EmiSunshine Shares New Album 'Diamonds'

Since she began performing professionally nearly 10 years ago, EmiSunshine has established herself as a country and Americana artist. Now the 17-year-old singer/songwriter is dipping her creative toes into new musical water on her new album, DIAMONDS (Little Blackbird Records).

DIAMONDS is the East Tennessee teen's first album to be released under her own name since the critically acclaimed FAMILY WARS in 2019. Although she released a side project last summer as part of a new trio called Strong Armed Robbers (with her father, Randall Hamilton, and singer/songwriter Fish Fisher), DIAMONDS is Emi's first solo album.

Her family band, The Rain, is involved, but unlike Emi's previous albums, this one does not depend primarily on them. Other musicians contribute on songs that range stylistically from Americana to rock, country and what arguably be considered "outlaw pop."

"This album started coming together during the Covid crisis in 2020 and 21," Emi said. "I wasn't doing much touring, so I did a lot more songwriting, and started experimenting with different styles of music."

Most songs on DIAMONDS are thought-provoking-some uplifting, others reflective. "Dead Men Can't Catcall" is a woman's response to rude comments from certain men. "Gaslight" is about revenge on an abusive spouse. Similarly, "Cheshire Grin" is a reaction to an emotionally, perhaps verbally abusive partner. "Josephine" is a beautiful but sad reflection on the sudden, unexpected death of a loved one. "Miss Anna" is a heartbreaking song about losing children, in the lyrical vein of an old-time mountain ballad, but with a more contemporary sound.

The album's mood takes a lighter turn with the title track, "Diamonds," an upbeat analogy between people who are looked down upon, and a gem that sparkles as its dirty exterior is chipped away-"Can't you see the jewel you're making, cut me down and you're just shaping who I am and where I'm going..."

"Dandelion," which was released last fall, just before Halloween, is a darkly humorous tale of a friendly neighborhood cannibal. Meanwhile, "After You're Gone" is a sarcastic breakup song that is more likely to make you laugh than cry.

"Judgement Day," the most lyrically dense song on the album, is Emi's tongue-in-cheek retort to music industry executives who have tried to reshape her into a more "radio-friendly" artist. (A different version of "Judgement Day" was previously released as a duet with cowriter Fish Fisher, but Emi sings solo on this one.) Emi also expresses her individualism on "No One's Gonna Change Me," a song that celebrates her country roots.

"Tiny Star," meanwhile, is an expression of love as big as the galaxy-("You're the heavens and earth, and the sun and the moon, and you're Saturn and Mars and the galaxies far, the wind and the rain, my night and my day and my world revolves around you.")

EmiSunshine will perform on Tuesday, February 8, at The Station Inn, 402 12th Ave S, Nashville, Tennessee 37203, at 8:00 p.m. Doors open at 7:00. Admission is $15 at the door. For information, visit here.

DIAMONDS by EmiSunshine is available on Amazon, Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, Apple Music and other major digital platforms.

Listen to the new album here: