Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter is whimsical and darkly honest. On her debut LP, Em Beihold dives into the darkest corners of her heart and brings otherwise buried and suppressed emotions through quirky, lighthearted melodies. Beihold is in an honest conversation with herself throughout the album. From her failed attempt to be someone else to her acceptance of herself for who she is, the album centers on growth and honesty.
“Brutus” is a song about peer pressure, jealousy, and all the dark but brutally honest feelings that people wish no one could ever know. Em Beihold shows the skeleton in her closet through a theatrical, cathartic lens in this banger. Witty and introspective, the song is a highlight in the album.
Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter often finds Beihold comparing and referring to herself as a mythical creature, such as a unicorn in the song “Unicorn,” and a goblin, a fish, and a siren in “Hot Goblin.” When asked about the intention behind this interesting choice, she reveals that it wasn’t exactly an intentional choice.
“The truth of the matter is this is something I realize after the fact,” she says. “I’ve learned I have this strange gut-like, knee-jerk reaction, I guess, to write songs with unassuming adjectives describing creatures. It’s just a little peek into my brain, it’s not intentional at all.”
With Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter, one of Beihold’s goals is to make people feel less alone going through these feelings. She admits that being blunt itself has healing powers. “I’ve always been someone who just says exactly what’s on my mind,” she says. “And I don’t feel embarrassed at all by mental health and saying how I feel. If I can make people feel less alone, I feel like that’s my purpose”.
Press Q&A with Em Beihold
Q: If a ghost in the house is a symbol of co-dependence. How have you learned to co-exist with your fear of being alone?
Beihold: I think the ghost would be often telling me not to trust my intuition, and the way I handle that is by learning to trust myself, and also learning when I do trust myself, there are no wrong steps or answers. Even if it doesn’t go according to plan, it’s meant to happen for that reason, and I think when you let too many other voices tell who are you, you don’t know who you are yourself.
Q: Can you tell us about your pension for referring or comparing herself to mythical creatures or animals?
Beihold: I think the truth of the matter is this is something I realize after the fact. And have with all of these songs. It’s not like an intentional choice, but I’ve learned I have this strange gut-like, knee-jerk reaction, I guess, to write songs with unassuming adjectives describing creatures. It’s just a little peek into my brain; it’s not intentional at all.
Q: You have described Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter as the return to the instinct that makes you feel like you, and that makes songwriting feel like home. If you could send a tape of this album to the 7-year-old you, just starting the piano, what track would surprise her most?
Beihold: I do think “Unicorn” would surprise because that’s the kind of music I was listening to growing up, and it takes me a while to make something like what I was listening to. I’m also so proud of “Van Gogh.”
Q: So much of your work at the intersection of discomfort and playfulness, when you sit down at the piano now, how do you know you’re processing gentleness or something that needs to be processed with humor?
Beihold: I don’t always think of it or know. I just sit down at the piano and what comes out comes out. When I sit down at the piano, the filters are gone. When I’m dealing with something difficult, I do try to process it with humor. It depends on the subject of the song and what I’m trying to get out.
Q: Your relationship with therapy and songwriting feels intertwined. When words fail in one space, how does the other step in to finish the sentence?
Beihold: What’s beautiful about music is that it can capture feelings you can’t deal with words. I like the counterbalance of dark words and fun. Sometimes, I feel like words can hit so much harder with the right tension underneath them musically.
Q: What was the intention behind choosing “Scared of the Dark,” “Brutus” and “Hot Goblin” as the first songs listeners hear from Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter?
Beihold: I thought “Brutus” was a good peek into the piano world, but also whimsical without too much pop information. It was the meeting in the middle of the two. “Brutus” was the first song I wrote coming out of the writer’s block, and it’s one that proves to me that I was still able to write. “Hot Goblin” – I just thought the song is fun. I feel like the three songs capture the overall feelings musically of the album, but “Scared of the Dark” – I wrote the chorus when I was 13, and it’s been stuck in my head ever since.
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