Emily Yacina Quietly Released One Of The Year’s Prettiest EPs

If you've heard a female voice on an Alex G song, chances are that it belonged to Emily Yacina, another Philadelphia-bred songwriter who frequently writes, records, and uploads unpretentious bedroom pop songs to the internet. Emily and Alex met in a high school art class (he was a senior, she was a freshman) and have collaborated regularly since; that's her singing The world is full of fishes, but I trust you on "Advice," a perfect song from Alex's 2012 album, Trick, and that's her in the "Harvey" video.

Her newest solo release, Pull Through, is a striking four-track EP full of sweet melodies and drowsy chord changes. The whole thing's about eight minutes long, which is the exact amount of time it takes to walk from my apartment to the M train. Opener "Bruise" is maybe its best, and I picked it as a Song You Need In Your Life at the end of January. The track's official video isn't much: some out-of-focus footage of a beach, a dancing wisp of white smoke. But it's pretty, and a nice compliment to the song because it raises the same question: how can something so simple also be so arresting?

Lead image: Daniel Dorsa