On her new album, Fragile as Humans - written and recorded as her time living in the UK was coming to a close - Emily Barker turns her lyrical gaze inwards. The expansive themes of her previous album A Dark Murmuration of Words are replaced by an empathetic concern for matters more personal, familial, closer to home.The ten songs take us on a deep dive into the human condition, an unflinching self-examination of grief, pain, loneliness and loss, at the same time sparkling with hope and optimism.
Luke Potashnick's intricate production puts Emily's expressive voice at the very forefront, exposing its full emotional range - vulnerable, yet assured - backed by a cinematic sonic palette provided by Richard Causon on keys, Tim Harries on bass and Tom Visser on drums, with Luke himself contributing additional guitars, effects and studio wizardry.
As Emily writes in the album's pivotal title track, we live lives of complexity, grappling with loneliness and disconnection, searching for compassion, connection and community - we are all "fragile as humans and made of who we love".
