EP Review: gannnet - Greenhouse

Sheffield-born Gannnet, aka Molly Clark, mixes stark political messages with classically simple vocals in her new EP, Greenhouse.

We begin with ‘Life in the Greenhouse’ and straight away we hear Gannnet’s distinctively soft voice. It gives us Jessie Ware vibes straight away. It seems an odd choice to begin an EP with a song so unlike the rest of her music, but it is definitely her most experimental track and hats off to her for launching in with something a bit different. As evident from the title of this track, environmental issues are at the heart of the key messages of her music.

While you may think the next song, ‘Use Me Once’, is a song about lost love and rebuilding, it becomes clear there are bigger, more global issues to be explored. It starts with the words ‘use me once, and throw me away/ watch all the bottles drift into the bay.’ Her talent, in this track, shines through more than it did in ‘Life in the Greenhouse’; it’s a stripped-back song with just Gannnet’s understated voice and a tinkle of a keyboard, nothing more.

Next comes ‘Nine Daughters’. Her voice starts low, and reaches a crescendo at the end of the intro. This is the most upbeat track of the EP and gives off definite vibes of summer. There is a little spoken-word sprinkled in midway through this one, making sure we don’t forget why she is here - to give off a stark message about environmental destruction.

The final offering is Treesong, which again includes more spoken word and environmental messages. ‘The forest works with me not against me… the human hand could unbalance its life’. With not much more than an acoustic guitar, this is the most overtly outspoken of the four songs. The stark, urgent message is juxtaposed by Gannnet’s sweet voice. She’s like Northern England’s musical Greta Thunberg. At about the 2:30min point, ‘Treesong’ really comes into its own. A gorgeous song that just begs to be sung around a campfire.

The short EP from this South Yorkshire girl is different to her debut track, Vancouver. Gannet knows what she wants to say, and she goes ahead and says it, in a simplistic, understated way.

Words: Bethany Lodge