Austrian-born, Lisbon residing Verena Bachinger, who records as Cafe Ena, returns with her second EP “Locked Spaces” and its lead single “Make Room.”
Western-tinged sepia groove
“A variety of textures and styles – an immediately arresting and ultimately rewarding offering”
Bachinger, who began her musical studies several years ago in Jerusalem, brings together a variety of textures and styles to this immediately arresting and ultimately rewarding offering. The results are a smoky and atmospheric mid-tempo number that catches the listener’s attention both with its western-tinged sepia groove, its pop sensibility, and, most importantly, the warm, wise-beyond-her-years vocals, which at times recall the late great British singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl.
Smoky and atmospheric
“So I, sit tight, every night with the same old dreams and you…” “Make Room” opens with a cowboy laced guitar, a shuffling beat and shimmering electronic production which bring to mind wide open western spaces and a night blanketed by the moon and stars. The song keeps its effortless groove throughout, as it references the moon, the stars, and the light that “can only be inside of me”.
An appealing and velvety production
The song’s somewhat melancholy undertones hint at an as yet unresolved inward search as she asks “will I crumble into pieces, without ever finding peace.” However, she concludes the song in an uplifting tone as she summarizes with the song’s title “make room to feel love.” The feeling of being lost comes together with a feeling of warmth and hope, once again blanketed by the song’s appealing and velvety production.
Cafe Ena’s “Make Room,” as well as the accompanying EP “No Word Unsaid,” make for a very pleasant, atmospheric and rewarding listening experience, due to the song’s themes of searching and longing, but most importantly, to the appealing production and Bachinger’s lovely, comforting vocals.
A winner that hints at the possibility of more good things yet to come from this interesting artist.
