Record Setter‘s Judy Mitchell has released her debut solo EP under the name Small Pictures, Songs For People Who Grew Up In The Church. Judy writes:
“songs for people who grew up in the church” is an EP i’ve written with the specific intent of recontextualizing musical ideas that i was raised on in the church.
the first songs i ever sang were hymns.
the first stage i ever played on was a worship service.since i’ve grown away from the church and the faith i was raised on i have found many musical ideas hold such a specific connection to that time in my life and the music i was playing that i have been unable to separate them from one another and hear them objectively.
these songs are largely inspired by sounds, progressions and structures that i can remember hearing all the way back to my first memories of music as a child in a pentecostal church.
there are specific words chosen through out these songs because of the weight they held and continue to hold over my life due to my upbringing.this EP is a kind of sonic catharsis of my seemingly endless well of christian guilt. many of you reading this may feel the same and this is for you.
Record Setter’s last album — 2020’s excellent I Owe You Nothing — was largely a screamo record, but it still had moments fueled by Judy’s melodic singing voice, which she fully embraces on this stripped-back EP. The songs revolve around Judy and her acoustic guitar, with some light drumming and some other minor embellishments, and if I Owe You Nothing recalled ’90s screamo, then this is closer to early 2000s emo singer/songwriters like Owen and Bright Eyes. It’s a raw, lo-fi EP, and the intimate vibe pairs perfectly with how emotionally bare the songs are. Check it out by streaming the full thing below…