain and the disbelief, you took parts of me I can’t retrieve / (…) Guess you can be a good man who wasn’t good to me”
Emily Nicole Green’s debut EP, ‘Outrunning The Animal,’ which mixes Americana with indie-folk, pop, jazz, blues, and country, is anticipated to be released on October 30th of this year. In her songwriting for this EP, Green works through grief and rage, rejection and desperation, and the indignities of unrequited love, while testing out the waters of acceptance and hope.
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