It takes most artists many years and several tries (accompanied by one mishap or another) to turn the search for momentum within a composition into something elegant in which the understated beauty manifests itself naturally, as if it had always been there. New York-based singer-songwriter Emma Frank already reached that point on her third effort, last year’s Ocean Av (Justin Time Records 2018). Drenched in a light RnB touch which saw her whispy falsetto accompanied by melodic piano motifs, the album demonstrated song writing that seamlessly combines little detailed rhythmic intricacies with pop-friendly choruses and jazzy chord progressions—never too complex to distract from the song’s essence, but not nearly simple enough to bore. Frank’s newest outing sees her building upon this groundwork. More stripped-back by nature, and even more meticulously arranged than its predecessor, Come Back finds Frank at the peak of her songwriting, wrapping her compositions, and thereby the listener, in wistful nostalgia.
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