Album Review: Piperlain - 'Shine On You'

With the increasing amount of EPs released in today’s digital listening age, the uniqueness makes certain EPs stand out from others. Blue Mountains-based folk/rock duo Piperlain (Benjamin Knight and Rebecca Voorn-Knight) have achieved just this with their new EP, Shine On You. 

The EP opens with I Feel The Sun, a gentle opener to this extended piece of work. It comprises soft melodies, light instruments, and delicate harmonies. Light percussion instruments build up in the chorus, and the layered harmonies pick up, giving listeners a choir experience. It delivers a positive message of being able to shine through the dark times. 

Shine On You opens up with a darker tone than I Feel The Sun, symbolising feeling lost and like you need to be found. The sound is enchantingly haunted. The darker lyrics remain present throughout the song, but just like the opening track, the harmonies and layered instruments pick up in the choruses, making the message feel a lot lighter and a resolution of being found, feel a lot more possible, especially with lyrics such as, “You are hoping that a light will shine on you,” I feel like I’m being directly spoken to.

Next is I Don’t Miss You, which is about the growth and change you go through when moving away from someone, whether that person is a romantic partner, a friend, or a family member who no longer serves a purpose in your life. 

It reflects on wondering if the other person is happy, but also reflecting that you don’t miss the person and that this was for the better. This is a soft piano piece, with soothing sounds of guitar strings being picked, that will leave you reflecting on the last person you had to cut ties with. The bridge then picks up with the gentle sound of soft drums, which changes the meaning of not missing someone from being a sad realisation to being a realisation fuelled by the reflection of your individual growth. 

The EP ends with Bloom, the lead track from this collection of work. With the final sounds of Bloom, this track spiritually ends the story of this EP. Opening with the lyrics, “There’s a forest in a little town,” this beautiful piano piece reflects the EP’s message in its complete form. It reminds me of the ending of a Disney musical movie, where the characters all remember their journey throughout the film and unite in unison to go on their revisited trip with new insights. The lyrics “The seeds you have planted will grow to the sky” and “Bloom wherever you have landed” symbolises this personal experience. 

This EP is truly best listened to with headphones to enable you to take in all the unique sounds and messages that are carefully layered within this EP. It is an EP that is uniquely haunting and beautiful at the same time, and one I will definitely revisit. Shine On You is about being lost and found; this theme was successfully portrayed. I definitely felt found after my listening experience.