ALBUM REVIEW: HANNAH WICKLUND delivers Her EP “The Inbetween”

19th April 2020 admin

Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones released a special EP “The Inbetween” with four stripped back solo performances on Friday 17th April 2020, produced and recorded by her older brother, Luke Mitchell (The High Divers), in their parents’ home on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

The four tracks appeared in their original form on the 2018 album Hannah Wicklund ,but The Inbetween EP gives us more intimate performances that sees Hannah getting back to her roots.

‘Bomb Through The Breeze’ opens with a gentle piano, but Hannah’s soulful vocals are soon all consuming and with no distractions except the piano, it’s easy to get lost in the moment and allow the song to wash over you. I loved the original of this track as a driving bluesy number and it was no surprise when it was featured as the opening track on Earache Records compilation ‘New Wave Of Rock and Roll’. However, to then re-arrange it and make it so intimate shows an exceptional talent.

For ‘Meet You Again’ Hannah switches to acoustic guitar and her vocals show her range as she uses a more raspy and at times soaring vocal, to great effect. It’s hard to believe that Hannah is only 23 years old, but having formed her first band around the age of 9 and having played over 1,000 shows, she’s an old hand who has learnt her craft by putting the graft in.

Hannah’s natural musical ability and powerful voice have seen her compared with some of the great female voices from Janis Joplin to Chrissie Hynde, but she strikes me as an artist that is making her own way and one who is destined for the top of the tree.

‘Shadowboxes and Porcelain Faces’ warns us against the fakery of social media and our modern way of life. The lyrics allow for real emotion and intensity in the vocal performance and this is backed by some subtle guitar work, which accompanies but never overshadows Hannah’s great voice.

The final track on the EP is ‘Ghost’ with its guitar intro, leading to a quite superb vocal arrangement which leaves us in no doubt of just how good this young performer is. Her vocal, guitar and writing skills will certainly be a force to be reckoned with over the coming years.

Hannah Wicklund with her band were due to play the support slot of the postponed King King UK tour in April 2020, so let’s hope it won’t be too long before we see here playing live in Europe once more.

The Inbetween EP was released on April 17th 2020.