Begging The Night To Take Hold by Emma Pollock

Emma Pollock Begging The Night To Take Hold

85
ChoruScore
2 reviews
Sep 26, 2025
Release Date
Chemikal Underground
Label

Emma Pollock's Begging The Night To Take Hold arrives as a quietly commanding statement, pairing chamber-pop arrangements with psychological introspection to map grief, memory and self-discovery. Across two professional reviews the record earned an 85/100 consensus score, with critics consistently pointing to its inward-facing songwriting and melodic clarity as the album's emotional core. For those asking "is Begging The Night To Take Hold good," the critical consensus leans positive: reviewers praise its compositional confidence and resonant themes.

Critics' Top Tracks

The standout songs that made critics take notice

1

Black Magnetic

2 mentions

"is its thematic heart"
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2

Rapid Rush Of Red

1 mention

"the elegant, tormented "Rapid Rush Of Red""
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3

I Used To Be A Silhouette

1 mention

"is stripped back and sombre"
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is its thematic heart
U
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about "Black Magnetic"
Read full review
2 mentions
90% sentiment

Track Ratings

How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.

View:
1

Prize Hunter

2 mentions
98
03:31
2

Rapid Rush Of Red

1 mention
94
04:32
3

Future Tree

1 mention
03:41
4

Marchtown

1 mention
81
04:23
5

Something Of A Summer

1 mention
05:45
6

Jessie My Queen

1 mention
75
03:11
7

Black Magnetic

2 mentions
100
03:52
8

Fire Inside

1 mention
05:16
9

Pages Of A Magazine

1 mention
04:23
10

I Used To Be A Silhouette

1 mention
88
05:34

What Critics Are Saying

Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album

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Lisa-Marie Ferla
Oct 15, 2025
90

Critic's Take

Emma Pollock’s Begging The Night To Take Hold finds its strongest moments in inward-facing songs such as Prize Hunter and Black Magnetic, which map a tumultuous journey of self-discovery with a patient, chamber-pop grace. The opener Prize Hunter feels like a conversation with an interior voice, its see-sawing bass giving way to sonorous cello as Pollock searches for meaning. On the album’s thematic heart, Black Magnetic, she literally begs the night to take hold, the music pausing on the precipice of realisation. Elsewhere, charged pieces like Rapid Rush Of Red and the sombre closer I Used To Be A Silhouette reinforce how grief and memory thread through the record, leaving the listener with more questions than answers.

Key Points

  • The best song is "Black Magnetic" because it is described as the album's thematic heart and crystallises the record's emotional core.
  • The album’s core strengths are intimate, chamber-pop arrangements, lucid storytelling about grief and identity, and Pollock’s weighty, wise vocal delivery.

Themes

self-discovery grief memory place and home psychological introspection
AllMusic logo
AllMusic
Oct 15, 2025
80

Critic's Take

Emma Pollock returns with Begging the Night to Take Hold, an album that leans into chamber-pop sweep and personal reckonings. The record’s best tracks are those that marry intimate lyricism with grand arrangements - notably Black Magnetic and Prize Hunter - which trace grief and diagnosis with striking clarity. Pollock’s melody-making and resonant songwriting, sharpened by Paul Savage’s production, make these songs standouts among a confident collection. For listeners asking about the best songs on Begging the Night to Take Hold, start with Black Magnetic and Prize Hunter for the clearest examples of her emotional and musical focus.

Key Points

  • The best song is "Black Magnetic" because it channels personal loss into a powerful chamber-pop centerpiece.
  • The album’s core strengths are Pollock’s resonant songwriting and sweeping arrangements that frame intimate autobiographical themes.

Themes

loss self-discovery chamber pop arrangements melodic songwriting autobiographical reflection