Lin McEwan: Press

This three song set starts with a simple piano and voice creation of regret. In ‘Rest Of Me’ strength and passion and determination do not save the singer, from the fragile realisation that something is missing. It is a beautifully honest song that never succumbs to self pity or even anger. So even in the sadness, this self-knowledge brings hope.
We move on to ‘Feel’ powerful and warm, strings and drums building on keyboards, a total pop classic in the making.
Finally we have the title track which raises the soulful ghosts of Billy Joel and Carol King recordings and introduces a swagger that charms and hints at earthier things to come.

Baltimore native Lin McEwan is a wonderful find for the blog and deserves to be subject of this weeks Ruby Tuesday feature. I have just had the tough task of picking the two tracks for sampling purposes because all 11 tracks from her 2006 self titles debut are strong. The album includes the radio friendly opener "White Roses" and an interesting cover of the Randy Newman classic "You can leave your hat on". Lin has a distinct voice that is a joy to listen to. The songs on the album are catchy, wonderful melodies with great lyrics. When mixed with Lin's distinct voice the album is a great piece of art that needs to be discovered by all.

Possessing an incredibly smoky and soulful voice, McEwan makes mature, bluesy rock music. Her strikingly deep voice lends a classy sensuality to her songs....
McEwan is a remarkable singer and her band are more than capable.

Lin is a beautiful lady who is also gifted with a sultry, bluesy voice. [The opening tracks are] strong and smoothly sung..., [but] the tracks she wrote stood out to me the most. [Those include] “Unexpected” and “Alias” – this particular track having an almost haunting feel to it, soulfully sung & well written, suiting Lin’s bluesy vocals and being one of my personal favourites on the album, along with “You Didn’t Love Me Back”, also written by Lin, which is a track about unrequited love, sung with subtle drum & guitar accompaniment leading us onto the lively number called “Hope You Had Your Fun” which ends the CD. [The] band compliments Lin’s consistently strong, individual vocals.

“[Lin McEwan] looks the part of usual pop princess… and then she sings. And what you hear is not the typically adenoidal voice of today's pop minions, but a full colorful voice more reminiscent of Cassandra Wilson than Jessica Simpson. Full of vibrato and dark alto coloring, Lin McEwan may be one of the most unique and enjoyable voices in pop music at the moment.

The EP opens with Rest Of Me, an ode to the pieces of us that get lost on the road to whom we become. The song is incredible, and… I suspect it would outsell many of its contemporaries with the right push. ‘Feel’… shows off the vermillion colors of Lin McEwan's voice. The EP closes with Now I Know, a jazzy little number that really underscore the comparison to Cassandra Wilson.

The Now I Know [EP] is an excellent introduction to Lin McEwan. I would say that Lin McEwan's voice is as iconic as she herself may someday be.”

"Surfing through myspace, I've found lots of artists unsigned to any label. In some cases, it's obvious why; in others, it's incomprehensible. The latter applies to young singer/songwriter, Lin McEwan. She overwhelmed me... with her incredible blues voice.

"[Her] fine debut deserves international response. Throughout the album, she demonstrates a skillful mastery of her deep, dark voice. She has the dynamic soul of a rocker... but the maturity and subtlety to build tension in her softer material. Lin knows that she doesn't need to oversing to get your attention; she claims it naturally. So it seems she already knows what many big stars... have yet to learn."

“I love Lin Mcewan’s deep voice, [and her] great funky bluesy version of ‘Leave Your Hat On.’ I’m not a great lover of cover versions, but… her voice was made for this song. ‘Alias’ is fantastic; I think this could be a future classic....Great album. Love it.”

"Looking for a more bluesy type of music, something that will reach down deep into your soul and pull at your heart. A woman whose voice sounds very raspy and yet still incredibly effeminate? Well, we've found her."

Lin McEwan's new album, "Lin McEwan" is a self portrait of the style and grace this new and upcoming soul rocker paints in song. I'm finding the "You Can Leave Your Hat" track shows the peak of her energy and smooth delivery that lures listeners deeper.

A brilliant song (Rest of Me). Lin has a haunting, melodic old/new school voice that has an exceptional timbre.

Listening to Lin McEwan’s album is like diving head first into a mug of frothy, streaming hot chocolate, rich in texture, aroma and taste. Her voice is sultry, husky, deep, soulful and very sensual reminding me of crushed black velvet. This is an album of pure indulgence like gorging on a box of your favourite chocolates. Lin’s voice melts even the hardest of hearts. With a voice reminiscent of Cher or Alison Moyet Lin successfully combines pop/rock with blues and occasionally along the way drops in a dash of jazz for good measure. This is an exciting album that stands out from the usual crowd of female singer/songwriter albums. This is an album of pure class, which offers something a little bit different and perhaps unexpected.

