Emma Hunter – Snake (2026)
Emma Hunter strives for renewed connection with a lover struggling with addiction on her latest single, ‘Snake’, from her new album, Yolanda. As she strums melancholic Ennio Morricone-inspired guitar chords, she takes a stand within her relationship that’s in an excruciating emotional place: “I am dying /you are dying /if we can’t break this curse”. She sings full of yearning and with an elegance that sails over the enchanting composition. Hunter’s stretching of words, her guitar strums, and drummer Tom Bruce’s light percussion render the moodiness of those iconic scores of Italian Westerns, rooted in Latin and Native American cultural melodies. The players, including bassist Hayley Wright, produce a solid layer of desperation, characteristic of those film scores. This bed of sound acts like a location for Hunter’s uncertainty to exist authentically and freely.
The powerful and sentimental soundscape fits this stop in the album’s narrative that “…tells the story of Yolanda and Danny – star-crossed lovers from a time, long ago: 1950s Mexico”. In her press release, Hunter expounds, “The album explores the tensions between love and desire; addiction and death”. On the hook, Hunter swoons, filled with her yearning, so vibrant, among orchestral progressions, as she sings, “Give me something to show /that you mean it /my heart can’t cope”. She further pleads, “Give me something to show /that I’m your poison/ not the other drugs you love”, embodying her desire and needs.
The poetry, vocal stretches, and the agony in both reveal Hunter’s inner world even as she plays a character. The understated production and repetition of progressions throughout allow this story to unfold, and for anyone to be swept up in the couple’s plight via Emma Hunter’s determination, wrapped in dismay. But the non-existent bass of Wright could have boomed more, and given the lyrics more emotional depth.
On the breakdown, Hunter’s harmonies of wails and coos fill up the soundscape, solidifying how emotional links between humans can be so strong and can determine either person’s future or their last moments in existence. ‘Snake’ breaks past its familiar musical dressings and stands as a declaration of commitment to partnership, and to oneself.
Find out more about Emma Hunter on her official website, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was sent to us by Get Louder PR.
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