“It could be your second listen or your fifteenth listen, ‘overexposed’ is such a fascinating EP that you’ll notice something you haven’t noticed before each time, whether it be in the production, vocals or the lyricism.”
Today we see the release of EP ‘Overexposed’ by twenty year old singer-songwriter Dawn Cadence. Dawn has been releasing music since the age of seventeen, taking inspiration from the likes of Kate Bush and Sade whilst also adding her own musical ambience to her work.
First on ‘Overexposed’, Cadence has presented us with the instrumental melody ‘Slowly (falling apart), mirroring the EP cover with the nature like feel. You can hear birds twittering in the intro, and not long later we hear gorgeous piano notes that dominate the rest of the song. Dawn’s uniquely smooth vocals then introduce themselves on ‘O Foe’, a relaxing track with a brilliant instrumental, that ends with a whispering sequence; one of Cadence’s artistic details she added to ‘Overexposed’.
There’s definitely a strong 80s quality to ‘!Warning Signs!’, the third track of the EP. The tune is the perfect balance between upbeat and tranquil, with reminiscent lyrics like ‘I was left blinded by your embrace’ sang congruently. ‘Slowly (falling asleep)’ contains eminently poetic lyrics like the metaphorical last line ‘my darling, you’re stuck in time’ which gracefully flows into the final instrumental.
“overexposed is a new beginning or a new ‘dawn’ per se,” stated Cadence regarding her EP release, “I wanted my first release after my artist name change to expose sides me that listeners may not have seen or heard before. Some themes explored are very personal but only the tip of the iceberg coming to surface.”
‘Enemies II’ explores even more different sounds, allowing Dawn Cadence to show the versatility in both her production and her vocals. The beat is one you will remember, not to mention the lyrics that many will find relatable, where Dawn takes a popular romance trope and puts a spin on it: ‘that’s what happens when you go from enemies to lovers to enemies’. And then we encounter ‘Soul’, which launches straight into a mellifluous melody that makes the song such a fun listen. We are once again met with cool 80s sounds that give ‘Soul’ a freshness and radiance to it.
You can listen to the EP here: