One Girl Symphony – One Girl Symphony
One Girl Symphony – One Girl Symphony – EP Review
YUP!
I mean…seriously…this doesn’t even take thirty seconds to realize the potential of the musical-genius behind the sounds and songs of One Girl Symphony. Within about ten seconds you can hear you’re in for something probably not what you’d expected it to be…and just how fantastic music can be when you get surprised. You with me? Yeah…yeah you are…
So check this out…One Girl Symphony, first off, is actually two musicians combined. The story is actually very impressive; it begins with the gorgeous & talented Whitney Vandell who spent her time in music dedicated to composing…eventually, she meets William Stewart online through the random connection of a family-friend…and the rest is still history in the making from there! Important to note however…is that William had long retired from playing the violin at the age of 21 to start a family, nearly thirty years ago for him now – it was through the inspiration of collaborating with Whitney that brought him back to the music all these many years later.
And you know what? I for one am certainly incredibly glad that she did. Together these two have found themselves a combination in sounds, styles, tones, emotions and atmospheres that…well…to think that they might have not existed at all had they not found each other somehow…it’s just mind-blowing to think about. These two talents are making incredibly relevant, beautiful music that has an incredible amount of skill and genuine heart…passion in the performances and writing that you can absolutely hear and feel right inside you. Wonderfully played & brilliantly executed from bass-lines to violins, to melody-lines, composition, structures & arrangements – this is honestly some incredible stuff from these two!
“No Glitch” is the name of the track that captures the attention immediately as the self-titled EP begins…and One Girl Symphony goes on to continually stun & amaze from there. Serious groove in this opening track…when you consider the recent success of acts like Lindsey Sterling…you gotta also consider that this isn’t all that far off from what’s happening there for people to be able to latch onto it. Heck…it almost should be easier in a sense – One Girl Symphony has found a way to make their bass/violin/guitar/drums combo work so incredibly well on “No Glitch” that you’d swear this would fit right into the mainstream with no problems whatsoever. The complexity, talent & skill in pulling this off with as much rhythm & groove as they’ve found in this tune and the following “Orleans Dirt” is more than audibly-impressive; everything just WORKS! Very impressed by these first two tunes and just how accessible they sound by their writing and composition…these are downright-jams that people couldn’t help themselves from digging…I know’em when I hear’em, trust me! Additional horns and piano in “Orleans Dirt” keep the atmosphere full of thick, rich & extraordinary sounds popping into the mix from all angles – this music has a real charismatic attitude that captivates with ease.
It is truly the stunning and outstanding brilliance of a melody like “Playtime” being captured as perfectly as it has been here that should make these two musicians continually beam with pride…they should be proud and I hope they truly are – the melody in “Playtime” is nothing short of perfect in its execution and the vibrant, passionate playing of the instruments gives life to that melody in beautifully extraordinary ways. Winding and weaving the violin through the music…”Playtime” takes the album into a more traditional tone & atmosphere in a sense…but not so far back that you’ll feel you need to dress in wear your formals to listen to it…One Girl Symphony has managed to make the beautiful readily-acceptable to all with their gorgeous, inspiring melody in the middle of their EP.
And you won’t know how they achieve it…but somehow the polish of this passion continues to shine brighter as the EP plays-on. “Farewell Solace” might not be necessarily the happiest tune you’ve heard on the record so far…but in my opinion, it doesn’t get much more beautiful in music than this track. Exceptional work here…the piano is gorgeous, the violin as outstanding as ever…but truly the star of these songs remains their hook, melody and ability to really communicate the emotion through their accessible tones tugging at your heartstrings. Between the combination of “Farewell Solace” and the following final-track, “Eternal Savannah” – you can’t help but really love what they’ve put together here and the inspiring ways that it really all snaps together perfectly like these songs have been inside them all along, just waiting to get out. The writing and playing have been emotionally-powerful all the way through – but these final two songs really make the most out of their ability to connect right to you and establish that memorable impact that this music deserves. Absolutely stunning effort from every angle – this is music as art, and art at its finest.
Find out more direct from the One Girl Symphony official site at: http://www.onegirlsymphony.com/
Join the thousands of bands & artists reviewed at sleepingbagstudios by clicking here!
