Bryony Williams has re-released her Growing//Fading EP. Released initially on her Grrrl Groannn label back in 2019, the reissue comes with an accompanying music video for ‘Little Tree’, which features one heck of an inspirational Broccoli. In all my years of music writing I’ve never come across vegetation inspiration before. What’s next? Asparagus with aspiration? Peas with pizzazz? The possibilities are endless.
‘Little Tree’ is a track that tackles the vicious cycle of overthinking. Bolstered with palm-muted guitars and frenetic percussion, it illustrates the chaos that anxiety can inflict on the mind. Its tone shifts as thoughts stemmed from a constant pressure to achieve manifests and shrouds the song in darkness. But while it throws us into the dark, it also serves as a reminder of how temporary those thoughts are. The track seems to gain some space to breathe thanks to the drawn-out guitar chords that soothe the air. Bringing an immediate clarity to things. It sounds great and likens shutting out those negative thoughts to yeeting a Broccoli downhill. What more could you want?
“I didn’t want to be sweet anymore. I wanted to show my hurt and not only through lyrics but through musical nuances. The synth acts as my distress; hoping to blind-sight the listener like I once was.”
After a short interlude of ‘Tell Me’ comes ‘Silhouette’, a song written about the heartache from a first true love, which in turn provided some much-needed closure in the midst of Bryony trying to regain control again. It has an unwinding and almost broody sound. Synthesisers creep into the mix to really throw some shadow into the song which creates an unnerving sound, especially when paired with the melodies. There’s an air of Radiohead in the way it moves, and Bryony’s drawn out vocals only help further extend the uneasiness the hangs in the air.
It makes for great listening and closes what has been a brief but impactful EP in Growing//Fading. Broccoli Williams has brought back a release that definitely warrants renewed focus, and with the added touch of hindsight in the music video puts a certain spin on it that adds even more depth to it. This is a great EP, and here’s hoping for more vegetable-based content from Bryony soon.
Featured image credit: 2324 Photography