Emily Yacina – The Clearing
Long Beach-based musician Emily Yacina releases “The Clearing,” a new single/video from her forthcoming album, Veilfall, out September 26th.
“The Clearing” almost acts as a lyrical foil to lead single “Talk Me Down,” which yearns for vulnerability through “confessional songwriting [and] effervescent beats” (Paste). “The Clearing” opens with shuffling percussion and blooms with floating synth and Yacina’s hushed but assured voice. Peels of electric guitar and a jockeying sample reflects the new, exhilarating moment of feeling safe with another: “With your arms around me I forgot we were naked // All sick and exposed to the elements // You took me to the clearing // I feel no hell below me.” The gorgeous accompanying video was directed by Adam Baron-Bloch.
“I think of ‘The Clearing’ as the arc of the album,” says Yacina. “It’s an ode to the space that only intimacy with another person can take you. This song evolved a lot- I began writing it in 2022. The lyrics are minimal, and we wanted to honor that by exploring the different places the words can take you through sound and instrumentation.”
Veilfall arrives six years after the release of her debut studio album, and is another mesmerizing entry in her catalogue. Illuminating Yacina’s sharp command of crystalline production, Veilfall showcases an expanded roster of collaborators operating at the highest level. Her ability to mine intangible emotions is sage-like, as she navigates formless concepts like the process of grieving, and the types of alienation that can follow in its wake.
Veilfall first began to take shape in 2021 after Yacina moved to Long Beach from the east coast. For some songs she deliberately sought out collaboration with producers she knew, like Charlie Brand (Miniature Tigers). Others she sat with for years, patiently fleshing out arrangements on her own. Eventually, she enlisted longtime friend Jonnie Baker (Florist), who was a dream partner to work with. Spending upwards of 14 hours a day, the two would re-record demo versions and add overdubs at Dream Machine Studio. The finishing touches were done at Alex Wernquest’s Basement Floods Records in the Catskills, and features additional collaborators Gia Margaret, Oliver Hill (Coco), and Cameron Wisch (Porches). Amongst Yacina’s releases, Veilfall is sonically varied and exists in its own world.
Around the same time Yacina was creating Veilfall, Yacina began hosting a series of death-themed salons in an LA bookstore, during which strangers are encouraged to open up about their experiences with death and how it affects their lives. The mark that these experiences left on Yacina is an indelible current that runs through Veilfall. These death salons have driven Yacina to better understand and push through the complicated nuances of relationships, and the reverberating effects of grief. It can feel risky baring and giving yourself over to the unknown, but as Yacina memorializes with the album title, letting the veil fall can be equally as rewarding.
This fall, Yacina will support Frankie Cosmos on their North American Tour.
Emily Yacina tour dates
(all dates with Frankie Cosmos)
Thu. Oct. 9 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
Fri. Oct. 10 – San Diego, CA @ Quartyard
Sat. Oct. 11 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s
Mon. Oct. 13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Soundwell
Tue. Oct. 14 – Boise, ID @ Shrine Ballroom
Fri. Oct. 17 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Sat. Oct. 18 – Tacoma, WA @ The Spanish Ballroom at Elks Temple
Sun. Oct. 19 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Tue. Oct. 21 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
Wed. Oct. 22 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Thu. Oct. 23 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst (Atrium)
Fri. Oct. 24 – Ojai, CA @ Deer Lodge
Sat. Oct. 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teregram Ballroom
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