Emily Frembgen released her first proper studio album with producer Hugh Pool (Taj Mahal, Debbie Harry, Michael Pitt) at Excello Studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in 2021. Irreverently titled It’s Me or the Dog, it was received warmly by critics and radio alike, with New York Music Daily naming it “one of the best records of 2021” and Glide Magazine calling it “a strong study in writing both melodies and powerful lyrics.” In many ways, it looked like her career was just beginning, but it took a long time to get to the beginning.
“Putting her in the same musical category of modern-day artists like Kacey Musgraves or with legends like Neil Young is most definitely deserved.”
– Brooklyn Roads Magazine
“Frembgen” (that’s with a hard g) comes from the Old German for “little stranger,” and Emily is used to being one. Born in Denver to a single mother, Emily spent her childhood bouncing from Colorado to Baltimore and finally to New York City in 2000. Her first love was musical theater, and she tried her hand at acting as a preteen, but as soon as she heard Lou Reed she knew all she wanted to do was write songs. She dropped out of high school and spent most days in her room listening to CDs she bought with her paycheck from Canal Jeans on Broadway. She was shaped musically by all the great Americana coming out in the early 2000s like Kathleen Edwards, Alejandro Escovedo, and Lucinda Williams. Still restless, she traveled some more as a young adult, but always found her way back to New York. There she slowly started to gain traction in the local music scene largely by way of comedy, producing variety shows at the doughnut shop where she worked. This led to co-writing and performing the theme song to Kate Willett’s popular podcast “Reply Guys,” touring with Ben Kronberg (Last Comic Standing), and having Clare O’Kane (Saturday Night Live, Shrill) direct the music video for her single “Fentanyl.” Emily also became part of the Antifolk community that originated at the Sidewalk Cafe on the Lower East Side. There, she starred alongside Jason Trachtenburg (Trachtenburg Family Slideshow) in his musical Me & Lee. She opened for Jeffrey Lewis multiple times and was featured on “Songs By Turner Cody: A Tribute Album” alongside Adam Green, Diane Cluck, and Toby Goodshank. She became a mainstay at Knitting Factory where she ran a weekly Americana series for several years and opened for Wayne Hancock, John Craigie, Daniel Rodriguez, and Paisley Fields. In 2024, she signed with Don Giovanni Records (Screaming Females, Laura Stevenson, Bad Bad Hats) and made her debut as an official artist at their SXSW showcase in Austin.
“Just suppose the nu Liz Phair had an Emmylou vibe... This modern maiden hits all the right checkboxes to be an underground sensation and then some.”
– Midwest Record
Her upcoming release with Don Giovanni Records, titled No Hard Feelings, is more introspective than 2021’s It’s Me or the Dog. While It’s Me or the Dog is relationship-focused, No Hard Feelings explores her past and the echoes of alienation that inform her present. This is in no small part because these songs were written after the major world shift of 2020—“Fentanyl,” her newly released single, which Glide Magazine described as “brimming with sharp and twangy guitar and vocals that bring to mind the likes of Lucinda Williams, Laura Cantrell, and Amy Rigby,” opens with the line “Two years of doing nothing makes everybody crazy.” This album is also the first time Emily has delved into her family life with “I Wish I Had a Father” and “Magazines.” Things lighten up with a straightforward country drinking song, “Drink Tonight,” and the lazy, booze-soaked rag “Harder/Easier.” In another standout from the album, “Are You Listening?” she tells us “The world doesn’t run out of people to love you/Stop thinking that it does,” which is the most optimistic line she’s written to date.