For the last decade, Emily Haines’ main focus was on her work with Metric, as that band’s fortunes grew over their last three albums. But this year, she’s returning to her earlier solo project, Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton, for the first time in 10 years.
The latest single, “Planets,” is a beautiful, gentle piano ballad that showcases her wonderful voice and lyrics.
The keys help ground Haines’ floating vocals, which echo out into the atmosphere. Her wordless sighs stretch out and over the melody, sounding like a radio transmission from outer space. “People drift away,” Haines repeats sadly, as her layered vocals call back and elevate the song, untethered and serene.
“Planets” is from Haines’ upcoming album, Choir of the Mind, out on Sept. 15, through Last Gang Records.