RELEASE DATE: 08.09.2023
Marissa Burwell writes with one hand reaching out to her past and the other stretching out towards the future, all the while keeping both feet planted in the Saskatchewan snow. Following her self-titled debut EP in 2019, Marissa Burwell continued her musical journey by releasing her first full-length album, “Bittersweet” in 2022. Now, she is eagerly preparing to release her second EP, “Either Way.“
The songs on “Either Way” were written through different points of reflection, some songs were written in the eye of the storm, while others were created after the city centre had been rebuilt. Each song explores an unspoken experience, whether it’s daydreaming about what could be or about what is.
Writing took place in varying environments; empty rooms where the vocals hung overhead and on the floors of a rental apartment booked for a reunion weekend with friends. Once the songs were in sharing form, Madison Nicol and Chris Dimas (Bleeker, Surf Dads) produced and engineered the EP, pulling on influences from artists such as Hannah Cohen and Haley Blais. Joining Burwell on the EP are fellow Regina musicians Tom Duffy, on guitar, and Lana Winterhalt, who contributes harmonies and a clarinet to “Kiss Her”.
On the EP’s lead single “Coward”, Burwell lays bare her vulnerabilities as she ponders her inability to speak up. With “Kiss Her”, a song sonically inspired by Hannah Cohen, Burwell writes about resentment towards the heterosexual norms and in particular how they “set you up to see women loving women relationships as something that can serve men instead of as an option for love“. Burwell daydreams on “You’re Not Trying Very Hard” about wanting to be with someone who isn’t good for you and the fear of what would happen were they even to show the slightest bit of interest in you. Finally on “Either Way“, we see tough questions being asked at the crossroads of a relationship. Together the four songs cover themes of hope, healing and love.