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Sprig, the debut EP from Toronto’s Dominique Way is personal and intimate. Her stellar voice and songwriting are enhanced by subtle, warm and surprising production.

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I’m not sure how Dominique Way‘s debut EP Sprig got on my playlist. Earlier this week, late at night, when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed on both a personal and professional level, “How Could I” hit the headphones like a warm blanket, with lyrics that speak to self-doubt. It felt like it was written specifically for me, in that moment. I played it three times in a row:

That song would be near flawless if it was just the guitar and vocal, but the other layers turn it into something even more compelling. The indistinct background noise at the outset, the processing and filtering on the backbeat and backup vocal, the strings and the abrupt ending: on first listen I felt I was missing something, on second I was intrigued, then I was fully hooked. Then I moved on to the rest of Sprig.

Most of the seven songs on the EP follow a similar formula as “How Could I?”: built around piano and vocal, with Way’s songwriting focused on personal anxieties and emotion. The textural elements bring an intimate mood to the songs, such as on “Asphalt”, where room noise and unmic’d vocal give the song the feeling of a rehearsal, before the sound swells with acoustic guitar, harmonies and that killer backbeat. Way’s vocal range is impressive, the chorus and lyrics shine, and the song closes as it began — with some room noise, suggesting that the rehearsal is over.

The song I keep coming back to is “Bodysnatcher” — it’s a gentle, folky song about anxiety and the desire to stay hidden:

I live in the quiet a lot so/everything feels so out of reach
My feet feel a little bit farther/Dangle in place, until I can’t see
I try not to surface at all cause/I’m hiding, in hiding

Something excellent called House of Hearts (watch this space) recently released a live recording of the song “Indifferent”, and it’s haunting and lovely. This performance comes off like someone who’s been doing this a long time. It’s gorgeously arranged, performed and shot:

Dominique is signed to Cult Nation Records, which seems to be having a moment lately with the success of Charlotte Cardin’s Polaris-shortlisted 99 Nights. I’m definitely going to check out their other artists.

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