Pem aka multidisciplinary artist Emily Perry has unveiled a new single called ‘awe’ today. An exquisitely drawn vocal vibrato quiver that stretches across this minimal smoky backdrop of clip-clopping drums, and glimmering guitars, this is a spellbinding exploration of loss, yearning, and the complexities of grief. When she cuts you deep with a killer high-pitched note against a single acoustic strum halfway through, it stops you dead in your tracks and reels you in. As she peels back the layers on brittle confession, before unfurling into an enveloping moment, gathered up by rising bass and drums, this is a song that can break your heart. Watch the accompanying video below.
Produced by the Ali Chant (Sorry, Katy J Pearson, Portishead) and released on his Fascination Street Records,’ Pem has been garnering recognition for her silencing live performances, receiving long listings for 2023’s Glastonbury Emerging Talent and Greenman Rising competitions and securing support slots with The Last Dinner Party, The New Eves and Mary in the Junkyard. Inspired by luminaries like Joni Mitchell and Elliot Smith.
Pem remarks: “I wrote awe a couple weeks after my dad died. It was a very surreal time. I’d not long got back to the UK after six months being in South America on my own. I didn’t really have a clue of where to be, what to do next, or how to process the trauma and grief of what had just happened. It speaks of a yearning for closeness that was so bound inside an aversion to more loss that it became paralysing. I felt listless and lost but terrified of any more change. The chords are very simple and repetitive. I guess this reflects a sense of feeling stuck, of moving constantly but never really going anywhere. I was struggling to relate to my self, my friends and my relationship at the time because my life just didn’t feel like my own. I was trying to convince myself to stay still and fight the urge to run away but I couldn’t shake the sense that I was supposed to be somewhere else. For me ‘awe’ illustrates the tension between a fear of letting go, a fear of gripping on and a fear of staying still”
Pem is the outpouring of Bristol-based multi-disciplinary artist and songwriter Emily Perry, her songs blend confessional lyrics with swooping melodies, transporting listeners into a world of vulnerable introspection. This powerful intimacy was first unveiled with her 2022 debut EP, Songs About Hands which was written during her intensive psychotherapy training and explores themes of memory, connection and disassociation.
This summer, Pem will embark on a UK tour supporting Febueder and will be gracing the stages of renowned festivals like Ritual Union and Bristol Sounds Festival. With a headline show at The Lexington on the 14th of June and more support dates across the UK and Europe.
