Australian band EWAH & The Vision of Paradise have been praised for their post-punk/new-wave sound over the past decade, and now their frontwoman enthralls with her first solo album in fourteen years. EWAH‘s album Souvenir holds an apt album title, inspired by personal stories of the past and present. In EWAH’s case it comes after personal battles with anxiety and depression — and then prevailing in finding true love and her young daughter at her side.
Playing as part of a healing experience, Souvenir is an intimate endeavor for EWAH. “For a long time I offered up things that were incomplete, highly abrasive or sounded broken, which perhaps was a true representation of my tendency to intense self-doubt and self-destruction,” she says. “In time as I slowly put the pieces of my life back together the music too began to reflect that positive change.”
Recorded in the south of Lutruwita/Tasmania, Souvenir captivates in its array of quality songwriting and atmospheric production. “Walking on Water” opens with dreamy allure, as twinkling keys and calming guitars pair with pit-pattering percussion and “standing on a cliff ledge,” vocal contemplation. Chilly organs enter as the “soon it will be Christmas day,” line emerges. Additional vocal layers add gorgeously; the album kicks off in stellar from with this enchanting opener.
Another highlight, “Touch the Light” unveils a heavier rock pulse. Debonair vocals emit a “gotta run,” entrancement as glistening guitars compel, as “just a kid back in ’94,” reflections induce replays with a hooky spirit. From gems like this to the lovely, laid-back dream-pop closer “Wake Up is Easy,” Souvenir is a riveting solo achievement from EWAH.
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“Touch the Light” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup, as part of the artist’s promotional campaign.
