It has to be said that the demise of the sensitive singer songwriter is something that I have long prayed for but, after listening to this EP from Em George, I may have to reconsider my position on the matter as this Australian singer songwriter has mastered the art of getting her heart and her mind on the same page with these five songs.
Matters of the heart, of course, provide the motivation for most of the songs here but the maudlin introspection that so soften drowns such things is more than compensated for by a welcome surfeit of poetic metaphors and distinctly perceptive lyrics. Consider, for example, “Judas”. This is a song that sounds as conventional as anything driven forward by an acoustic guitar yet her words on the man with “Judas eyes” resonate with truth rather than self-obsession and that is the kind of approach that actually advertises strength rather than sorrow.
“Run” further illustrates the maturity of her lyrics and, as I absorbed this song, it occurred to me that I could make a comparison with the early songs of Janis Ian. The clarity of presentation, the elegant use of words and the underpinning emotional purity are all present and correct and it is these very things that qualify Em George as an exception to the sensitive singer songwriter rule.
Her future, I hope, will be bright.