Though Bhavana Reddy’s new EP, Tangled In Emotions, marks the singer’s debut release, she is no stranger to performance and music, as she is a trained Kuchipudi dancer coming from a prominent dance family. Earlier this year, the artist launched a campaign on Indiegogo to fund the creation of the four-song EP, surpassing her $7,000 goal. For the EP, the artist enlisted a slew of creative team members, including engineer John Would, who recently worked on Fiona Apple’s Grammy-nominated album, The Idler Wheel.
Throughout the disc, Reddy creates more than just songs but stories. Pairing her music with her own poetry, each track delivers an intricate scene with its own ambiance. She strays away from just sticking to the basic structure of a band and incorporates instruments such as a violin, a tabla and a dholak into the songs. The opening track, “She,” begins simply with percussion and bass and has a tango-vibe to it as it progresses. “Smells Like Rain” manages to capture and showcase her powerful vocals, especially as it reaches its finale, with Reddy’s voice echoing behind a chilling violin. The closing track, “Stuck In A Valley,” is based around percussion, but also includes a dark rock vibe into the melody as the song peaks.
Tangled In Emotion successfully blends different influences effortlessly, including traditional Indian music with Western pop, rock and jazz. Reddy’s voice is compelling and beautiful, and the disc accomplishes its job, leaving the listener hungry for more. It will be exciting to see what she creates next if her debut EP foreshadows her musical career.
In A Word: Haunting
