“Vancouver-based artist Emily Best’s “debut album is a marvellous musical medley that combines old-time Americana, contemporary jazz, avant-pop and orchestral folk. It’s unlike anything I’ve heard before…From the strings, to the horns, drums, keys and vocals; the synergy between all the instruments is magnificent. You are drowning in emotion and heartache, only to surface and take a deep breath of peace.” ”
— Jenna Keeble, Permanent Rain Press (Review of A Storm Came Through)
““There is never a note out of place. Lush and soulful, this is an artist who could be as comfortable on a folk festival stage as a jazz gig.” ”
— - Stuart Derdeyn, The Province/Vancouver Sun (Review of A Storm Came Through)
“it sounds entirely original. The entire album sounds like walking through a city; eclectic and curious, new and old at the same time. ”
— Alexa Tarrayo, Permanent Rain Press (Review of Light Up the Dawn)
““Best has again found a space between hip jazz/pop, Canadiana roots, and upbeat pop for her songs to inhabit... all six songs display a love of genre-blending and lush orchestration. ”
— STUART DERDEYN, VANCOUVER SUN (Review of Light Up the Dawn)
RE: LIGHT UP THE DAWN
““All the songs on this latest album were inspired by some deep self-work I’ve been doing these last couple of years. I’ve been learning a lot about intentionality, accountability, and what this means in the context of the word love. Decolonizing colonial concepts of love and learning to reclaim my understanding of love and how to show up in ways that make me feel truly whole. I was reading bell hooks’ Salvation: Black People and Love as I was finishing up the writing for this album and I think the teachings on love in this book imprinted many of themselves on the record and helped me tie the songs together. This record was an unveiling to me of the transformative power of Love, and how active it is. It’s a commitment that requires redefining, understanding, and reclaiming what it means to love before we can live in a more loving society that respects equity for everyone.”
“Transcending the boundaries of orchestral-folk, Emily Best’s debut album “A Storm Came Through” is an upheaval of the heart that ponders the human condition with enchanting vulnerability. Garnering its title from the bittersweet resilience that accompanies that pivotal moment in life when everything seems to fall apart all at once, this album celebrates acceptance in the face of exceptional personal challenges and of the external forces that can sweep across our lives suddenly and without warning. Self-produced, written, and arranged entirely by Best, along with engineer and co-producer Raincity Recorders’ Jesse Gander, the record features prominent members of Canada’s music scene, including JUNO award winning guitarist Tony Wilson (Pugs and Crows), Paul Rigby (Neko Case), Alison Gorman (Dan Mangan), Sally Zori (Aretha Franklin/Tomboy/Survival Guide), Elisa Thorn (Gentle Party/The Giving Shapes), Chris Rzepa (The Gentle Infidels) and Joshua Zubot (Patrick Watson/Sam Amidon). Coalescing raw pop-rock energy with the nostalgia and tenderness of southern country-soul, Best speaks to the asymmetry of contemporary jazz while melding raw vulnerability with lush, polished orchestration. From sentimental guitar melodies and swells of pedal-steel, to cascades of harp that dance amongst horns and strings, Best’s rich instrumentation and thoughtful lyricism illuminate her competency as an emerging songwriter and arranger in a series of compelling performances on this gale force debut. A Storm Came Through was released in March 2020.”
