Emma Driver exhibits how devastating self-awareness can be in her debut EP, Ashamed to Admit This. Written in the aftermath of a breakup that also meant losing her band, her home and the shape of the life she knew, the Nashville artist turns the year that brought a cancer diagnosis at 27 into a reckoning with shame, survival and the uglier side of emotional honesty.
The off-kilter pop production in the opening single, Try Hard, paired with candour-flooded lyrics that simultaneously cut and bruise, becomes a mirror ball of tormented, piercing reflections. From there, the EP moves into a more vulnerably delicate frame, capturing the softer side of the singer-songwriter; when the visceral rage has simmered through and what remains is painful dejection, there is a listless sense of hopelessness sitting beside the relatable messiness of the opener.
Pants Off kicks up the tempo with a new-wave indie synth-pop burst of momentum, tempered by Driver’s melancholically electrifying vocals that reflect the Chappell Roan influence, while Thanks for The leans into rock-edged catharsis. What if I Can’t Move On deepens the bruised emotional terrain before I Don’t Hate It, It’s Just Differentallows acceptance to arrive without pretending it came easily.
For fans of Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan and The 1975, Emma Driver is the perfect artist to fall into the jagged embrace of. The truth in her work is ugly and therein lies the beauty.
Ashamed to Admit This is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast
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