Siobahn Hotaling

As a listener:

What jumps out first you ask? Its is a tough call because everything about this EP is quite solid. The quality of the sound, lyrics, and delivery, both emotional and technical, are all strong. The EP as a whole takes you on a nice mid tempo journey through well constructed songs hitting you with moving lyrics that capture you attention such as City Lights’ “the seat next to me remains empty, except for the ghost of you”. The sound of the EP from its engineering to its concepts really enhance Siobahn’s lyrics which consistently shine through on all six songs. Her voice is never overwhelmed and the power of her words are not diminished. Her vocals possess strength in every part of each song whether it be the quiet intimate moments or climactic peaks. Her tone is crystal clear and has similarities to Taylor Swift’s voice, especially in The Way You Are. What differentiates Taylor’s and Siobahn’s voice is depth. Siobahn has more layers to her voice which allows for a interesting listen.

Its hard to pick a stand out tack as they all pose as strong contenders from Out Of My Head to current single Heart In Your Hands. For me though, the EP’s last track Back To Our Future wins. Is it single material? No. What is does possess is an emotional delivery that just outshines the other 5 tracks and ends the EP in such a way, with the great mix of electric guitar, piano, and strings, that you are left urning for more. You could not pick a better way to end a project in my opinion. It was a pure pleasure listening to Siobahn’s music and I commend her and her team for a job very well done!

As a musician:

This EP is great! What is most impressive is that every song feels rich in authenticity and sincerity. Siobahn conveys the emotion of every song flawlessly. You truly feel the emotion in her voice. The backgrounds really support her leads and the composition of all the songs suits her genre perfectly.

My only constructive point would be that there were times I would have liked to hear the use of ad libs and some strong soaring vocals over some of the final choruses. In no way am I saying that every song needs this but a couple of songs did feel a bit light after the bridge and I think some more vocal showings injected to the right spots would have added another layer to the overall listening experience. As a vocalist I always want to hear people really sing especially when the idea is given to you in the build up/bridge of a song.

Siobahn’s voice has depth and a gorgeous clarity that shine through in all parts of her voice displayed on this EP. Her voice, songwriting, and sound have won me over for sure!

I just have to reiterate how great Back To Our Future is! As a recording artist myself, this song reminds me of why I love music so much: the feeling when you hear a song that takes you outside of reality where you live in the sounds and lyrics you are hearing. Its indescibable but that is the kind of moment Back To Our Future creates. It is a truly beautiful song.

As a businessman

After my first listen though to all six tracks it was evident that Because I Want To and Out Of My Head are the two obvious choices for adult contemporary radio. I think there is an opportunity for licensing for movies in the romance category. Back To Our Future probably has the strongest licensing potential in my opinion. I can easily see it being on the soundtrack of a love story themed movie such as Dear John. The instrumental is strong and fits that critical moment in a love story and the lyrics are suitable for those intimate moments.

Outside of that this EP doesn’t necessarily bold well in the “commercial” world today but its a super strong project which overshadows that. Unguarded in my opinion doesn’t need commercial and movie placements to be recognized to achieve success. This EP contains great content, delivery, and sound and at the end of the day great music is what music consumers want and Unguarded is most definitely great music.

Summary:

Unguarded is well composed, written, sung, emoted, and engineered. What more could you want? If you want to have some mid tempo music in your library with meaningful lyrics and a beautiful clear voice to deliver those lyrics and emotions then this EP is for you! If you have to chose one song to listen to then choose Back To Our Future. Put simply everything about this project is strong. Buy this EP on March 31st! - I Am Entertainment Magazine

New York-based singer/songwriter Siobahn Hotaling's second album, "Unguarded" is a 6-track EP of fiercely personal - yet deeply relatable - songs about the vulnerability, passion, and poignancy of love."
Reading about Siobahn Hotaling we get to know that "her songs focus on very personal and emotional subjects; in all of her musical endeavors, Siobahn seeks to bring forth the values of expression, authenticity, and passion. Her songs are honest, challenging, and heartfelt; her intent for writing and performing is to give her audience an experience of joining her on an intimate emotional journey. Ranging from pop to rock to country, her genre-defying sound always maintains the common thread of honest, genuine storytelling."
You can feel it listening to her music without having read those lines before. It's something directly linked to her music: you can feel her soul and her approach to life in general running through the lyrics and the notes she chose for her songs.
"Unguarded" contains six songs, but it's every song reminds you of a specific season: you can find your personal winter in a reflexive ballad like "Back To Our Future" or in "The Way You Are". A sparkling spring in "Heart In Your Hands", a fizzy summer in "Because I Want To" and a melancholic fall in "City Lights" or in "Out Of My Head".
"Back To Our Future" is the kind of track that makes you think about a great movie: it would sound amazing in one of that soundtracks that can really change your life. "The Way You Are" is a sort of open letter to ourselves, I could imagine it's dedicated to a lover or to someone very important, but listening to it, it sounds like it could be a song dedicated to our reflection in the mirror. Something pretty accurate and intimate, a moving song, with a strong impact: delicate but honest, like Siobahn Hotaling's approach to music in general.
The complexity of the songs' structure you can find in this album is surprisingly increasing and even if you think these songs are incredibly beautiful for their simplicity, beyond this façade there is lot of work and lot of study. In general all the tracks contained in "Unguarded" make you feel like the main character of your blockbuster movie. The music and yrics join perfectly the rhythm that lead your mind somewhere else. Back to your future, maybe, where you left your heart waiting, perhaps. - Music Emissions

With each submission process about three to four hundred artist submit their material for inclusion in New Classic Music For Tomorrow blog.
In todays modern world of music so many artist sound so much alike it really is hard to find artist that are unique. After listening to hundreds of artist of all styles it has become more difficult with each submission process to find those few artist to write about. Not so with Siobahn Hotaling, with her strong vocals leading the way she has mixed different styles into a sublime package of pop rock.
Never pushing the vocals, instead her smooth steady vocals are subtle and have a excellent pop feel to them. In these days of artist trying to become heavier and heavier, Siobahn, takes the opposite approach with her easy going feeling for music. She is not a incredible singer by any means but she surely knows how to use what she has with great effect as she mixes her influences into her om amalgamation of music. Drawing on folk, blues, rock, country and pop Siobahn mixes these ingredients into a warm and engaging sound.
Siobahn is able to insert a dreamy quality to her sound that slowly digs into you brain.
Not foot tapping music by any stretch of the imagination yet with each passing track one realizes that another excellent song just ended and you were humming or perhaps singing along to the song. These are the marks of excellent music. It does not have to knock you down with the noise or loudness, no the subtle easy going feeling demands your listen not just feel the vibration of loud music. Normally comparable artist would have been named from the bygone years of long ago but this is modern music that has more in common with Taylor Swift or Adele. This is adult contemporary music that anyone from the age of sixteen to sixty will hear and enjoy. No matter if it is a sixteen year old soul who’s heart aches from the pain of first love or the fifty nine year old who is lonely and in need of love, Siobahn Hotaling shares your pain, as well as your loneliness, she shares your wants and your needs in her superbly crafted CD. - New Classic Music For Tomorrow