Music, like all works of art, has the power to leave an indelible impression on our souls. For some people, hearing certain songs stirs up all sorts of emotional sense memories that come flooding back as powerfully and intensely as when they were first experienced. As a musician herself, singer-songwriter Hannah Georgas innately understands the power music has to inspire. She’s chosen to cover four songs, written and recorded by influential women in her life, for Imprints, an EP released today (March 8, 2019) in celebration of International Women’s Day.
Imprints is a superbly recorded tribute, subtle in its arrangements but overflowing with sentiment. Georgas’s interpretation of the Cranberries’ “No Need To Argue” (ft. Lucius) puts her signature voice front and centre, highlighting Dolores O’Riordan’s powerful lyrics. Likewise, she tears into Eurythmics’ “Love Is A Stranger”, chewing on Annie Lennox’s raw lyrics with vigour. Georgas says love is “painful, it’s ugly, it makes you crazy and can be consuming,” and she effortlessly channels that energy into her vocal performance. She slows the song’s tempo, turning its signature melodic hook into a hypnotizing charm. A similar approach turns Tegan and Sara’s “Back In Your Head” into a sumptuous piano-based ballad. “That’s The Way Love Goes” retains all the bounce of Janet Jackson’s original version, adding Georgas’s own unique spin.
That spin, in essence, is the lasting impression that Imprints makes. Whether the covers are of old favourites (“Love Is A Stranger” and “Back In Your Head”) or of songs I wasn’t as familiar with (“No Need to Argue” and “That’s The Way Love Goes”) is irrelevant. My memories and experiences of these songs don’t factor into these covers. These aren’t novelty covers meant to cater to people’s nostalgia. Instead, they are well-considered interpretations meant to capture the beautiful ways we can experience music as individuals. In this way, Hannah Georgas infuses these four tracks with her own lived experiences and sense memories. She makes them her own.
