Ego Ella May
Good Intentions
Self-released
Buy via Bandcamp | Listen Below
When Ego Ella May emerged in 2020 with her debut proper, Honey For Wounds, I was fortunate enough to interview her. Apart from being excellent company, she marked herself out as someone with the right attitude towards the music industry and, more broadly, life—she truly appeared to have a wise, old head on very young shoulders.
Now, six years down the line, she returns with her follow up album Good Intentions. Not that she’s been in the musical wilderness since then—she’s released a trio of wonderful EPs in the FIELDNOTES series and popped up all over the place on work by folks like trumpeter Theo Croker, lending her dulcet tones to work far and wide.
What defines this sophomore effort is a sense of assuredness—she navigates subject matters, musical styles and vocal delivery with aplomb, conquering all in her wake. There’s a sense that she has found, inhabits and luxuriates in her groove—both literally and metaphorically.
There is an array of themes that emerge via her honeyed tones—there’s affairs of the heart on “Don’t Take My Lover Away” and others, friendships and self-image on the title track and the quiet but powerful rebuke to the Labour Government of “We’re Not Free.” No matter the subject, she finds a way to wrap her delicious vocals around her affecting lyrics, in ways that are instantly beguiling.
Throughout the album she places herself amidst a powerful musical genealogy of female singer songwriters—there are echoes of Erykah Badu, Sade and Jill Scott throughout. But despite that, she carves out a singular identity across the piece.
Her retort to the Labour government may be softly spoken but it delights in its world-weariness and wisdom: “Tories out—the policies remain / what you mean trans rights are up for debate again? / Is it too much to ask to lead with your heart?” Musically, it has a knowing wink to Marvin Gaye’s era-defining “What’s Going On,” but not at the expense of imprinting her own voice on proceedings.
Listen to the Album:
There are so many good things on the album—the irresistible groove of “What You Waiting For,” the strings and shuffling Afrobeat of “Pot Luck Baby” and the suitably leaden bassline of “Love Is A Heavy Thing,” but chief amongst them is Ego Ella May’s voice. She inhabits each of the variations in music with aplomb and her backing vocals are as delicious as a cool pint of cider on a warm summer evening—“Tarot” and the previously mentioned “Pot Luck Baby” demonstrate those qualities in abundance.
There’s a special place in my heart for the final song on the album though. Stripped of everything but an acoustic guitar, “Back To Sea” showcases her voice to perfection and ends proceedings perfectly.
The album is infused with the same wisdom I heard and felt when I interviewed her and, consequently, the album acts as a reminder in these trying times, that there are good people who want the world to be a better place—as she sings on “We’re Not Free”: “You’re not free till everyone else is.”
Wise words from a wise soul (singer).
Notable Tracks: “Back To Sea” | “We’re Not Free” | “What We Do” | “What You Waiting For”
LISTEN: