Hannah May - Single Review: Golden

28 Nov 2022 // A review by Danica Bryant

Hannah May's latest release Golden is a soft and dreamy folk-pop track, encouraging listeners to feel confident and be their own biggest supporter. Bringing to life the sunny sounds inspired by its title, it's a strong effort in her expansive catalogue of singles.

Filled with gentle, steady acoustic guitars and subtle background melodies, the instrumentation of Golden is very grassroots. This leaves the emphasis on Hannah May's stunning vocals. Her melodies are simple and her delivery is crystal clear, layered with emotion and power. The chorus hook of "you're already golden" is perfectly effective in its directness and carefully reverbed production. Beachy percussion and quiet harmonies build throughout the track, giving it a sense of dynamics that never overpower the laidback, acoustic overall direction. It has a sweet commercial appeal, whilst maintaining Hannah May's uniqueness and artistic integrity.

Golden is the perfect uplifting song to lead into the Kiwi summer. It's a prime example of simplicity often being the most musically effective approach. And such a method is perhaps the exact mission statement of a talented folk creative like Hannah May.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ ( 5 / 5 )

About Hannah May

A year and a half on from her last release Lay Me Down, Kiwi born and Australian based singer songwriter, Hannah May leaves her country roots behind, toning down the production and letting her inner musical style and abilities flow into the world of indie folk. With likeness to Xavier Rudd, Bon Iver, Ziggy Alberts and Sons of The East, May is an artist of her own right, writing lyrics that reflect real issues and deeper meanings and telling them through a velvet, soulful voice. Her newest single Written In The Sea is the first song to drop from her yet to be released EP and is just the start of a new chapter for the emerging talent. Through a pandemic that has thrown vigorous challenges her way, Hannah May has been able to find light in the dark by gaining a new perspective on life, personal and in her music which becomes apparent when listening to her new songs.

Hannah May had her start in the industry when she placed 7th in the 2015 season of the X Factor NZ as part of Kiwi duo Mae Valley. In this time, the pair were opening acts for Kelsea Ballerini, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood performing to a crowd of 10,000 at Wellington, NZ’s Westpac Stadium. A few years on, the independent artist moved to Australia and began paving her way in the fast moving industry with the release of her debut single Passenger Seat which caught the ears of many, scoring worldwide radio play and a large number of streams. Following this was the release of 2 more singles and a spot on the Toyota Star Maker competition held in Tamworth in 2020.

After a couple years of self discovery, Hannah has stripped her music down to basics, giving listeners a raw, authentic sound that is bound to evoke emotions. Hannah is an artist to watch closely on the acoustic current indie music scene. With her single dropping and with more to come in the following months, 2022 is looking to be an exciting year for the emerging artist.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Hannah May

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