Vocalist, keyboardist, and songwriter Emily Haines first achieved prominence in the early 2000s as the lead singer of Toronto indie dance-rock outfit Metric while also serving as a key contributor to the Broken Social Scene collective. Once Metric had issued its initial pair of albums, she found herself with an accumulation of material she considered too subdued and piano-oriented for the group. Assisted by a compact group of associates—Scott Minor from Sparklehorse, Justin Peroff of Broken Social Scene, Evan Cranley from Stars, and James Shaw of Metric—she captured these pieces under the moniker Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton. The resulting Knives Don't Have Your Back appeared on Last Gang Records in September 2006, its artwork drawing inspiration from Carla Bley's Escalator Over the Hill, an album that had featured work by her poet father Paul. The following July brought What Is Free to a Good Home?, an EP containing five previously unreleased tracks from those sessions plus a remix of “Mostly Waving,” again via Last Gang. Solo output then paused for an extended stretch as she concentrated on Metric’s rise to arena-level popularity and on guest appearances alongside Broken Social Scene, MSTRKRFT, Stars, k-os, the Stills, and additional acts. Though she continued composing, earnest work on a follow-up solo project did not begin until 2015 inside Metric’s Giant Studio. Employing an 1850 piano, with Shaw contributing guitar and further instrumentation and Minor supplying sporadic drums, the material coalesced rapidly. Issued by Last Gang in September 2017, the resulting Choir of the Mind emerged as a richly textured, keyboard-centered collection in which Haines examined themes of politics and faith while remaining anchored to melodic hooks.
