Earlier this month, we had the pleasure of joining °1824 for a conference with Em Beihold, where she spoke all about her new album, Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter, out now.
The album documents a period of time that Em faced after the success of her top 20 Billboard hit “Numb Little Bug”. During this time, she was dealing with burnout, therapy, and reconnecting with her artistic instincts. Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter explores the idea of shapeshifting and how Em has adapted in her relationships, friendships, and as an artist.
Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter is sonically refreshing with bright piano and strings, yet Em explores complex topics and is unpacking some of her most personal experiences yet beneath the surface. What makes the album so compelling is how effortlessly Em balances heavy themes with bubbly production and tongue-in-cheek lyricism. She leans into clever metaphors and playful fantasy imagery to explore this moment of reflection in her life. Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter is light, fun, and endlessly repeatable, while still offering moments of honesty that linger after the music ends. Standout tracks include “Unicorn”, “Van Gogh”, and “Exorcism”.
We had the opportunity to ask Em a couple of questions about making the album:
HARMONIZE: You’ve spoken about facing a creative block after the success of “Numb Little Bug”, What did rebuilding trust in your own artistic instincts look like while making this album?
EM: It looked like saying a lot of no’s. Which was really hard for me, but after “Numb Little Bug”, I was put in a lot of different sessions. I met truly hundreds of people between writers and producers and everything. I think a lot of these people were so lovely, but when you have so many different voices in your ear it’s hard to hear yourself. I think also with the radio success of “Numb Little Bug” that was a little bit confusing, because I never considered myself to be a pop artist. My favourite artist is Regina Spektor, so I’ve always considered myself in a bit of a different category.
Saying no to sessions, taking a lot of time to just write by myself, finding the right collaborators, and also learning to trust my gut in the session, like, I can be in a session where four people are like “no, I think this lyric is stupid.”, and I’ll be like “I like it, and it’s my song, (laughs) so we’re gonna go with that.”
HARMONIZE: On the album, you reference historical and cultural figures like Brutus and Van Gogh. What drew you to those figures, and how did using them as metaphors help you express parts of your identity or experiences?
EM: Brutus felt like a perfect historical example of what I was feeling so strongly, which was this comparison where I just felt so severely second. I think maybe a closer one would be Salieri-Mozart because people have called me out on the Brutus-Ceasar historical accuracy a little bit. But Salieri doesn’t quite have the same ring to it in a song. It’s kind of fun to take modern situations and put a historical lens on them; this has been happening throughout time even in such different contexts. I feel like it’s kind of crazy to liken oneself to Van Gogh but obviously he’s so talented, and everyone loves Sartre but he was never able to recognize what he was able to do. I feel like a lot of artists, just from conversations I’ve had with friends who are artists, often feel that way.
Listen to Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter here. Catch Em on her UK and NA tour this spring – Check out the official website for more information.