Undressed heart is the new five track EP from Oslo, Norway-based maiie. We’ve featured her on the blog before – I ran the rule over her single it’s been so long (since that I felt that well) back in November last year and was struck by her honest song writing. Will undressed heart live up to expectations?

By Graeme Smith

The EP is a collection born of painful experiences and tough choices. Yet, cutting through the melancholy is a sense of hope and across its five tracks we get light and shade.

A hummed intro sets the scene with ethereal, minimal instrumentation and a sense of pensiveness and contemplation. It blends into Til I’m Dead which opens with twinkling piano and develops into a bittersweet acoustic guitar arrangement. Maiie’s vocals are as arresting as remember and lyrically we get a picture of melancholia. A brief interlude gives sweet vocalisations and from there the track builds into something beautifully dramatic.

I don’t wanna bother takes us to a poppier place with layers of moody percussion, electronic bass and soaring vocals before we get to the aforementioned it’s been so long (since i felt that well). It sits within this EP as a emotional low point and the moment where maiie truly bears her soul.

The EP’s title track closes things with a sense of boundary pushing experimentation. A restrained first verse slowly builds into something explosively cathartic and bristling with resolve. It’s a powerful final chapter to the EP’s story.

Maiie has a sonic maturity the belies her young age and she’s able to distil her experience of growing up into beautiful art. Her blend of commercial appeal and unique song writing makes her a force to be reckoned with and this collection should prove a welcome introduction to her world for many internationally. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, maiie is one to keep an eye on.

You can listen to undressed heart below.