Cara Ludlow – Hyperion
Ty Cerdd Records – Out Now
Hyperion is the latest EP from Welsh singer-songwriter Cara Ludlow. The title song and opening track immediately capture your attention with its fingerstyle acoustic guitar and haunting strings; its calming mood was enough to have me absorbed right from the off. There is a sombre tone to this track, and despite the pessimism generated by the lyrics, it still manages to emanate a very beautiful feel. The lines are strong and memorable: ‘Oh sister, I am locked beneath an ocean of my own defeat’; they emphasise her poetic wisdom. The foreboding imagery that the song conjures may be due to the fact that the EP was a lockdown project. The closing lyrics of the song are a repeat of the opening lyrics, which feel like a natural end, rather than one which is contrived. There is a live version on YouTube that is very faithful to the studio recording, and it was interesting to watch Cara perform this song with such great sincerity.
As the EP moves into its second track, ‘Blue’, a personal highlight for me, there is already a feeling of familiarity with this EP, and I love the guitar style. It has a somewhat more optimistic sound which contrasts nicely with Hyperion. The song appears to be about moving out of a doomed relationship, and the thought-provoking lyrics touch on the intense feelings of love and guilt. The lyrics ‘Blue – the colour of leaving you’ are repeated throughout the song, a nice touch that enables the listener to settle easily into the song’s structure.
The EP closer Back to Berlin is another great listen and the chord progression is really engaging. My only wish is that – as much as I love the combination of the guitar style and strings, maybe a piano or a tempo change may have benefitted both the song and the EP with more variety. However, as a song, it is brilliantly written and for a three-track EP, there is so much to be fond of here – it’s lyrically rich and engaging and I am so glad I listened to it. When I finished writing this review, I put it straight back on again!
Hyperion (Live):
More here: https://www.tycerdd.org/hyperion