Pem - other ways of landing 

Inspiration can strike at any time, which is why Pem - aka Bristol-based multihyphenate Emily Perry - goes about life with a voice recorder in her pocket. And it’s that ability to spot melodies, lyrics, observations and ambience that has made each of her two gorgeous EPs so far - 2022’s ‘songs about hands’ and 2024’s ‘cloud work’. Sure enough, that trend and form continue on ‘other ways of landing’, but this isn’t a case of rinse and repeat. Instead, Pem has dialled up the emotion and wistfulness.

The title track exists on a bed of warm ethereal strings, droning bass notes and violins that lap hypnotically; “I’ve been here before,” she muses on the song that sets the tone for an EP all about belonging, wandering and self-discovery. ‘to earth will you tell me when we land’ feels like it’s been plucked right out of an early 2010s indie rom com, soundtracking the movie’s emotional midpoint as gorgeous keys underpin Pem’s charming tremolo.

With ‘other ways of landing’, Pem finds an effective and affecting form; her trio of EPs all reveal an accomplished musician ready to take that next step up to an LP - from there, there’s no telling where she’ll wind up, but that’s just the way she likes it.