Ewy
Ewy is a non-binary Queer Folk-Punk musician from North Yorkshire. Their work focuses on mental health, politics and love. Their influences range from punk mainstays like PUP and Jeff Rosenstock to midwest-emo groups like The Front Bottoms and American Baseball with their music often taking the form of shorter acoustic tracks with occasional streaks of low-fi production. Their midwest-emo influences can be seen in their vocals which tend to be arpeggiated, adding an emotional weight to their already heavy lyrics as well as ensuring their style remains distinctive. The heart of their music is a beautiful and often ethereal folk styling that gives their songs an almost haunting quality especially given the often heavy subject matters of their work.
It is fair to say that Ewy’s music trends towards the melancholy, but this is one of the reasons I find them so captivating. In keeping with their punk influences they provide welcome commentary on the glut of issues in the UK today. Furthermore they provide more personal insight into the concerns of a young queer person, issues of dysphoria and discontent are rife in their lyrics providing a beautiful insight into their anxieties. All this being said, it shouldn't distract from the fact that their songs can also have a more upbeat and clever side, an aspect of their work that I hope they explore more in their future releases. Ewy released two beautiful singles at the end of 2022 and I’m incredibly excited to see what they have in store this year.
Since their first release in 2019 Ewy has accumulated an impressive array of singles, EP’s and short albums. As well as providing an abundance of listening material these works give great insight into Ewy's growth as an artist. Given the fact that their first album was released when they were only sixteen they’ve improved their work a great deal. This is not to discount their earlier work, their first album ‘Conductors’ has some tremendous songs especially ‘I Wish I Had a Bass Guitar’ which exemplifies their punk influences with an explosive instrumental track and ‘Rant Song, I Guess’ a midwest-emo adjacent tune which deals with self doubt and loneliness. Yet, understandably for a sixteen year olds first release, the album is held back by limited production and feels more like an introduction to their core influences. Their releases since ‘Conductors’ tend to feel more thematically cohesive and instrumentally experimental with standouts being ‘songs i didn’t really want to write’, ‘therapy session’ and ‘Sent I November’. This increasing ambition and cohesion seems to promise that as they release more music they are likely to dip their toes into broader genres for influences, integrating improved production as well as more ambitious themes.
i wish i was the modern day guy fawkes
The state of the British Government sits front and centre in this track, the blatant injustices that exist in modern day Britain and the out of touch leadership that wield police power like a bludgeon whilst ignoring the deprivation of the masses. Given the state of the UK today its not unsurprising that Ewy would want to take on the role of a modern day Guy Fawkes.
The stripped back acoustic instrumentals on this track alongside its railing against a corrupt and unjust government give it the energy of a union song, something reinforced by the backing vocals which add to the song's presence. Similar to many of Ewy’s songs this track is short and sweet, they get their point across with alacrity. This track is the opener to their EP ‘songs i didn’t really want to write’ and is a brilliant way to introduce an EP centred around an encroaching feeling of dread in their public and personal life.
too strong, too weak, never perfect
This track off of Ewy’s album DEAD DOGS takes a look at mental health and self image. As the tracks title suggests this song deals with Ewy’s belief that they are not enough.
The song has Ewy making declarations that they are ‘a god’ or a ‘very special person in [their] hearts’ before a distorted version of their voice undercuts these positive remarks, diminishing their self image. The lyrical whiplash of these affirmations of worth followed by hateful remarks gives the track a borderline manic-depressive feel as Ewy goes from viewing themselves as a god to declaring themselves a fraud in the space of a few lines. The other obvious context for a song such as this is that as a trans youth these lyrics about self-image hold a close connection to feelings of dysphoria, the line ‘you are very comfortable in your skin (Except when you see a mirror)’ sums up their relationship with self image and concerns about how they are perceived. These topics are ones Ewy engages with in a lot of their songs but ‘too strong, too weak, never perfect’ feels like one of their most heartfelt attempts to grapple with the matter.
Another theme of this song is how technology has exacerbated these issues, they sing about waking up ‘tired and angry, cause someone from another country just got shot’, this sentiment alongside the crisis of self-image Ewy describes across the rest of the album is a reminder that a generation of young adults are growing up in the shadow of social media. As a consequence they are endlessly exposed to the world's issues whilst having ingrained within them unattainable image goals that exacerbate the troubles queer and trans youths face when trying to come to terms with their self-identity.
jewellery and teeth
I hope these recommendations haven't made you think that Ewy only makes sad music about politics and mental health, they also make sad love music, as can be heard in jewellery and teeth. This beautiful track about love and legacy see’s Ewy singing about how when they die all they’ll have to leave behind ‘is jewellery and teeth’ but how that doesn’t really matter as it's what they achieve in the present that will mark their legacy and to dwell on the future is to disregard the now.
It’s a unique, beautiful and macabrely heartwarming sentiment for a song to hold onto but lines like ‘Aren’t you scared nobody will love you? Don’t think about it, cus I’m happy that you’re here right now’ capture how it feels to be with someone whose mere presence diminishes anxieties. This song is an amazing example of Ewy’s songwriting ability, through a unique narrative they wonderfully capture a common, if hard to describe, sentiment about spending time with those you love.
Written By
Dominic Gibson