Emily Rodgers

In a world of indie-folk sameness, where epic and bombastic are the rule, Emily Rodgers is deliberate and intense, quiet and bookish. And it’s in its very quiet intensity that her music commands a listener’s full attention.

On paper, Rodgers’ music might seem like it would add up to folk or alt-country: a band with guitars, a pedal steel, some fiddles here and there. But on listening, you’re as likely to pick up on an undercurrent of shoegaze, chamber pop, even post-rock. The violins oscillate under Rodgers’ melodies, more “Dirty Three” than country, and Rodgers’ voice, beautiful and world-weary, echoes.