With a headline show at the legendary King Tuts and the release of their debut EP, 2023 is already proving to be an exciting year for Glasgow’s Her Picture. This EP brings together three previously released tracks alongside title track ‘Don’t Try to Comfort Me.’ The band consists of lead singer Anny Tahaney, bass player Cat Reid and drummer Finlay Smith. The name Her Picture is inspired by the Virginia Woolf novel ‘To the Lighthouse’ and the band list Woolf as an influence on their lyrics along with the likes of Emily Dickenson and Audrey Lorde. Musically, some of their biggest influences include Kate Bush, Pink Floyd and Wolf Alice.
The EP kicks off with ‘The Nature of It.’ This is a huge sounding rock track that is the perfect opener, a song that demands your attention. We’re greeted by a thunderous drum and bass mix before a wailing guitar riff joins in. Anny Tahaney’s vocals are flawless, as powerful as the instrumental yet eerie when they need to be.
Track two is where you feel the Wolf Alice influence the most. The first two minutes of ‘I’m Still Here’ are almost mournful vocals over a repeated guitar riff. The drums kick in slowly before Tahaney repeats the question ‘where do we go?’ The second half of the song is epic in scale, the vocals are just spine-tinglingly beautiful.
‘My Way’ discusses class division in the music industry and the impact that this industry has on the mental health of so many artists. I want to highlight one lyric I thought was really powerful. “But if it’s really meant for me, why can’t I sleep at night? It sort of feels like the thing I love the most would be the thing that takes my life.’ It really speaks to a story we sadly hear repeated all too often these days, artists working themselves to the point that it shatters their own wellbeing. I think it’s so important that bands continue to highlight this.
The final and newest track is ‘Don’t Try to Comfort Me’ which, at just over three minutes, is also the shortest on the EP. Atmospheric grunge seems like an appropriate way to describe this one. Whilst the incredible vocals and song writing are an unquestionable strength to Her Picture, Finlay Smith’s drumming is the highlight of this track for me.
Whilst all these tracks are fantastic in their own right, ‘Don’t Try to Comfort Me’ as an EP feels like a cinematic journey. You could picture any of these songs as part of a dark blockbuster movie. This is a band that I can truly see going places and I’m very excited to see what the rest of 2023 has in store for Her Picture. You can catch the band in both Glasgow and Edinburgh as part of Stag and Dagger 2023 at the end of April and find their socials below.