If you’re not familiar with Mickey Guyton you need to familiarise yourself quickly. Her new EP ‘Bridges’ is out today and it’s simply everything we’ve needed this summer and 2020 – heartwarming ballads, songs expertly crafted around the world’s struggles mixed with fun, summery anthems.
Mickey Guyton is one of those rare breeds of artists who offer vocal revelation after revelation, managing to say something profound but not preachy in their music and make it instantly relatable. Her EP ‘Bridges’ out today is a stunning project, full of messages that are necessary in 2020 but balanced with fun, uptempo tracks. The road to this project has been long – Guyton has been signed to Universal for a decade – yet it feels like with this moment and with this project, Guyton’s is a voice that is both wanted and needed.
The project opens with stunning track ‘Heaven Down Here.’ The track is a moving reminder of the emotions that many will have felt this year, as Guyton entreats God to send some Heaven to Earth. ‘Hey God it’s me / We’re really going through it / And I can’t help but wonder are you.’Â The credits on the song alone are enough to make you take note – a tour de force of Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson and Josh Kear and the production is poised, letting this be a rounded introduction to her vocal and her songwriting.
Title track ‘Bridges’ offers an entreaty to build bridges and come together. ‘What if we took these stones we’ve been throwing / What if we laid them down…. and make some common ground.’ It is in the chorus that Guyton’s stunning vocal is allowed to shine and it is a stunning collection of songwriters that can make such a big statement into such a catchy song. With a tinge of gospel at the end, the result is an immensely uplifting and empowering track. As Guyton herself says “I’m trying to speak the truth in love, so people can feel it and move towards it. I don’t have a single answer, I just want to open discussions, so people are thinking about things, are asking questions that move us forward. I want to offer a glimpse of hope, possibility and faith.” This track does exactly that in this flawlessly executed gospel-tinged song.
Â
It is at this point in the EP where Guyton’s heart shines through as she delves into her reflection on the Time’s Up movement in ‘What Are You Gonna Tell Her’ that is one of the most moving tracks I have yet to hear on this movement, as Guyton questions what you will tell a daughter/sister/friend when they realise the world isn’t as perfect as it seems, questioning ‘Do you pretend that the deck’s not stacked?’Â It is paramountly clear that Guyton has really looked inside herself and her own outlook on the world in this record and the emotion is palpable in her voice. It is this ability to translate that emotion and outlook into beautiful and universal melodies that gives Guyton her magic, and the proof is in this song and final track ‘Black Like Me.’ The latter is simply the shining jewel on this EP. Written in response to the Black Lives Movement, a frank and honest portrayal of her experiences as a black woman dealing with racial inequality. It’s devastatingly honest and heartbreaking and is exactly the kind of track that needed to come from a historically white-dominated genre. As Guyton sings ‘now I’m all grown up and nothing has changed, it’s still the same…. If you think we live in the land of the free, you should try to be Black like Me.’Â Guyton’s vocal and raw emotion really shine through and it is one of the most profound, honest and stunning tracks.
Still there is a lightness to this EP that is offered on ‘Rose’ and ‘Salt’ that shows Guyton really can do it all. The former is an anthem if ever it was needed for a girl’s summer drinking rose. There is a 90s country tinge in the tumbling production here that makes it immensely likeable as a track. Karen Kosowski, Guyton’s producer, has done a fantastic job in enabling Guyton’s story to shine through this record, showing her authentic side to the world, moving from sultry track ‘Salt’ seamlessly into ‘Black Like Me.’
Simply put, Guyton’s EP is where country music needs to be in 2020, documenting the real human experience, yet nodding back to its sonic roots and traditional sound and storytelling element you can find on ‘Salt.’ This EP breaks your heart, puts it back together and helps you find peace all in one project.Â
