Tina Boonstra – City of Doubt EP 
Release Date: Out Now
I’ve been banging on about Tina
Boonstra for quite some time now so I’m hoping you’ve got the message and
checked out her music already but if you’re yet to discover her then now is
your chance. Boonstra’s six track EP, ‘City of Doubt’, opens with ‘Out of my
Depth’ which has a tight little snare beat and dirty bass line setting up the
perfect platform for that sweet, pure and direct vocal to take charge. It’s an
arresting and engaging start that the likes of Sia or Regina Spektor would be more
than happy to have on their next album. ‘What is the Rush?’ comes next and is a
slightly more introspective affair but Boonstra’s voice still rings through as
clear as a bell as the sparse instrumentation soothes and comforts.
The EP’s title track, ‘City of
Doubt’, has a tightly strung little guitar riff full of pent up energy that
comes bursting out in the chorus which has a joyous 80s indie-pop vibe with the
phattest, squelchiest synth sound this side of LadyHawke. ‘More Than Your Head’
shows off a side to Boonstra’s songwriting which reminds me of early Kate Nash
while ‘I Love You Like Sunshine in Bangor’ has a darker tone and introspective
rawness to it that puts me in mind of Zoe Johnston’s work. The EP closes out
with the superb recent single ‘Talk It Over’, an ode to being a good made,
which should having you dancing around your lounge/kitchen/bunker with dopamine
rushing through your body and a sense of relief washing over you. Tina Boonstra
is that rare thing of being an excellent and diverse songwriter whilst also
having the talent to perform those songs to the best of their potential. You
can’t retrain that, Rishi Sunak, it’s natural and innate.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/tinaboonstra