SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: RACHEL EWEN – BREADCRUMBS

RACHEL EWEN
BREADCRUMBS
INDEPENDENT

Rachel Ewen is based in the Pacific Northwest and has been working as a professional musician and singer in Seattle for the past decade. In 2023 she started performing under her own name, and Breadcrumbs is her debut EP.  She wrote much of the lyrics and music with Jesse Miller who also produced the EP. Her music is definitely west coast. She writes and sings very polished 1970s easy rock sounding songs, with a laid-back groove.

This is pop music with tinges of jazz, folk-rock and a little Beatles thrown in for good measure. Even though she wears her influences on her sleeve, the music is still her own style. And there are some fun surprises as well.  “Another Way”, for example, is a beautiful a cappella song with many layers of her beautiful voice. It is stunning and a wonderful change of pace for the EP. Also, “Time Back” proves that she can rock with the best of them, and again, it demonstrates that Ewen does not want to sit comfortably with just one style of music.

Ewen has a remarkable voice, and she uses it well throughout the entire EP. She switches gears with ease, from mellow ballads, such as the opening track, “Go In Circles” to the rockier material, such as “Time Back”. But it is the closing track (that musically borrows from “Strawberry Fields Forever” in the beginning) that shows the depth of emotion and feeling she achieves with her singing. It is a beautiful acoustic song that is arranged perfectly for her voice and the style of the song.

Breadcrumbs is an impressive debut EP. While she has been performing and writing with other bands and projects, this is her solo debut, and it is really quite good. She has a great voice, and has written some very emotional, and melodic songs.

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