For Evelyn by Hannah Georgas is emotional journey from start to finish
It’s a big week for Hannah Georgas. On Friday the Canadian pop artist officially releases her third, very personal studio album called For Evelyn. To shorten the wait a little, she already gives her fans the opportunity so stream the record online. The album is named after Georgas’ 98 years old grandmother, who inspires her in life and to write this record more specifically. This is not the only family affair that is touched upon on the album that also deals with Georgas’ recent heavy break up. These little insights in the emotional world of Hannah Georgas are put to music in a thrilling electronic pop ride, sometimes swinging sometimes slow, sometimes hopeful sometimes sad.

Georgas, who released two albums before which were lauded by critics in her home country, opened the campaign for this album with the stunning single ‘Don’t Go’, dealing with the fear of losing her mother after she had to spend a long time away from home. The thunderous synths and haunting but catchy chorus make for one of the absolute highlights of the record. On album opener ‘Rideback’, Hannah wakes up in the middle of the night worrying about some big questions in life: “Oh my god who the hell am I? My whole life is gonna pass me by”, she sings with fear in her voice. She wonders if she already passed the good years in her life and if everything from now on will be a ‘rideback’ to the end, put into music with a slow, but compelling soundscape full of synths and horns.

Things become a bit more hopeful on the uptempo electronic pop number ‘Evelyn’. The verses sound dark and moody, but the chorus is like a first ray of sunlight when she sings: “I’m not afraid anymore!” The uptempo vibe continues on the funky, with 80s sounding synths decorated, ‘Waste’ where she realizes she is ‘never gonna do right, in your eyes’. We have to hand it to Graham Walsh, the producer of the record, who convincingly created the right sonic landscape to go with Georgas’ compositions. Although every single song has its own little vibe going on, it all fits together seamlessly as a complete body of work. We go from dreamy on ‘Naked Beaches’, to being homesick on ‘City’ and from rebellious yet laidback on ‘Crazy Shit’ to downright emotional on ‘Angel All The Time’.

‘Walls’, however, might be the most impressive song on the whole record. It starts out quiet with piano and Hannah’s emotive vocals, but builds up to a huge climax that might bring some goosebumps here and there. “I built these walls, built them so high, so you could leave me”, Hannah concludes at the end of the song. For Evelyn is an emotional journey from start to finish, that explores a broad spectrum of sounds within electronic pop. A thrill to listen to.

Must listen: Don’t Go, Evelyn, Walls, Crazy Shit, Rideback

The album will be out on the 24th, but can already be streamed on Consequence of Sound.