Maya Law returns from a brief hiatus with her new Hitchhiking EP. The six-track record is filled with tender and stripped-back songs detailing her experiences following a break-up. Exploring themes of loneliness, pain and acceptance, Law has created a record that is both poignant and healing. Expertly moulding difficult moments into musical gold, Law’s authentic approach is refreshingly transparent and relatable. She carves her own brand of music by borrowing elements from jazz, soul and R’n’B, adding her trademark husky vocals, earning her the attention of Huw Stephens, Jamie Cullen and Tom Robinson.
Hitchhiking opens with the short but sweet ‘Slumber’, a genteel and hazy song which softly envelops the audience into Maya’s emotions. Surrounding her listeners with her vivid storytelling, her sadness is tangible as she details struggles with getting out of bed and losing her appetite after a recent heartbreak. Sorrowful, swaying instrumentals swim under Maya’s ethereal vocals, compelling the audience to follow her journey further.
Stand out track ‘Say It Ain’t So’ is tender and opens with strumming guitars and Law’s angelic singing. Heavenly chimes echo under her gorgeous harmonising, this is another truly heartbreaking tune as she laments “if it ain’t love it won’t last”. ‘Say It Ain’t So’ gradually builds, the emotion in Law’s voice giving hints of bitterness, teasing the journey of emotions to come in the rest of the EP.
Through her comprehensive analysis of emotions in Hitchhiking, Maya offers solace to her audience and a sense that they are not alone in their experiences. The song ‘Absence’, offers a new side to Maya, switching from melancholia to almost sourness as she passionately and boldly addresses her ex. The track is a live recording, adding to the rawness of the atmosphere created and adding an extra level of bittersweetness to her music. Maya’s use of differing production sounds, formats and song lengths propels the EP forwards, keeping the audience’s interest piqued as Hitchhiking progresses.
Law collaborates with Jazz singer Freya Roy and producer Lavar Bullard in the reflective ‘Tired’. The fuller textures on this song give the listener a richer taste of the vivid vignettes that Maya creates through her lyrics. Bringing to mind a smokey room, ‘Tired’ features a captivating guitar solo and lulling percussion, reflecting the exhaustion felt during and after a toxic or failing relationship. The dreamy acoustics prevalent in Law’s music act like a soothing balm, healing wounds through her open lyrics and lullaby qualities.
Rounding off Hitchhiking with sensations of hope, Law finishes her EP with the empowering lyric “you know that I will be always be rising”—leaving listeners with the comforting, hope-filled knowledge that there is a world of possibility and happiness to follow after a heartbreak. Beautifully autobiographical and intimate throughout, Hitchhiking is a detailed and arresting snapshot into the immensely talented Maya Law’s experiences.
Words by Ella McLaren
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