On her sophomore album, Forever Beginner, Emma Worley tucks grief, joy, humour, and pain into the same fold. Emerging during a transformative period in her life, one shaped by chronic illness, treatment, healing, and resilience, Forever Beginner is an open-hearted, self-reckoning body of work.

Blending alternative folk and Americana, the album was crafted over two years with producer, multi-instrumentalist, and longtime collaborator Ben Whiteley (The Weather Station, Joan Shelley). The arrangements are a textural delight, with Worley’s tender voice and poignant songwriting at the centre. Featuring the talents of Julian Psihogios, Jasper Smith, Matt Kelly, Kendel Carson, Dylan Burchell, Will Kidman, Wyatt C. Louis, Lia Pappas Kemps, Tamara Lindeman, Ken Whiteley, Georgia Harmer, and more, Forever Beginner is both a shining emblem of Toronto’s remarkable music community.

Hailing from Guelph, Ontario, and now residing in Toronto, Worley spent many years dedicated to a career as an emerging visual artist. Upon graduating from the Ontario College of Art and Design University, Worley garnered attention for her sculpture/installation work through exhibitions, installations, and residencies at various high-profile institutions. However, despite her burgeoning success in the visual-arts world, Worley found herself compulsively drawn towards creating the material that would become her debut album, Sentimentalist. Pulling from lived experience, triumph, heartbreak, and everything in between, the wisdom and grace of this collection is telling of Worley's dedication to relatable storytelling and emotional finesse.