“Everything is blurry, just the state that I’m in, confusion or illusion I don’t know where to begin.” These are the opening lines to the first track from Ruben Dawnson’s momentous debut EP, Echo Emotions. Like all of the songs on the EP, ‘SAYIMGOOD’ is a vivisection of the songwriter’s deepest insecurities, of his anxious thoughts, of his self-criticism; yet, there’s also a love to be found here. Many of his worries come from not doing his self justice, or rahter not living to life’s full potential. But, we want to reassure Ruben Dawnson that he’s absolutely smashed it here.
It’s safe to say that we’ve been fans of the Norwegian singer, songwriter, musician and producer for some time now. We already covered the boppy ‘SAYIMGOOD’, as well as ‘FYALMA’, whose full title, ‘fuck you anxiety leave me alone’, we’re still gagged about.
The other track that we’d like to take the opportunity to tell you about is ‘I Don’t Want To Be Alone’. Isn’t that simply the most suitable title for what’s happening right now? The thing is, Dawnson wrote this song long before the lockdown, and surely we’re going to be moving to this melodic indie-pop tune long afterwards. It’s has that hazy texture that we’ve come to expect with Dawnson, yet it’s less lo-fi than some of the other tracks, take for example ‘Rain On My Umbrella’. The more slightly polished production really allows his voice to shine through, which you can always tell he’s holding back just a little bit; holding those cards close to his chest before finally admitting that most human of desires, “I don’t wanna be alone.”
In total there’s six fantastic tracks to sink into here, each with their own story to tell.
Follow:
UNRECORDED 