Stephanie Fraser
Album: Walking Woman (EP)
Label: Island
Tracks: 4
Website: http://www.stephaniefraser.co.uk

Stephanie Fraser's EP "Walking Woman" reflects her various talents in a very convincing way: Be it just her with her guitar or her with a full range of instruments, it all sounds really authentic. Her voice can be soft and tender, soulful and also strong and powerful. It's good that her song writing allows her to show all these sides of her voice in these four very different and very wonderful songs.

"Heal my Mind" is catchy and well produced. It's arranged in a wide spectrum of sounds: Deep bass drums and bass guitar sounds and her beautiful clear and bright voice at the other end of the scale. Its dramatic character is absolutely convincing. You can well imagine this song being played on any radio station - it has mainstream qualities, in a good way. "Lying in my bed", similarly arranged has is touching, only its lyrics seem a bit too simple for my taste. Stephanie Fraser is a good lyricists, especially evident in the solely acoustic and upbeat "Walking Woman" - "I quit smoking but I still get stoned / I quit spending but I'm still too poor" poignantly express what the situation feels like. The most distinctive song on the EP is probably "Trying to Resist". It starts with just guitar and vocals and only towards the end of the song both high pitched and deep backing vocals plus a sonorous bass drum round the song up. This song clearly displays that Stephanie Fraser's voice indeed has an irresistible touch.

A whole album of this quality of music is definitely something to look forward to.

Dagmar Brudnitzki