Teaming up with NEIL JAM3S for the ride, we have a laden indie-pop record with emotional weight that evokes memories like a warm recollection. At its soulfully lamenting core, "Wonderful Times" reads like an idealized entry from a past lover's telephone book. The song strikes a heartbreaking balance between sadness and sweetness, never wallowing, but rather reveling in the beauty that once was. Its piano-swept arrangement immediately establishes the mood, drawing the listener into a hazy, soft-focus soundscape where Emily's vocals slide with gentle, aching tenderness. NEIL JAM3S' touch adds an elegant sense of texture and restraint on his flip, adding a frayed alt-pop edge that keeps it feeling modern and intimate.
Emily's lyrics possess an ageless quality, the way she frames them, not as weapons or wounds, which are ideas often associated with sincere poetry. One stands more hopeful, more measured. That reflexive posture is rare and welcome, especially in a genre that tends to amplify, to bluster, to make drama of those final notes. Instead, "Wonderful Times" asks us to stay in that feeling, let it wash over us, and maybe even smile with amusement at what once was. For Emily, who began writing songs at the age of thirteen, when she was taught a few chords on the guitar by a family friend, music has always been about transformation. "Wonderful Times" is an excellent example of that alchemy. It's both personal and not exclusionary; gentle and hard-hitting; and a message, in the end, that love, in its own way, can be remembered with some warmth, no matter how it turns out. With this song, Emily Thomson and NEIL JAM3S have shared an intimate spot in the indie pop universe where vulnerability prevails. If all this is the start of a trend, then bring it on.
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