Erin Tobey

When "ordinary person” music goes further than the basement, it poses a problem: a lot of ordinary people with such ambitions get a complex about their ordinariness. The result is often a lacklustre stage persona that not only embarrasses but defeats the purpose. If you have a song to sing, why not just sing it? Erin Tobey does not fool around. She doesn’t try to be anything, she doesn’t lean on any particular genre, she doesn’t even try to convince you she’s unique. She’s just getting some ideas out, and it’s nice to be her audience. Her voice is pure, she enunciates, her guitar lines are crystal clear and consistent. Her songs, were they not good (and they are), would be proof of the existence of other people on this planet who feel things (just like you!) and would like to express that. Minimal production shines a very bright spotlight on her, and she never once falters beneath it. Though not a bedroom recording, it has the same intimate, soft-hearted aesthetic, making the record seem like a collection of folk standards for sensitive youngsters. Without histrionics or hyper-authorship, she makes cleverly composed song templates and leaves her own faint stamp by way of her lyrics (think girl dreamer) and her straight coo. Tobey could be the next Mirah if she wanted to extend her sound, or she could continue to cultivate and produce folk art pieces for anyone’s contemplation — either way, she’ll be doing something right.