Singer-writer-songbird Eryn McHugh is poised to breathe life into the sometimes-mundane female-singer-songwriter vein.
The Atlanta native's latest project [a 5-song EP produced by fellow Atlantan Clay Cook] finds her wielding a more mature and subtle vocal styling, and a more organically written, weathered [but-not-yet-jaded] set of songs. This effort is more focused than her last project (a product of Nashville producer Cliff Downs), which was in many ways an exercise in genre-hopping. More concerned with warmth and authenticity than perfection, McHugh writes music that bares the soul with fresh perspective. Creative Loafing [Atlantas alternative rag] has called her a radio-ready chanteuse, and critics have made reference to the heady combination of her velvety voice and sweet face. All in all, the diminutive McHugh is unencumbered by such pretense. A preachers only daughter and oldest of 4 siblings, her songs evoke the hushed and conflicted supplications of a girl in a confessional. Her potent body of work never crosses the line into the profane, but rings true to the universal human conditions of love lost, love unreciprocated, guilty conscience, and almost-love.
"Eryn is the ultimate songstress: her lyrics and music go together like bread
and butter. Vocally she can do anything and communicates her songs to an
audience like the true artist she is."
--Cheryl Rogers, Atlanta-based music producer
