Around a month ago now Winnie Raeder truly exploded onto the scene where she showcased her poetic lyrics, ethereal vocal that left me speechless and sound that transported you away to a whole new world. Now today she’s just released her debut EP titled From Here, which is a collection of four songs that deal with loss, separation and clinging onto hope during the toughest moments of our lives, and it’s spectacular.
The EP opens with the emotionally captivating Don’t You Dare. It’s the single that introduced us all to her music so it makes sense for it to start our new journey with her and, as before, it features poignant lyrics that are reminiscent of the poetic quality Bob Dylan had along with her enthralling vocal that has you hanging onto every word she sings. The production remains minimalistic but it’s exactly that which makes this song feel like every word she is singing is about you.
I would say that Still is probably the perfect title for the next song because when listening everything just freezes and you’re transported to a brand new world. It’s a mainly acappella track with the main focus being on her celestial vocals and it’s one of the most tender songs on the EP. This just proves that all she really needs is her voice and she could enter a room and captivate an audience with ease.
I Wear A Ghost comes up next with a sparse production that manages to be both gentle and powerful with only a tender guitar and Raeder’s emotionally enthralling vocal leading the single. This is one of those songs that paints a vivid picture with every lyric that is sung adding new brush strokes, colours and details to the artwork until you’re met with the finished piece at the end that leaves you almost speechless. You’re told a solemn story that leaves you feeling like you’ve been hit with the final blow in a prize fight.
We then reach the grand finale of this EP in the form of Are You Waiting, a track that will soon leave you with tears cascading down your face. Everything about this song comes together to make what I can only describe as a masterpiece. Raeder’s vocal is celestial with every word she utters is dripping with emotion, then you’ve got the guitar that sounds like it’s crying throughout the track but the true show stealer are the lyrics. You feel her pain, you understand the questions she is asking, you relate to the story but more than anything you see the small amount of hope and that’s what this whole EP is about.
This is Winnie Raeder making a statement. This whole EP deals with the pains of loss and the emotional questions that follow from them and I only know this because I’ve asked those same questions. It’s an EP that is best experience with a speaker, all the lights off and you lying down and staring at the ceiling where every note will weave a new image in your mind from your own experiences. This was something special.