Ebony Lamb (LP)

A captivating work of impressionistic memories, observations and intimate confessions, Ebony Lamb wrote her debut album while coming into prominence as an in-demand portrait photographer within New Zealand's contemporary literature and independent music scenes. The release comes five years after her alt-country band, Eb & Sparrow, amicably parted ways in 2018.

The album was made in collaboration with two of New Zealand's most celebrated modern musicians, Bic Runga and Kody Nielson (Opossom, Silicon, UMO), along with her long-time musical collaborator, Gram Antler.

Recorded on vintage analog studio gear and mastered to tape, the album finds Runga and Nielson placing Ebony's distinct, fragile-but-firm voice within a cinematic confluence of jazz, folk, psychedelia, alt-country and ambient pop.

Written over the last five years while coming to terms with the realities of a changing world, themes of gratitude, loss, acceptance and aspiration run through the album like a river, especially in the nocturnal groove of 'My Daughter My Sister My Son' and 'Brother Get Me Home'.

From the album's opening notes, Ebony expresses herself in non-judgmental terms, singing with a raw tenderness that draws listeners into her reflections on friendship ('Drive Me Around'), the complexity and contradictions of success ('Successful Feelings'), and connections in seemingly hopeless moments ('Come, Put A Record On'). Yet while her songs can feel like she's sitting just across from you, Runga and Nielson's production imbues them with an expansive sensibility. Spare, vivid and moving, EBONY LAMB is an album that captures a defining artistic leap from a talented artist coming into her own. Singing to herself and the listener, she implores us to continue reaching forward without losing sight of what we have and the elements of our lives that truly matter.