so, after releasing a demos ep late last year (go HERE to read my review of it), daughter (aka elena tonra) has officially put out her debut ep entitled his young heart.

as with the demos ep, his young heart showcases thoughtful lyrics set against simple, yet powerful songs. daughter doesn’t need an orchestra to back her, nor does she need mixers. the backbone of the ep is the well-honed relationship between elena and her guitar. everything else is like jewelry done right against the perfect LBD – simple and tasteful without blinding you to get attention.

some highlights:

* landfill – a song about the crippling uncertainty that can come with relationships. at times angry (and peeps, we’re talking angry), other times plaintive, landfill is bitterly beautiful. throw me in the landfill/don’t think about the consequences/throw me in the dirt pit/don’t think about the choices you make

* the woods – delicate with a sublimely quiet guitar melody, the woods is my favorite song on the ep. we are what we are/don’t need no excuses/for the scars/from our mothers/and we know what we know/’cause we’re made of all the little bones of our fathers

* candles – while the majority of the song is elena with her guitar, every so often a drum beat appears alongside urgent vocals, making candles a fascinating study of what it means to be young and apt to make mistakes, especially when it comes to moving too fast in a relationship. well i have brittle bones/it seems/i bite my tongue and i torch my dreams/i have a little voice to speak of/and a mind of thoughts and secrecy/things cannot be reversed/we learn from the times we are cursed/if things cannot be reversed/learn from the ones we fear the most/learn from the ones we hate the most/blow out the candles

* switzerland – an accordion can be a really lovely instrument, as illustrated by switzerland. the tail end of the ep feels just like that – the end, and yet, at the same time, there’s this undercurrent of hope amongst soaring, lo-fi vocals and windchimes that hint at gorgeous things to come. listen to this one loud while wearing your headphones.

listen to and then download landfill from the soundcloud below:

Daughter – Landfill (free download) by Stayloose

daughter recently performed at a sold-out show at st.stephen’s church – check out a video of the excellent run:

Communion presents: Daughter from BABYSWEET SESSIONS on Vimeo.

here’s a list of upcoming uk shows:
20th April – ‘His Young Heart’ EP launch @ Slaughtered Lamb, London
27th April – The River Fleet night @ Old St Pancras Church, London
14th May – Fishbowl @ Great Escape Festival, Brighton
14th May – Life @ Great Escape Festival, Brighton
8th July – Lounge On The Farm Festival

go HERE to stream/buy his young heart, daughter’s latest ep.