After showcasing her talents through modelling and acting, Maya Hawke, the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, is ready to show the world her array of talents with her soft country and folk stylised debut album, Blush.
It’s not uncommon that actors turn towards music at some point in their career, just look at every Disney channel star! But it is more unusual when they have an effortlessly soothing and relaxing voice like Maya and unlike popular Netflix show Stranger Things, there’s nothing strange about this record.
Writing each lyric herself, each track obviously holds a special place in Maya’s heart as we get to hear her story for the first time with no performances, costumes or gimmicks; just her beautiful vocals alongside a guitar.
Hold The Sun begins revealing itself as a tale of her committed romance with a lustful guitar part and passionate lyrics: “If I could I would kiss you”. But, as we later find out in this dysfunctional love story, the person she is in love with loves someone else and the intimacy that we experience in this track is just a distant dream.
Despite many of these songs being mellow and thought-provoking, Animal Enough shows a sassier and seductive side to Maya as she shows that no one is good enough to tame her wild side, repeatedly singing “No one is animal enough for me”. The electric guitar and gritty vocals make this song stand out and show both sides to Maya, empowering us to have fun and not settle for anyone who can’t handle you at your best (or in some cases, worst).
Cricket is an interesting track, becoming a reminder of an old nursery rhyme with its simple and catchy melody, obvious rhymes and harmonies sang by children which is a complete 360 turnaround to track Mirth, an incredibly beautiful and vulnerable track about the realisation that you might be a little broken and wanting someone to help you. A sophisticated theme which is used more than once within this album as River Like You is about wanting to fix someone else whilst Bringing Me Down has a main message of not being perfect and finding fault within yourself.
These topics of self-acceptance and romance (whether that be failed or not) are extremely popular in today’s society as everyone finds something to relate to. It is refreshing to understand Maya Hawke through thoughts and life experiences as a real person rather than just a character on a screen. As debut albums go this is a great one to add to your collection.
Score: 4/5
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