Emi Grace Turns It All the Way Up on The Bliss Of Ignorance

The Bliss Of Ignorance is the kind of EP that makes five songs feel like an entire world.

Emi Grace packs a lot into its short runtime: massive guitar moments, sharp pop hooks, flashes of humor and an energy that never sits still for very long. It’s loud when it wants to be, playful in all the right places and unmistakably hers.

And while Emi’s guitar work is impossible to ignore, some of the best moments on The Bliss Of Ignorance come from how naturally it lives inside the songs. Nothing feels there just to show off. The riffs, vocals, production and melodies all work together, giving the record just as much personality as technical firepower.

That’s what makes this project so much fun to listen to.

Trust your “Intuition”

There couldn't be a more fitting way to open this record than “Intuition.”

It's confident from the jump, and it immediately pulls you into the world of The Bliss Of Ignorance. There’s attitude in it, but there’s also this sense of ease that makes the song feel completely natural to Emi. It doesn't need a long buildup or introduction. It just starts, and suddenly you're in.

“Intuition” ended up being one of our personal favorites on the record for exactly that reason. As an opener, it feels like a pretty perfect first impression of what the next four songs have in store.

From there, “Misbehave” keeps that energy moving. The guitar has plenty of room to take over, but the song never gets lost underneath it. There’s a playfulness to the track that makes its bigger moments even more fun, and it’s the kind of song that already feels built for a stage.

“SMH” is just as immediate. It's sharp, punchy and incredibly easy to come back to, while still giving Emi room to do what she does best with a guitar. The balance throughout this record is part of what makes it work so well. These are songs first, and the guitar becomes another voice inside them rather than something sitting on top.

“All To Myself” adds another side to the EP without disrupting its momentum. By this point, the record has established its own little universe, and somehow every track feels connected without five songs ever blending into one another.

And then Emi closes it with “Don’t Bother.”

If “Intuition” is the perfect way into The Bliss Of Ignorance, “Don’t Bother” is the perfect way out.

It's our other personal favorite from the project, and it feels like Emi throwing everything we love about the record into one final song. The guitar is ridiculous in the best way, the personality is there from beginning to end, and it leaves the EP on exactly the kind of high that makes you immediately want to start it over.

Honestly, our biggest complaint about The Bliss Of Ignorance is that there aren't more songs.

Five tracks go incredibly fast when a record is this fun.

Live

Listening to The Bliss Of Ignorance, it's almost impossible not to start thinking about how these songs are going to translate live.

Luckily, we won't have to wonder for long.

Emi is heading out with Knox this fall for the U.S. leg of his Midwest Best Tour, beginning October 9 in Boston and running through November 7 in Nashville. The run includes stops across the country, including Phoenix's The Van Buren on October 31.

And after sitting with this record, we can only imagine how cool these songs are going to sound in a room full of people.

The riffs are bigger. The hooks stick. There are moments throughout the EP that practically beg for a live audience, and knowing Emi will be taking this music on the road almost immediately after its release makes this chapter even more exciting.

The Bliss Of Ignorance doesn't overstay its welcome or try to cram too much into five tracks. It gives you exactly enough to understand the world Emi Grace is creating and then leaves you wanting to hear what comes next.

We certainly do.

The guitar might pull you in.

The songs make you want to stay.

Stream The Bliss Of Ignorance by Emi Grace out now.

Photography: camerondriskill