EP Review - Medicate - Emilia Quinn

 

It hard to believe that anyone who follows the UK country scene is unaware that Emilia Quinn is releasing her new EP this week – an almost unprecedented promotional campaign started back in July and has featured guest comments on the tracks, photo shoots and lots of social media posts.

Billed as “The most personal EP to date”, Medicate is Emilia’s 3^rd EP release.  Her first – “Wrote Off” - followed her stunning debut at Buckle and Boots CMF  in  2019 and showcased Emilia’s vocals, her second – “Firecracker” - seemed to show her gritty, raw true self.  Sam Coe loved it, and described the music as “new outlaw country” and commented on the gruffness of Emilia’s voice and the traditional elements to her sound.

 

So how does EP 3 measure up?  Has Emilia found her sound?  Well, yes – and no.

Yes, in that her voice is still fantastic, and the traditional country sound is certainly there, especially with the fabulous pedal steel provided by Steven Hicken Jr.

No, because she has changed the style again, away from the gritty delivery of Firecracker.

With the new EP, Emilia has gone deep inside herself, writing about the pains and struggles of coping in the pandemic hit world of the past eighteen months, with reference to vices and coping strategies, leading to the EP title Medicate and the various track names – Worse than Whisky, High, Pretty Pink Pills and Head Rush, backed up by the imagery that has accompanied the press for this release.  Covid-19 has provided a rich seam for songwriters.

 

The first track Worse Than Whiskey is opened with a slow drum beat, and the tempo continues throughout the song.  The drum is almost jarring although the pedal steel cuts through to give the song a Country authenticity.  The vocal is also slow, almost despairing. The vice here is a relationship, with a nod to alcohol dependency.  High is almost light by comparison, acoustic guitar setting the tone, with a much lighter vocal.  The sound and the style have shades of Kacey Musgraves, the lyrics are a little Brandy Clark – in fact you can almost work your way through the current roster of contemporary female singer songwriters while listening to this track.  Pretty Pink Pills is huskier, with the vocal very much leading over a softer instrumentation while Head Rush possibly owes a little to Girl Crush.

 

Overall, this project feels a little like Kacey Musgraves’ 2018 album Golden Hour.  A change of style, an introspective album and not quite in the confines of previous releases or the genre.

 

Medicate isn’t a release that will be belted out to rock a festival stage as Firecracker was, but it is an EP that demonstrates Emilia’s versatility and willingness to try different styles and write from the heart. 

Open and honest, we’ll leave the final words to Emilia

 

Medicate, the new EP from Emilia Quinn is available to stream and download from Friday 8 October

Find and follow Emilia on Facebook, Instagram, her website and on Spotify

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