EP Review: Swan Levitt - ‘Swan Levitt - EP’

Wonderfully evocative, the debut EP from Swan Levitt offers a breath of fresh air into the acoustic folk genre.

Hailing from the Isle of Wight, Swan Levitt is an English singer-songwriter who blends heartfelt melodies with lyricism that draws on modern themes to craft his own sound of acoustic folk. His recent self-titled EP is a further test of his abilities to craft songs that will touch your heart with their unabashed honesty. Across the four songs on the EP, Swan Levitt manages to capture personal snapshots of his feelings, yet he writes about them in a way that listeners are able to relate to them. His songs are written in a way such that they are able to be moulded to the life experiences of his listeners, yet at the same time remain deeply relevant to him personally.

Listening to the EP, there’s almost a feeling that time has been suspended as his tracks lure you in with their delicate melodies and make themselves at home with you. We open with ‘Parkhurst’, an expansive track that delights with it’s colourful lyricism and works as a welcoming first track. Listening to it, there’s almost a feeling of coming home, and Levitt’s magic is shown as we feel a sense of familiarity, despite that fact that our ears have only been acquainted with his music. Second track ‘Alive’ will make you weep with it’s profoundly sad character. Although it recounts a very personal struggle and questioning, the feeling of loss is universal, allowing each listener to fit this song to their own situation. There’s a barely-masked despair and anguish behind Levitt’s vocal delivery, and backing vocals help create an evocative atmosphere.

‘Before You’ has a simpler accompaniment than the previous two tracks, but in doing so it strikes a different tone that’s otherworldly in it’s beauty. Levitt’s falsetto in the track is a real treat, and there’s such a beautiful quality about his voice that you can’t help but fall in love with it. Voices blend together seamlessly, almost as if they are one. We finish with the rousing ‘Say Your Name’, and the chorus is sure to swell your heart with warmth. With poignant lyricism that will resound with listeners and sensitive melodies, ‘Swan Levitt - EP’ has lived up to and exceeded every expectation and shows itself to be a timeless EP.

Words of Athena Kam