Australia’s Olivia Reid has released her new EP, Space To Roam, featuring her latest venture as an artist in the ethereal “Steady.” Reminiscent of early Maggie Rogers and Lord Huron, the song mixes the sensibilities of folk music with an unique soundscape that can only be created by minimalist electronic instrumentation.
“Steady”‘s vocal doublings sit in a corpus distortion, giving it a metallic edge, contrasting from the other, more free-flowing songs on the EP. This metallic tonality is soon complemented by the fuzzed guitar and electronic percussion whose loose melody retains the mediating nature of the lyrics. Heavy and poignant panning along with spacious reverb allows each distinct instrument to have its own space whilst blending together through echos. Yet, soft keys and strings sprinkled throughout the song ground it back into the world of folk.
In an EP about exploration, “Steady” asks for a calm mind. The first verse asks to be “steady like steel in the storm.” By the second chorus, the message of the EP becomes clear: Reid wants inner peace. The lyrics are carry detailed imagery, a staple of Reid’s music.
While “Steady” is sonically a departure from Olivia Reid’s other releases, the themes and lyricism remain the same as the rest of the EP. This gives the song a nice edge against other songs from the EP Space To Roam.
