Home My Universe incorporates an eclectic and fulfilling blend of folk, pop, ambient, and indie vibes, coalescing into a sweet, delicate, and balanced listen from Santa Cecilie.
Norwegian singer and songwriter Santa Cecilie hails from Bergen. Writing songs to instill positivity in her listeners, Santa Cecilie’s sound is delightful and lighthearted, yet emotionally loaded and exciting, given that she writes her songs and bases them on life-changing experiences with people she cares about. Home My Universe is a 5-song, wonderful sounding EP, full of Santa Cecilie’s gentle, finger-picked acoustics, lush pads, engaging song structures, and Santa Cecilie’s capable, emotive, and twisting vocal deliveries. A truly nice and cozy listen.
The five songs on Home My Universe all uniformly sound like they take their ample time building their intricate structures, gradually climbing to their gentle and thunderous climaxes, painting Santa Cecilie as a mature and patient songwriter. With the penultimate ‘Keep’ as the lone sole exception, all the songs on Home My Universe revolve around nuanced acoustic guitar arrangements wrapped in the breeziest ambient and alternative pop atmospheres. ‘Seize’ has an acoustic guitar line that’s open ended and airy, reminiscent of the work of Bon Iver or Adrianne Lenker. Vocally, Santa Cecilie’s approach is in a league of its own. Totally unique, varied, and dynamic performances that revolve quite neatly around the elegantly structured segments of ‘Seize’ and their engaging, upbeat rhythms.
For the upbeat and bright ‘Seize’, ‘Home’ follows with quite a contrast. Subdued, melancholic, and with a sweetly hopeful flair, ‘Home’ is the calmer, more introspective sister to ‘Seize’. With a gloriously patient pace, ‘Home’ walks forward in its ethereal guise with grace and confidence, laying down the beautiful melodies and gentle chord movements, creating a truly peaceful sonic environment that is quite stirring. The gentle, percussive synths that populate the core of ‘Keep’ are an exciting change of pace that proves Santa Cecilie’s ability to work with a varied palette of color. The inspiring and moving lyrics, alongside the steady, mid-tempo pace, and the conventional beat that kicks in the song’s latter half all make ‘Keep’ one of the EP’s stand out offerings and one of its most immediate and direct. ‘Rain’ is a wonderfully warm closer with gently punchy percussion and one of the EP’s peppiest deliveries and widest dynamic ranges.
Home My Universe is a simply beautiful listen. The inspired acoustic guitar-led arrangements, the warm and dreamy pads, and Santa Cecilie’s intricate musical, vocal, and lyrical structures all create songs that are wholly gripping in spite of their patient and drawn-out builds. Santa Cecilie is a gifted musician capable of writing truly gorgeous songs.