Great performances can be made in many different ways. They can be made by the energy, the bounce, and the fast-paced in your face attitude. They can be made with personality, with feel good turns at every corner. The stage lowering its heel to become one with a greater connected audience. In Erin Hephzibah’s case, the great performance was made by pure musicianship. Perfectly crafted songwriting and pitch-perfect vocals that send shivers down the spines of all those in earshot.
Playing the entirety of her new EP “Harebrained,” Erin wooed the crowd with a dark pop/jazz sound, composed with intricate, jangly, phasing guitar leads from co-writer Craig Goodwin and smooth, soothing sax from Rosi Tudhope. The set was tight, yet played effortlessly and was refreshingly original, producing a collective sound that can only be described as enchanting.
The track Raggedy Ann stood out. With a bright, upbeat tempo and ear hooking chorus. You couldn’t help but feel the rhythm pull you into motion.
Talking to Erin after the show, she told me she is influenced by artists like Hozier, Etta James, Whitney Houston, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Which is apparent through her powerful, commanding vocals and the stories she shares with you in her lyrics.
Previously, she was a part of the duo Kodak Ghosts with long term writing partner Sabrina Mandulu. After Sabrina’s departure, Erin found herself in a bit of a creative rut.
“We’d played together since we were like 14,” Erin tells me, “so after she left, I wasn’t sure what to do and fell out of the scene a bit.”
But after getting an events job at The Bungalow (a live music venue in Pailsey) and collaborating with previously mentioned guitarist Craig Goodwin and EP producer Martin Stevenson, she found herself back in a creative burst and back on the scene again in a big way.
I’ll definitely find myself at another one of Erin’s shows soon, as these are not songs to be missed if you have an appetite for tasteful, elegant , original music. You can expect big things from Erin as she plucks her tunes through the country.