EP Review: Tender

A beautiful, mellow EP about self-love, a quiet summer, and caring for oneself, Tender is the perfect EP for a reflective stroll in the cold morning air. Em, a singer-songwriter-producer hailing from Tamaki Makaurau, guides you through a sweet self-reflection journey. She knows when to strip back the production to let the mood and lyrics shine through.

While intended for a quiet summer, it’s also a perfect EP for the clear winter mornings experienced before the world turns on. Phases is the perfect opener to this collection of songs; it encapsulates the phases gone through when learning to learn about and love yourself with hauntingly beautiful backing vocals.

These songs were written using guitar loops, and that really shines through during the bridge of the second track The Plan. The vocals and guitar are layered together creating beautiful interwoven melodies, leading into the third track Tender. The title track gives a gentle sound compared to the end of the previous track, and encourages you to “be patient with yourself”. The EP closes with Slowly, a Sufjan Stevens-esque comfort song, insisting that “everything will turn out fine”.

Whether it’s sitting in the morning in your garden, or watching the sunset with a cup of tea, this EP is perfect for a self-reflective solitary moment in the fresh air.