Josie Edie May is a Brighton-based singer songwriter who first hit my radar over the summer of last year with her tale of homesickness, Sea Salt. She followed it up later in the year with the wonderfully positive Blue. Both tracks feature on her debut five track EP, Sea Salt & Daisies.

By Graeme Smith

With this debut, Josie reflects on her life across her late teens and early 20s. It can be an emotionally unstable time for a lot of us, with crushing lows and soaring highs, and that’s what we get in Sea Salt & Daisies. Josie gives us her all, expressing her fears and finding her moments of joy.

The EP opens with the aforementioned Blue, giving us a bright start. Lively acoustic guitar mingles with ambient noise and twinkling percussion in a rich and atmospheric opening. Josie’s charismatic vocals come in, delivering poetic and captivating lyrics.

Washing Lines comes next. A contrast to Blue, there’s a pensive, thoughtfulness about it. The lyrics are wonderfully descriptive and paint a vivid picture of the world in which Josie grew up, the good and the bad. Sea Salt sits at the heart of the EP giving a quiet, captivating moment that best showcases Josie’s characterful vocals.

Weeds is Josie’s latest single, released at the same time as this EP. It’s a delicate and playful number, with a healthy amount of experimentation. The drum brushes in the track are created with flower heads on muted banjo, and we hear flowers being cut with scissors too. Paddle In Hand closes things with even more boundary pushing through its expansive, slow-burning arrangement.

I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: Josie has a way with words that really sets her apart from her contemporaries. This debut EP is such a strong offering from an artist who has so much of her career still to come. She’s certainly one to watch and no doubt Sea Salt & Daisies will get her some of the attention she deserves. You can check out the whole EP below.