Steph Macpherson - Cowards (2019)

Local alternative/folk singer/songwriter Steph Macpherson has come out of a four-year-long silence (her last album was 2015’s Stones) with her new EP, Cowards.

It starts off with one of her best songs ever, “Wasted,” which is fiercely honest lyrically—it’s surprising, soothing, and empathetic. It’s clear that Macpherson has been down a long, dark road in making this EP, and she has valuable things to say to the world about it.

“Wasted” is a perfect opener to Cowards; pain is never a waste, but it sure can feel like it, and this song takes the experience full circle, proving that the only waste would be not listening to it. The ballad “Bad Fit” is wrenching, and Macpherson’s soft voice hits harder than ever here. “Treading Water” is an eerie finish to the EP—it’s real, true, and transparent. Macpherson does what she does best in this song: she makes sense of confusion and injustice in breathtaking fashion that leaves listeners wanting to hear more.