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Photo by Tony DeBacco

On debut album Evening Star, singer-songwriter Emma Harner melds her intricate guitar-playing with lyrics that are just as tangled, taking listeners along with her on a journey that’s both anxious and accepting. 

Harner is a virtuosic guitar player, strumming and picking in a style that brings Joni Mitchell to mind. Her instrumental ability adds beautiful depth to her songs, elevating each one to a completely unique place. 

For example, on “Gale,” the song starts quiet and calm, with Harner singing, “Gorgeous girl inside her room // lie to her, why wouldn’t you?” However, as the tension builds, so does the production, creating a sonic “gale” storm that dissipates just as quickly as it showed up. 

Meanwhile, on “You’re Right,” an added echo of Harner resignedly singing, “You’re right” throughout the song immerses listeners into the moment: an argument with a partner that Harner is trying to end by assuring them they’re the one who’s winning the fight. 

Harner’s lyrics create that same sort of emotional push-and-pull. Tracks like “The Axe,” “Charlotte,” and “Before That” carry an undercurrent of anxiety, with Harner questioning her place in a relationship. 

“Would it feel this way if you loved me? // would it feel this way if I died?” she sings on “The Axe,” a song that sees her searching for answers about her place in the world. 

Elsewhere, on “Before That,” she questions her lover, asking “Isn’t there absolutely one right answer?” and “Weren’t we just laughing at something?”

Harner takes time for humor, as well; most notably, on “Woman of the Hour,” a folky takedown of a “serial social climber” and “Music City insider” who thinks highly of themselves and pushes blame off on everyone else. 

“Seams” also shows off Harner’s ability to minimize the drama of a relationship that’s quickly imploding. 

“Don’t say that you love me // that could mean a million things,” she sings over a fluid, acoustic track, before boldly asking, “Did I let you down like you let me down?”

Speaking about the album, Harner shared, “Evening Star is an album about nostalgia, wishing, and everything else that has bothered my brain in the last couple years. Anyone following along on the writing journey for this album through the short clips I was posting will hopefully be happy to hear the fully realized versions of some of their favorites.”

With Evening Star, Harner makes her mark as an artist to watch, both through her descriptive lyrics and guitar talents. 

Listen to "Evening Star" below: