Emily King
Special Occasion
ATO
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When does signing a record deal keep an artist from fame? Even with a GRAMMY nomination for her glossed-up debut East Side Story (2007), Emily King wasn’t going to become a star at Clive Davis’ J Records. They weren’t in sync with her. She had to lose the major label before finding a musical soulmate in guitarist Jeremy Most. Together they fashioned the EP Seven (2011) and everything finally clicked.
After one independent release (2015’s The Switch), King nestled into the ATO Records roster, home of Alabama Shakes and Allen Stone. There, the singer-songwriter’s been free to develop in her niche, but she pushes boundaries on a satisfying and introspective fourth collection of all-new material entitled Special Occasion.
These 11 tunes were written by King and Most with select help from Sam Cohen, Abe Rounds, and King’s brother AC Lincoln. Special Occasion lives up to its name delivering the kind of high-grade dream pop that doesn’t get churned out often. Here, King’s fluffy, velveteen ethos nests within a delicate pastiche of vintage folk and soul.
“This year’s gonna be about me. Never will I ever have a reason to doubt me,” she declares on lead single “This Year,” released in early December 2022. The carefree singalong arrived just in time to reinforce everyone’s January 1st resolution to do away with the old. “Medal” continues that upbeat vibe with soul claps, digital bass flourishes, zooms of 808, and toy piano. Vaguely reminiscent of mid ‘80s Paisley Park work, this flirty highlight is hard to dislike.
The cozy, titular “Special Occasion” would be ideal to score a backyard wedding under strung lights (“Ride like we're raising tides / Never faded, wine / Yeah, we raise it high”). At its peak, horns crescendo elegantly as if to wink at Earth, Wind & Fire of yesteryear. Flashing forward, “The Way That You Love Me” outlines the type of lifelong bond a young couple could only hope for.
A third of the way in though, it’s evident someone has powerfully fractured King’s acoustic heart. Its pieces scatter into pleasant formations throughout, with her wounds left most vulnerable on the gently strummed “Home Now” and Jon Brion-esque “Who Wants My Love.” But the NYC-native is an expert at spinning her suffering into poignant pieces. Like an old Elvis 45RPM, “False Start” blows warmly across the embouchure of King’s whispery, woodwind voice. As if she filtered Joni Mitchell’s “Amelia” through a quiet rural church, the result is a compelling requiem for missed connections.
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On her country-lite duet “Bad Memory,” King looks to scrub all recollection of a romance gone wrong (“Used to dream about the past / I'm running from it fast / Don't ask about my history”). It’s immediately striking how much her guest vocalist recalls the weathered scratch of Willie Nelson. That’s because it’s his son Lukas Nelson, famed for his band Promise of the Real and their contributions to Lady Gaga vehicle A Star is Born (2018). The burlap-and-felt combo of Nelson and King make a sturdy composition all the more stellar.
King arcs back toward optimism and reconciliation before the needle gets to the end of Side B. “Waterfalls” employs kaleidoscopic chords and low-fat funk as King croons about staying hopeful as the labor of love gets weighty. While pushing through, the rosy “Easy” anesthetizes that heavy lift with the nostalgic touches that made Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” unforgettable.
There is an element, however, that wasn’t apparent on previous albums. The usually private King only recently revealed that until five years ago, Jeremy Most was her partner in love and song, and had been for more than a decade. Though they still click musically—Most is Special Occasion’s primary producer—their personal relationship simply fell out of sync.
“The music is the expression of our love, so I’m very, very grateful for the music, because we didn’t sacrifice it,” she reasoned tearily to CBS Mornings’ Anthony Mason. “This is a shame because we really make great music together, not to brag. And I think that there will be a time when we can come together again and make it together.”
Discovering Special Occasion might be the last of its kind is not the way anyone wanted this release to be special, but nonetheless it is. Ostensibly, their final act as a duo was to craft a spectacular, textured elegy to their union. Tragedy aside, this work is an undeniable triumph. So raise a glass in their honor, even if a tear slips down your cheek as you do.
Notable Tracks: “Bad Memory” | “Easy” | “This Year” | “Waterfalls”
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