EP Review: Ecota - What We Gonna Do?

Ecota is a Newcastle-based solo artist, creating quirky, melancholy, dream-pop soundscapes from a bedroom studio. Since 2020 they have released four singles, honing an individual-sounding style of alternative music. 'What We Gonna Do?' is their debut EP, boasting four luscious tracks that define the unique sound of this up-and-coming musician.

Originally hailing from Lithuania, Valerija Michailova is the musical all-rounder lending her multitudinous talents to this project, recording and producing every aspect of this EP from her own bedroom. Her distinctive alto combines with arpeggiating guitars and layered synthesisers to create a morose, and yet rich setting for her mournful lyrics.

The first, titular track plants itself with pounding drums, trance-like synths and a dreamy vocal, culminating with a hypnotic guitar solo. It's all over in less than three minutes, setting a theme for short, sweet, dream-pop songs that continues throughout the EP. The second track, 'Sunset', thrums with emotion, the keyboard-driven instrumentation providing a tranquil backing which is juxtaposed by the hot-blooded vocal.

The emotional content of the lyrics is carried through by a powerful, passionate delivery, something which Ecota proves again and again in this EP that she can do effectively.  Track four, 'Forget You', shows a divergence in Ecota's sonic palette as she dabbles with a surprising 90's grunge kick. Although stylistically a little different to the rest of the release, her song writing and vocal style excel alongside the feedback-laced guitar power chords in this rousing finale, and we hope to see her continuing to push the envelope with genre-straddling experiments in her future releases.

Michailova only started this project up in March 2020, meaning all of the music she has created in the last year and a bit has come about under the creative shadow cast by lockdown. Many of the lyrics in this EP bear reference to being shut away in a bedroom, passing time, but it shows real strength of character that Ecota's response to the events of the last year was to continually create. Will Ecota retain the darker elements of the dream-pop style once the external creative constraints of lockdown are lifted, or will the music move to a more upbeat sound? We look forward to hearing more.

Words: Ben Gawne