Originally born in Delaware, Beth Henderson got her start in theater after moving to the New York area. She began to perform at various venues, including the Rockwood Music Hall. Henderson’s new EP, Questions, produced and instrumentally arranged by Julian Giamo, is a warm cup of tea for the heart with a jolt of caffeine and heat. Henderson’s vocals are pure melodious, celestial silk.
The EP’s first song, “Oh, Montana,” has a fantastic beat, and catchy, fun lyrics that will motivate you to perhaps go outside and bury your bare feet in the earth; swaying in the rain. Henderson croons like ripples on a lake. This is “feel-good heart-touch” folk music that ends on a bittersweet note. Somewhere John Denver is smiling over Big Sky Country at this honeydew sugar-sweet song, and as a writer who lives in Montana, I was only that much more pleased when this song came across my desk.
When I first heard the second single, “Lovers From London,” a quote by Florence Welch popped into my mind: “I can’t tell if I’m having an epiphany, or a nervous breakdown.” Questions is a little bit of both; focusing on the erratic, chaotic and desired passion that is love. Questions is an epiphany to the senses of folk with it’s euphonious tones, but the subject matter of the lyrics takes your heart deeper.
What is love? Why does it leave us behind when we most need it, or show up when we least expect it? What is the nature of the unruly, untamed beast that centers around our lives so often? Where do we find our peace and quiet acceptance in the grief of loss?
The third song on Questions, “Wild One,” melts like hot wax into your skin. A song about desire, angst and aching passion, it is tinged with slow, almost jazzy blues that lead into a gentler powerful flow at the crescendo of the song. The final song on the EP, “Cross Your Mind” is a beautiful, mourning piece; almost reminiscent of a feminized Johnny Cash. Henderson is a lovely singer.
This EP explores the pain of being twisted by the broken promises of love. It examines the emotional impact of being abandoned, and those times when you cry “Don’t leave me.”. Yet, they turn away in the darkest moments of a relationship. This EP speaks of the mystery of how lovers can show up when you least expect, and be gone like the wind at the turn of a most unexpected hat. We hold onto the memories, yet ache for our past, but do they feel the same when they break our hearts?
All in all, this is an excellent EP, and if you enjoy artists such as Florence and the Machine and Birdy, you will love Beth Henderson’s music about love on the delightful Questions.
By I’m Music Magazine Contributing Writer Breezy Blake
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