White Roses kicks off the album wonderfully and showcases Lin’s voice quite beautifully. A striking track that illustrates that this is going to be a truly individual and interesting album. This is a rousing track with heavy instrumental backing and a catchy chorus. This track would make a fantastic single or opener for any show; it has all the elements to be a big hit – great lyrics, a lively tune, a powerful chorus and Lin’s husky voice.

You Can Leave Your Hat On, written by Randy Newman and perhaps most recently known for the popular film The Full Monty (sung by Tom Jones) is given a blues make over on Lin’s debut album. Lin’s magical voice gives this old song an added dimension and allows Lin to make the song hers completely. Often when a singer covers an old or well known song they are unable to put their own mark on it but Lin is an exception to that rule. This song takes on a life of its own when put in Lin’s most capable hands. The song appears fresh and has a certain buzz about it. It is as if you as a listener are hearing the song for the very first time and what you are hearing is quite simply brilliant, there is no other word to describe it!

Excuses is a wonderful stand out track on the album and has a jazz vibe about it. Written by Sara Lynn Beck this track features some great lyrics that really make you stop and think. This is quite a lively track with heavy backing once again.

Ships Crashing sees a change in tempo; this is a much slower track with strong vocals from Lin. ‘Me and you were two ships crashing in the night’ is a poignant lyric that stands out in this song. This is a song packed full of raw emotion. Lin’s deep husky voice allows the emotion of the song to run free. As a listener you can really feel the emotion oozing from the lyrics of this song.

Over shifts the tempo back up a notch and again has hints of jazz mixed with pop and blues. Like the previous song - Ships Crashing, this song was written by Noam Weinstein.

Can’t Get Near You was co-written by Lin McEwan and Josh Dodes. This song follows a similar style to the opening track of the album and has a catchy chorus and heavy backing. I love the line ‘I can’t get near to you, I am just a face in your rear view’ – a great lyric!

I Could Lie To You is a duet featuring John Rochette and was written by Noam Weinstien. This song is beautiful, soulful and absolutely delightful. A delicate song, like a freshly cut flower. This has to be the stand out track of the album; it is worth purchasing a copy of the album just for this track it is that good. Lin’s voice is gentle and raw, oozing once again with pure unadulterated emotion. The voices of John and Lin work wonderfully together, blending together like some exotic wine. The music here is toned down and the vocals are stripped bare. John’s voice is light whilst Lin’s is deep and full of tenderness and affection. Passion pours from Lin’s voice. This song is so outstanding and so fragile it could easily have the listener in tears. This song most definitely touches a special place in the listener’s heart. It is like listening to two angels when Lin and John sing.

Unexpected was written solely by Lin and is another song that has a strong blues feel about it. Again here the music is toned down so that Lin’s voice is able to shine through. I am reminded here of the singer Sam Brown and her smash hit song – Stop.

Alias is a truly brilliant song written again by Lin. This shows Lin’s vocal talents off brilliantly. A striking chorus packed full of powerful lyrics really makes the listener stop and think. Lin takes centre stage in this song, with the music taking a back seat.

You Didn’t Love Me Back is the penultimate song on the album and shows a softer side to Lin once again. This is a haunting song with soft music and a powerful chorus line. As the song progresses the tempo of the song rises and Lin belts out the final verse of the song before returning to more haunting, gentle vocals. ‘I loved you but you didn’t love me back’ – I am sure many listeners will relate whole heartedly with those words.

All too soon the final track of the album emerges. Hope You Had Your Fun is another rousing blues influenced pop number with heavy backing. This song is a fitting song on which to end a tremendous album – it is lively and has a catchy chorus very much like the opening track.

Lin McEwan’s debut offering is truly fantastic there is no other word to describe it. It is one of those albums you could listen to over and over again and not get bored of it. Lin offers a fresh look at an old favourite, shows off her blues infused vocals and belts out a true rock power ballad. Her voice is deep and husky yet stripped bare on tracks like I Could Lie To You it is sensual, tender and haunting. If you like female vocalists with a bit of gumption then this is the album for you. This is one album that certainly stands out from the crowd and offers listeners a change from the usual hum drum of boring sound alike female singers.