Prior to releasing All That Emotion, her fourth studio album, Juno-nominated songwriter Hannah Georgas spent part of 2019 on tour with the National, both singing backup for the group and opening select shows. Prior to that, she had commuted from her home in Toronto to New York's Hudson Valley for recording sessions with the National's Aaron Dessner, who produced the album. Her debut for Dessner's Brassland label, All That Emotion is a personal work inspired by her own relationships, interactions, and things like long, late-night conversations with friends. It's a subdued, low-contrast set that leans into timbres like piano, muffled drums, humming keyboards, and rich guitar tones as accompaniment for Georgas' yearning, soft-spoken reflections. Some subtle variances include "Dreams," a more electronic-leaning track with an insistent, sixteenth-note bass line and spacy, layered textures, and "Punching Bag," whose juxtaposed whisper-rap and sung lead are accompanied by intermittent noise and a lurching drum beat. Like much of the album, while its mellow character seems well-suited for background or mood music, it also benefits from close headphone listening. "Change," for instance, features circular, melodic keyboard patterns and a syncopated drum rhythm, while quieter, interjected distortion and smooth, seemingly randomized tones emerge below the surface. Meanwhile, a confused Georgas notes: "You're so good at this whole thing/I have no idea how you're feeling." These types of production touches stimulate more attentive listening, especially on some of the sleepier tracks, though the album's overall gentle poignancy and relatable quality is likely to be the main takeaway here. It's a record that may require this kind of attention to detail to fully appreciate, but even absent that, All That Emotion is an elegant exploration of soft atmospheres as well as human behavior.
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