EP REVIEW
Artist: Shannen Bamford
EP: Paper Planes
Website: shannenbamford.com
A date for your diaries, 10/6/13 sees the eagerly anticipated EP ‘Paper Planes’ by Shannen Bamford. A year in preparation, it was recorded at Canvas Sound Studios and took three months to complete. “It embodies everything I like to put into my songs,” says Shannen. “I wanted it to be a clear introduction to the type of music I play – I put a lot into it”. You can’t argue with that!
Shannen Bamford is a 20 year old singer/songwriter from Liverpool who began her music career at the tender age of four when she started playing guitar, shortly followed by the piano. At the age of ten Shannen entered and won a Liverpool Echo songwriting competition which enabled her to perform at St Georges Hall. She has spent many years tucked away writing, practicing and perfecting her craft. As well as her own material she has also covered tracks by Tracy Chapman and Marina Diamandis. Shannen has developed a growing army of admirers and a loyal fan base, playing many delightful sets to crowds across Liverpool in venues like The Masque, The Cavern, and The Zanzibar, as well as a number of music festivals. She can count among her fans Mel C and Rebecca Ferguson who saw her play at the Liverpool Music Awards in 2012. She has achieved radio play from BBC Radio Merseyside and Juice FM.
The EP has four tracks each with warm and inviting guitar intros and lyrics that clearly talk of sadness, of love, past relationships and about moving on. Shannen’s soft and at times haunting voice seems to whisper to you with a feeling of comfort, with beautifully crafted and well written lyrics complementing her folky style of strumming. Twinkly and pleasantly soft notes on the piano are combined with a hint of clever orchestral strings running through them. Shannen’s style makes me mindful of such artists as Lucy Rose, Sharleen Spiteri and Gabrielle Aplin.
Her tender voice is different from other female vocalists who have made themselves known this year and fits with a genre that is being made more popular by artists such as Ed Sheeran and Ben Howard. Shannen’s songs draw you in, beautifully composed, full of meaning, hope and emotion. This style of writing and performing is fast becoming Shannen Bamford’s trademark.
The Paper Planes EP is released on Monday 10th June 2013 by Searching For Dandelions and as is available to buy from iTunes and AmazonMP3
The official launch night is on Saturday 15th June 2013 at Heebie Jeebies basement, with support from Vanessa Murray, Just By Chance, and Thom Morecroft. 7pm doors, £2 advance tickets, £3 on the door. Details on facebook.
© 2013 Ian Sharp – Liverpool Acoustic
Shannen Bamford
website – shannenbamford.com
facebook – facebook.com/shannenbamfordmusic
twitter – @ShannenBamford
soundcloud – soundcloud.com/shannenbamford
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EP review: Shannen Bamford – Paper Planes
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