EP Review: Wasted/Our Time

You’ve got to admire Tamaki Makaurau independent pop artist Rachel Louise (aka Rachel Mawdsley). Not only does she write and perform her own material but she’s on the publicity machine cranking out releases and flying the flag for her unique and beautiful music, too. Recently, wonderful new singles dropped into my review box Wasted and the B Side Our Time, completing the singer’s first solo project.

Her debut, Wasted is downright charming, and poetic. Described as about “loosening your grip on your longings to honour where you are”, it’s a gentle, embracing track. Listening to it, I felt like it could sit well in the cannon of Bon Iver or Princess Chelsea.

‘It’s scary to admit you really want something,” Rachel Louise wrote, “that you long to love, because it means opening yourself up to disappointment. But it’s so brave to hope for more. This song makes the acknowledgement of those desires feel triumphant and empowering. ”There’s an underlying spiritual theme lurking here, too. A touch of faith and optimism, perhaps. If that’s her Kaupapa, then it certainly meets the brief. It’s a modern folk song that seems to stretch far beyond her young years.

Bookmarking Wasted is Our Time which, she tells us “captures the mild disbelief and wild hope when those dreams might actually be beginning.”

This is a completely different book: It has the production qualities and vibe of a major studio release. It’s lush and, dare I say, sumptuous. That’s courtesy of wunderkind knob twiddler Will Henderson (who has made Janine, YAHYAH, CHAII sound so fabulous) and master engineer Chris Chetland. Their choice of weapon for this track – cinematic synth stylings and a driving acoustic guitar undercurrent.

I listened several times before being really hooked in, maybe because I couldn’t believe this was a Kiwi. It had such an international sheen to it. Surely this was the product of a big production house.

Either way it’s a wonderful showcase for Rachel Louise’s vocals. Yes, it has a radio friendly quality about it but what’s wrong with that? I hope someone at The Hits, The Edge, etc. wakes up and takes notice. C’mon people!

The track opens with a deliciously floaty synth-line, sprinkled with some ‘live piano’ and a background melody held in check with a subtle acoustic guitar strum. As the tension builds, a familiar chorus emerges and you can help gives way to a driving anthem. It’s the perfect pop hook. The song, I’ve learned, revolves around the feeling of meeting someone special, someone you’ve waited your whole life for.

From these offerings, you get the inkling there’s more to come and even better, too. Her voice, song writing and musicianship already seem polished. If this is a taste, then bring on more, please.