This tiny EP is the first recording of Diana Lawrence’s newly conceived Mill Girls. This 8 track EP is 3-4 songs, interwoven with small interludes that showcase the show’s book. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s an interesting year for new theatre music. The creative pressure built up from the covid lockdown will be relieved soon when theaters around the world re-open. And a years+ worth of unrealized projects will have an opportunity for being produced.

The song Why We Rise has a bouncy folk style intro that sounds an awful lot like Sondheim’s “Ballad of Booth” from Assassins. There are some slightly unrefined vocals/balance which raise a small red flag in my analysis. But the song’s chorus is a catchy hand-clapping fiddle folk ditty, with alternating verses that counter the feel of the chorus, with mellow piano, slower tempo, story driven singalogue, etc. The verses are intriguing enough to want a little more. And we return to the catchy chorus (cue fiddle and hand-clapping) a few times until eventually the final chorus is delivered as a 3 part canon, which is always a win for me, and we get a moment to bask in the overlapping 3 dimensional waves of the chorus. And finally, an 5+ way harmony final sustained chord to end the song. Despite the rocky intro, the song develops into a great motivational folk anthem. My positive attitude toward the song propels me through the rest of the EP with ease.

The song What is a Day For is a nice enough ensemble number. The build up to the song’s finale features overlapping spoken dialogue with singalogue to an interesting degree, more or less. Overall, the EP is a good listen, although there are some production, recording, and mixing issues that are most likely a cause of Covid restrictions for recording artists. The final number was unmemorable for me, although the ending pulls the song together nicely. I think the the final track was a poor choice for an EP, as the ending drops off suddenly and there’s no closure that brings the overarching musical themes of the show together.

Let’s wait and see if Lawrence’s Mill Girls moves to the next step of production realization.