Heddy Edwards’ debut EP, The Other Side of hell is a heaven so delicate, arrives as a breathtaking, shimmering declaration of not just musical identity, but an emotional one too. Walking with you through the ups and downs of grief, gratitude, and self-understanding, it’s unhesitating in creating a poetic world of its own that’s vivid, intense, and captivatingly bright.
The EP opens with Black tunnel, setting the mood for the journey Edwards is about to take us on with a songwriting clarity that cuts through the hazy, dreamy atmosphere that the production creates. Delivered with confidence, the vocals shimmer and soar, weaving around every element with a playfulness that acts as a catalyst for emotional release – a juxtaposition that only makes you want to lean forward and listen more. From here, the track flows into The other side of town: a song that’s a little mysterious, haunting, and one that utilises restraint and subtlety to create a space that invites you to occupy it, to sit with the feelings it evokes and try to understand them. As it expands into something that seems to take up more space than it should be able to, we move to Cinematic vision, the EP’s centrepiece. This isn’t a simple song that tells you how to feel: it encompasses the nuances of simultaneously feeling pain that’s too vast to name, and appreciation for the more simple, mundane things in daily life.
Fever, can believe it brings all these complex, huge feelings together for a moment of sheer exhilaration and reflection. Filled with synths that explode over Edward’s stellar vocal performance, the track is a release, a catharsis that knows what it’s doing. The Other Side of hell is a heaven so delicate comes to a close with Dreamcast, a song that ackolwedges acknowledges the emotional journey the EP wants to convey – we started with frustration simmering beneath a surface of deceptively calm waters, moved on to a euphoric release, and now, Edwards guides us slowly back to reality with one final push towards a message of persistence and determination, even in the face of difficulties.
With this EP, Heddy Edwards has established herself with fearlessness, confidence, and ambition; if this is her debut, I can’t wait to see what she puts out next. Listen to The Other Side of hell is a heaven so delicate here!