Sounds like…
A warm hot chocolate of self-assured indie-folk.
The review
Following up her debut album Pendulum, Aisha Badru snuck out EP “The Way Back Home” last month. It is a delicate mix of soft indie-folk and affirmations of getting better and stronger. The entire album is like a warm hug, a mug of hot chocolate and a ray of hope in musical form.
Each of the six tracks focuses on making things anew and rebirth either directly through spoken word on the closing track “Rebirth” or indirectly through connections to things like home and personal strength. Also common is the production and style of Aisha Badru’s music. Aisha’s voice is almost always softly sung and smooth as silk. Her guitars are light and elegant. The piano has a long tail resonance to it and bleeds out into warm synths. The drums are also muted even when they feel like they should be pounding. Occasionally, things feel poppier such as the piano pop ballad “Worthwhile” but largely, this is a warm easy listening affair.
Built for warmth and courage, it took me a couple of listens to really appreciate what Badru is going for. It’s the lyrics where she speaks powerfully and freely about her values, thoughts and statements from equality to feminity to love and respect. These are delivered so mutedly through indie-folk that borders on Christian rock nobility that you don’t notice it for a while. It makes the EP a nice palette cleanser between bigger, more rowdy titles and it works well as a calm down before sleep too. If you enjoy Joanne Hogg and the quieter less Celtic side of Iona – I think you’d enjoy Aisha Bardu too.
Recommended track: Home
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Aisha Bardu - The Way Back Home