EP Review: Now Rising, Now Falling

Some EPs feel like a collection of songs. Evie Bamford’s feels like a conversation that happened over three years…

Now Rising, Now Falling opens with the soft vibrations of an electric guitar before a full band slowly fills the sound space and Evie Bamford’s warm, jazz-tinged vocals give us our first glimpse of Through The Day. A collection of songs written over the last three years, it is a strong opening statement and a confident way to start a debut EP.

The emotions running through the song feel genuine. Not overcooked, not forced, just observations of everyday life and trying to find your place in it. That theme follows through much of the EP. Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Evie Bamford has been releasing music steadily since late 2025, building an audience through Spotify, YouTube and Bandcamp. The steadily growing listener numbers suggest people are connecting with what she is doing.

There is a good reason these songs feel different from much of the indie music coming out now. Bamford’s background in jazz and classical music is never far away. Influences such as Alice Phoebe Lou, Faye Webster, Andy Shauf and Ullah have all been mentioned in other interviews, but there is still something distinctly her own here. Bold arrangements, unusual harmonies and a willingness to bring instruments such as clarinet, trumpet and cello into the mix create a sound that feels far bigger than what you might expect from a young independent artist.

The title Now Rising, Now Falling fits the concept perfectly. The songs explore anxiety, relationships, self-worth and all the uncertainty that comes with finding your footing in your mid-twenties. That might sound heavy on paper, but surprisingly little of the EP feels sad. Instead, it feels energised. Like someone looking back at difficult moments while already being halfway through the process of moving on.

The second song, Company is fast-paced, almost swinging, and her voice clearly sounds full of energy. Again, the use of many instruments fills the sound space and is a treat for your sound system. One thing that stood out while listening to the EP is how much trust Bamford places in the musicians around her. She produced and engineered much of the project herself while also working alongside Ally Doe, Tom Broome and Josh Llewellyn. The result never feels like a solo artist trying to do everything alone. James MacEwan’s background vocals and trumpet add to the EP, while Gemma Henderson’s cello brings warmth and depth to a few songs. Rory Johns, Hugo Butler and Jeremy Richardson provide the foundation that allows the songs to breathe without ever losing momentum. The whole record feels like a band effort, rather than a collection of individual performances. There is also a nice balance between traditional and modern sounds. Clarinet, trumpet and cello are not instruments you hear every day in indie rock, but nothing feels dated. The arrangements add character without turning the EP into a history lesson.

Money Bag continues the journey with lyrics grounded in real life and again those jazz influences find their way to the front through the trumpet work. But before anyone starts imagining a jazz bar with six people quietly sipping wine in the corner, that’s not where this record lives. There is a lot of movement and energy in the songs. They stay accessible, melodic and easy to connect with, making them just as comfortable at a backyard gathering as they would be on a festival stage.

Daily Bread pulls the speed down a bit. The live version on YouTube recorded at Bilbo’s Clubhouse in July 2026, is a good watch and showing how a live set will carry these songs. With the 2026/27 summer on the horizon, she starts early with a small EP release tour to show these songs. 9 September in Wellington, 13 September in Auckland, and 3 October in Raglan.

The EP also gives listeners more than the already released singles. Make Me Feel Better is perhaps the most emotionally affecting song on the record. Opening with guitar and piano supporting Evie’s vocal, it gradually expands as the band joins in. The arrangement grows naturally without ever losing the intimacy established in its opening moments. It is a good example of one of the EP’s biggest strengths. No matter how large the arrangements become, the songs themselves remain the focus.

Calling this indie rock feels accurate, but only up to a point. There are flashes of jazz, moments that hint at chamber-pop and plenty of folk-inspired songwriting woven throughout. Somehow it all hangs together. The success of the singles leading into this release suggests audiences were already paying attention. Daily Bread spent two weeks at number one on the RadioScope Alternative Airplay Chart, while also reaching the top of the 95bFM and RDU Te Ahi charts before making its way onto the Official Aotearoa Music Charts Hot 20. Those achievements feel earned rather than manufactured.

One of the strengths of Now Rising, Now Falling is the order of the songs. The six tracks feel like they belong together rather than being a collection of singles put into the same folder and released on the same day. The shifts in tempo between songs give the listener room to breathe. Just when things are building momentum, Evie pulls it back and lets the lyrics do the work before opening the sound up again. In an age where playlists often matter more than albums, this still feels like a release that is best listened to from start to finish and in a way is already sounds like a full album.

The EP comes full circle with Your Girl. Nearly six minutes of letting us feel the story, giving all the instruments nice solos while the voice connects it all. We are all lucky to have the humans around us that support, guide us or just be there in our lives. It’s a nice reflection to close the EP, or put it on repeat, as the last line echoes the start of the first song.

This EP feels like a snapshot of where Evie Bamford is right now. Not the finished product, not the destination, but an artist finding her voice and becoming increasingly confident in using it. Six songs, six stories, and not a wasted minute between them. If anything, Now Rising, Now Falling leaves you with one problem. Six tracks are not enough. It finishes just as it feels like it is really getting started, and that leaves me hungry to hear what comes next.