Tusks’ New Album ‘Gold’

Words by Chloe Abotomey

Tusks, aka Emily Underhill is back with yet another album which is as powerful and emotive as anyone familiar with Tusks’ work could imagine. 

It has been a minute since this London based electronic songwriter and producer’s last release however the meaningful intention that allowed Gold to take form over many months has paid off. Taking time away from a pandemic share house and a relationship ending, Tusks wrote and reworked Gold both from London as well as during two solitary trips to Devon for it to become the powerhouse of sound that we have been blessed with.

 The synth-heavy layers and emotionally charged vocal harmonies create a perfect dichotomy that is incredibly reflective of the heated and heartbroken conversations of a relationship in its final stages. 

Across ten tracks of electronic pop, Tusk presents us with a full spectrum of ambient and ethereal tracks that allude to “discovery” with the NASA sampled opener “Wake” to heavy and explosive soundscapes reminiscent of a storm building in the distance before crashing into your personal space with “Cold Storm” . 

Whilst Gold is at its essence a very personal album for Tusks,  who completely drew the album from her reality, her impressive ability to create sounds that resonate so deeply with the overall theme of the song allow her listeners to immerse themselves in the songs and feel every emotion on display. 

The latest single released “Body Ache” makes it clear that Tusks knows her strengths as an artist lie in her perfect ability to bring together opposing forces to create a harmonious soundscape and I dare say that given the success of her 2017 debut Dissolve and the 2019 album Avalanche, Gold will have her current fans obsessed and new fans excited for her future sounds.