Rachel Sermanni – Swallow Me EP
The delicate and daring new EP from Edinburgh’s own Rachel Sermanni finds her embracing the new, fearful but poised
Relinquishing control is something we’ve all had to learn to do in the past year, but it's an act Rachel Sermanni has been practising for some time. “The thread that weaves most clearly throughout this collection is one of letting go,” she says of her new EP, the quietly majestic Swallow Me, her most cohesive collection of songs to date.
Written predominantly during her pregnancy, the EP finds Sermanni – who is wisely introspective at the calmest of times – exploring a period of growth like no other, stumbling into the unknown. Even the format seems urgent (a four-song EP from an artist with three full-length albums), as though this music has spilt from her, needing to be heard.
Anchored by Sermanni’s sweet, guiding vocals, we’re ushered in by the title track: a soothing and airy ode to surrendering; a firm but reassuring letter to herself. At the dark heart of the EP is Travelled, a jazz-folk lament through which Sermanni begins to let go of past freedoms, accepting the new path her life is taking. And going full circle, the closing track has the dream-like quality of a U.F.O.F.-era Big Thief song, where Sermanni simply proclaims ‘Let go, let go.’
Listen to: Swallow Me, Brighton House