(2020) Eve Owen - Don't Let the Ink Dry


Review:
Produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner, Eve Owen’s debut album Don’t Let the Ink Dry is a collection of 12 songs that powerfully combine raw emotion with limitless imagination. It’s Owen’s mesmerizing vocals which take centre stage, with an orchestral backdrop providing the perfect accompaniment to the often heart-rending and touching lyrics. Folk melodies meander throughout the duration of the record, often entwining with electronic experimentation, soft piano, and soothing strings. While Owen may be the brainchild, an array of musicians lend their talents throughout the album, such as multi-instrumentalist Rob Moose (who has created string arrangements for Bon Iver) and pianist Thomas Bartlett (who’s performed with St. Vincent and Father John Misty). The strength of Don’t Let the Ink Dry comes from its mixture of vulnerability and power, both apparent in the vocal delivery where they subsist in harmony. Opening track “Tudor” incorporates these two themes settng the scene for the rest of the album perfectly, with the simple folk track climaxing amidst a flurry of forlorn tones emphasising the feeling of isolation. It’s within the vocals and poetry-like lyrics where Owen truly soars. The first single “She Says” is a tear-jerking piano ballad that conjures images of family life through the fragile and beautiful croons of the singer. The fragility of Owen is once again captured in the soft acoustic strums and harmonised vocals on “So Still for You,” a melancholic anthem that is full of wonder and adoration. It is the juxtaposition of these feelings, whether it be vulnerability and power or melancholy and love, that captures the complexity of her songwriting abilities. A lonesome distorted guitar provides the perfect accompaniment to Owen’s croons on the tender and delicate “Blue Moon”, a stand out track from the album. Orchestral strings enter adding a sense of urgency, climaxing to a hand-in-the-air chorus that is sure to hang around long after you’ve removed your headphones. While contrasting emotions and themes are revealed throughout this record, one theme does prevail and that is hope. The unbreakable hope in Owen’s delivery overcomes the feeling of loneliness and isolation, a reminder that bad days shall pass and in today’s world, this is something that we all need to be reminded of from time to time.





Tracklist:



Media Report:
Genre: indie-folk
Source: CD
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits