Hattie Briggs - Hide

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 18 / 7 / 2017

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Review

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with Gloucester singer-songwriter Hattie Briggs this year. At the beginning of 2017 Hattie announced, after releasing two excellent critically-acclaimed albums and a handful of singles/EPs, that she planned to issue a limited edition EP in each month of the year. By the time this piece beams from your screen June’s instalment, ‘The Trio Sessions’, will have been released. June’s release is more of an album than an EP as Hattie, along with Jasmine Scott Neale and Matt Park, revisit a selection of Hattie’s back catalogue and re-record the tracks live. But it’s the May issue that is the latest to come this way and the EP, entitled ‘Hide’, features four new original songs from Hattie plus a live version of one of the tracks, ‘Just Breathe’. Hattie Briggs didn’t arrive on the music scene showing promise; she appeared as an accomplished musician and songwriter from the very first time we heard her. The maturity shown in Hattie’s first release, the ‘My Shepherd’s Hut’ EP, belied her young years; here was a young woman who had it all musically, an ear for attractive, addictive melodies, lyrics that were easy to relate to, and a talented multi-instrumentalist to boot, a fact that often gets overlooked because of Hattie’s vocal skills. It matters not if Hattie’s songs are wrapped thoughtfully in one of Peter Waterman’s productions where she is backed by a full band and choir or if she is singing accompanied only by her own piano or acoustic guitar, as that voice is going to get you. This listener has never been in a room alone with Hattie Briggs but every time her voice rings out she’s there in the corner of the room singing just for me. Maybe it’s her story/songs that make you leave the world you are in for the duration and allow her to take you on her journey but maybe, just maybe, it’s down to that voice, a voice that could only emanate from England. Crystal clear and confident, this thing of beauty recalls all your favourite folk singers from the golden age of folk while strangely still sounding fresh and contemporary. ‘Red And Gold’, Hattie’s debut album, confirmed that here was an exceptional artist, and by the time her second album ‘Young Runaway’ appeared in 2016 it was obvious that she was an artist that, although finding her voice and sound from that very first EP, was not afraid to experiment a little with her music while not losing sight totally of her folk roots. The new songs on ‘Hide’ show once more that Hattie, although still only in her mid-twenties, is writing songs with more grace and insight than some who started making music decades before she was even born. ‘All You Wanted’, one of the tracks on ‘Hide’, displays all that makes Hattie Briggs such a remarkable talent. One of her longest songs at just over six minutes, not a second is wasted. Her voice immediately pulls the listener into the song. It’s so pure yet so powerful it just gets inside you. Peter Waterman once again proves that he’s the perfect producer for Hattie’s music. The shifts in shade and light, a remarkable vocal performance from Hattie and the input from the young, talented musicians that Hattie selects to bring her music to life is, as always, faultless. It all makes for a breathtaking experience. In contrast the title track, ‘Hide’ is just piano and that voice. It’s an intimate performance of the type that Hattie seems to have trademarked; it’s a real shivers down the spine performance. ‘Just Breathe’ is featured twice; one a band version and the other just Hattie and her piano. The former wouldn’t have sounded out of place on ‘Young Runaway’. Although Hattie appeared wise beyond her years lyrically since she first released her music, her words still make the listener catch their breath; such talent in one still so young. While the band version is undoubtedly more instantly appealing and Waterman has applied his usual skills there is something hauntingly beautiful about the stripped-back live version that in some ways makes it an even more powerful performance. ‘Never Been in Love Before’ is the song that’s been attracting the most attention due to a live video of the song; that performance says more than any words can why you need this voice in your life and that song on your shelf. The ‘Hide’ EP is, more so than any of the other EPs released in Hattie’s '12 Months Of Madness' project, an extension of the work she started on the ‘Young Runaway’ album and, therefore, maybe has the edge over the previous four EPs so far released this year. But any song featuring Hattie’s voice especially when combined with her own lyrics really deserves your time and attention.

Track Listing:-

1 Never Been in Love Before
2 Just Breathe
3 Hide
4 All You Wanted
5 Just Breathe (Live from Number 42)

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hattie-
http://www.hattiebriggs.co.uk/
http://www.hattiebriggs.co.uk/current-
https://soundcloud.com/hattiepb
https://twitter.com/hattiebriggs
http://www.hattiebriggs.co.uk/shop

Label Links:-

http://www.hattiebriggs.co.uk/shop