EP Review: Angie McMahon ‘Piano Salt’

Australian songwriter Angie McMahon has released Piano Salt, a stripped-down seven-track extended-play companion piece to her debut album Salt.

The EP opens with ‘Soon’ which highlights the songstress’ songwriting abilities showcasing effortless lyrical talents and instrumentation. The production is stripped-back with a powerful and heavy piano number that is truly impactful.

Next up is, ‘Slow Mover’ which is a cathartic and charismatic track. This stripped back version appears more intimate with genuine sorrow, showing a new side to the song conveying new emotions demonstrated with just her vocals and instrumental.

Following this, ‘Keeping Time’ has poetic flairs dipping into delicate soundscapes that truly bring the song to life without the need of a backing band or instrumentation. It brings the EP nicely along with a sense of freedom flourishing with emotive vocals and heartfelt lyrics.

Accompanying the record with two stunning piano covers of ‘The River’ by Bruce Springsteen, and ‘Born to Die’ by Lana Del Rey that are both fantastic additions.

Next up is a live version of ‘If You Call’ featuring Leif Vollebek combining whistling sweet yet haunting harmonies and rich storytelling over a simple chord progression that will take the listener away for the duration of the song.

Closing out the EP with ‘Pasta’, it truly highlights the artist’s potential wrapping up this incredible body of work.

Created to perfection, it’s an unforgettable listen from beginning to end being. It appears the songstress went back to her roots to discover her love for music all over again with an adaption of instrumentation of a stripped-down version of her debut album, Salt. Each track is charming and honestly written about her life and love. The arrangements throughout the tracking list are full of gentle piano renditions that are just beautiful.

Piano Salt, is her most spectacular and finest work to date. Reimagining her album’s work into stripped back piano pieces, that are utterly compelling and impactful. These wonderfully effortless tracks showcase her skills as a musician with both her songwriting abilities and vocals. It was an excellent opportunity to be creative and re-create tracks from the songstress’ first record, shining them in another light. Created in quarantine during the global pandemic of COVID-19, the creative process found her finding strengths with her love for music.

Words by Danielle Holian