EP Review Joy Autumn - 'MIDNIGHT'
LA singer-songwriter Joy Autumn delivers four, stylish, atmospheric pop songs on her new EP, 'Midnight' with aplomb.
Led by Joy Autumn's hushed and unassuming vocal, 'Midnight' is a deeply intimate offering born from all of the confessionals that the loneliness felt in the midnight hour evokes. A loneliness in this instance cultivated in the heart of Hollywood where Autumn found herself feeling disenchanted by Hollywood on both a personal and professional level. Therefore, 'Searching For You' aptly opens the EP gently under the guise of a classic, romantic feel to its instrumentation. However, Autumn asks her listener to look beyond the sophistication on the soundscape to see the inner vices, imperfections and the reality of Hollywood, and in this instance, the class is all smoke and mirrors, veiling a deeper loneliness and discontent that Autumn wishes to escape from as she longs for home.
Sonically, EP track, 'Here + There' continues in a similar vein to 'Searching For You', although Autumn amplifies the nostalgia and the romance seeing the track airily present itself as a beautiful love story that feels suspended in time. The theme of home reoccurs and is associated with both a person and life's blessed moments that surpass superficiality and self destruction, which is a lovely contrast to Hollywood and the unpleasant, counterfeit side to its lifestyle.
'Brave' is the most pop-infused track on the EP but is also the most inspirational and reassuring where the most whispered parts of Autumn's vocal sounds like magic. It's an upbeat number that combines the classy feeling of the EP with stronger modern touches through its use of synth and drum machines. The track was written as a "personal pep talk" but its sentiment is relatable in its message to grab opportunities while you can and to not let fear hold us back and leaves its listener feeling lighter.
The EP also includes 'Go' which we featured a few months back, here, and is still my most favourite Joy Autumn song so far. 'Midnight' in its entirety is executed tenderly with a gentleness and understanding that can only come from the strengths found in self-reflection and for this reason, it is an exposed EP, but it is not vulnerable.
Words of Karla Harris