A couple of months ago, Rotterdam, The Netherlands-based indie folk singer songwriter Evi Bosman hit my radar through her beautiful and heart-breaking ode to her lost brother, Remind Me. The track features on her debut EP All That Remains, alongside four other tales of transformation. Here’s my track by track review.
By Graeme Smith
Feature photo by Satellite June
The EP opens with the suitably ethereal Something To Dream Of. Echoing guitar form a bed on which Evi’s emotive vocals lay. A feeling of longing mingles with something a little more indescribable – a certain magic that transcends the music of the piece. It’s a haunting and memorable start.
Lose A Friend takes things in a rockier direction – the kind of dark rock you might expect from Radiohead. Evi’s vocals remain expressive but with a tinge of melancholy and an undertone of anger. She really manages to do a lot with her words, and they are enhanced by the textured instrumental arrangement.
I’ll Be Right Here is Evi at her most purely acoustic and the stripped-back instrumentals give plenty of space in which the poetic lyrics can play. They fill your mind’s eye with an uncertain vision of the future, striking at the fear that sits within the collective human heart, before offering a brighter note of reassurance in the chorus. It’s a highlight.
The aforementioned Remind Me comes next, all the more poignant when placed within the larger story of the EP. What Evi is trying to say with the collection is that your experiences shape you, but don’t define you, and that comes through strongly during this penultimate chapter as she tries to find a way through grief.
Falling Into Place finishes the EP, a hopeful coda to the story, it shows that the sunshine always follows the storm. It’s gently upbeat, the musical equivalent of tentatively determined steps. It builds to a cathartic climax which rounds things off perfectly.
Evi is a wise and authentic songwriter. Her vulnerability in this debut is utterly compelling and, despite its personal nature, All The Remains speaks to something universal. I couldn’t help but be moved by it. You can give the whole EP a listen below.