There’s a particular intensity that comes from hearing a release shaped entirely by one person, and on his self-titled debut EP, Melbourne multi-instrumentalist Stephen Murray uses that freedom to build something strikingly personal.
Released under the Evahfar moniker, the EP draws from the emotional volatility of Jeff Buckley, the severity of PJ Harvey and the exploratory instincts of Radiohead without becoming overly indebted to any of them. He handles every instrument and vocal himself, and that complete authorship gives the music a tightly unified character.
Opener ‘SEER-sha’ makes the strongest first impression. Rhythmic guitars, bass and drums push with real urgency while his vocal rises above them in a way that feels both soulful and slightly unhinged. There’s a physicality to the arrangement, but also a vulnerability running through it, creating a tension between control and abandon that suits the EP’s wider themes of freedom and personal growth.
That balance is important because ‘Evahfar’ is strongest when it feels close to the point of breaking open. The artist’s voice can move from restrained to soaring without losing its intimacy, while the instrumentation shifts between atmospheric detail and more forceful alt-rock passages.
For a debut release, the EP already feels unusually self-contained. There’s no sense of an artist throwing ideas around to see what sticks as he already seems to know exactly what kind of emotional world he wants to create.
Raw, immersive and impressively assured, ‘Evahfar’ introduces a project with both personality and range. It sounds like the beginning of something that could grow in several directions without losing the identity already taking shape.
