Live Review: PREMIERE: Bella Unwin quietly muses on her delicate 'Own Way' EP

We've been following the sounds of BELLA UNWIN for a few years now. After relocating to the UK, she's been hard at work honing her brand of dissociative pop ambience that feels like music Homeshake would make if his process was entirely electronic.

She's today shared with us her new EP to share with you, and we're stoked to be premiering this one today. The EP's called Own Way, and spanning six tracks, the release explores a variety of quiet musings all exemplified by Bella's soft, crooning vocals and an ear for creating minimal, unconflicting soundscapes out of what's in front of her.

'Intro' leads us in with crispy percussion, panned synths and her quiet vocals peering over the delicate soundscape. 'These Days' lets that clean piano take the lead, driven forth by quiet percussion and Bella's echoed voice whispering atop the instrumental. You don't want to make any noise while listening to this one. It would feel rude disrupting the quiet flow of things.

'Graduate' lets her voice take the lead, a dreamy pad synth shimmering quietly in the background. A funky bassline pops in and out of focus, sharing the spotlight. A ping-ponged helicopter sound drops in and out of the left and the right, eventuating into a pool of percussive complexity, but never becoming invasive.

The undulating phased synth of 'On To' pairs neatly with the quiet clave, her vocal working with the piano to eventuate into a warped, psychedelic soundscape. 'Four Of Hearts' takes 80's synth sensibilities and puts them atop a romantic piano, the percussion taking the lead when she wants us to follow her.

And at the EP's end, we're left with the quiet, glass-like musings of 'Thought i would'. This particular track carries the most sonic weight of all of the tracks, and feels like a clean, apt way to close out the release.

Since naming her an artist to watch in 2018, we've been patiently waiting to see what her next move would be, and it just goes to show that good things come to those who wait.

Image: SUPPLIED

Words by CAITLIN MEDCALF

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