Georgia Harmer’s Eye of the Storm is an exercise in vulnerability, an empathetic exchange between past and future selves, and a deep breath of life into the veins of relationships over time. Where her debut, Stay In Touch, chronicled introspection and growth, the heart of Eye of the Storm lies in the deeper matter of self-realization and understanding. It seeks to answer questions of what to carry, what to leave behind, and what to follow forward.
This album is an older sister to Georgia’s debut, and like an older sister, it contains the insight of someone who has learned that the weight of the whole world doesn't have to rest on her shoulders. It captures first-time feelings in the rearview mirror, with a depth of understanding and intuition only possessed by someone who’s spent years paying very close attention.
Self-produced with a steady hand, Eye of the Storm is raw, real, vulnerable and detailed. Listen for the creaks of living room chairs, the soft echoes of a back alley garage, or the earliest seeds of ideas, brought to life on front porches and in backyard studios. Georgia’s songs are inlaid into a lush world, built with dedication and effort, where every sound is an intentional character, and every arrangement is a house built to last.
Recorded and arranged with Dylan Burchell, Julian Psihogios, Ben Whiteley, Oliver LaMantia, Jasper Smith, Matt Kelly and Gavin Gardiner, Georgia has constructed an album that simultaneously recalls the setting it was captured in, and creates an entirely new world with a history of its own. You can hear the brain-child of a group of people who took tremendous care to bring this music to life. These relationships are elemental to the heart and performance of every song, and to the recording and documentation of the entire album. Each track captures the way music can sound when you make it with your most trusted confidants, when ideas are given space to breathe, and when you have a precise yet evolving vision, and you don’t give up until it comes to life.
Georgia first started writing the title track, “Eye of the Storm,” when she was only 18; trying to unpack the emotional burden of carrying a loved one’s suffering. Now at 26, the result is both reflection and resolution, a shedding of heavy patterns and a turn to lightness. “Take It On” continues the conversation, confronting Georgia’s relationship with her younger self.
“Hazel vs The Coyote” grieves the loss of family cats through dream-like scenes that shift in perspective. “Last Love” explores how devotion and uncertainty can coexist in a romantic relationship. “Farmhouse” spins shared memories intoan apology love-letter to a friend. “Slow Down” lucidly weaves memories of her mother’s childhood with her own, and searches for stillness. We find that theme of stillness throughout the album. The first track envisions an idyllic lifetime of closeness, asking “Can We Be Still”? The delicate and tender “Little Light” shows us that we can. By the end of the album, “Time to Move On” leads us out of the past, and forward, into our own lives. “Memory Lullaby,” offers a soft place to land, a final reflection on the fleeting nature of stillness.
