Australian indie-folk duo The Money War delved into love, loss and change on their newest EP, I Don’t Hear You Anymore. Being partners both in life and in music, you’d expect Dylan Ollivierre and Carmen Pepper’s songwriting to be tender and intimate. And that is exactly the feel of this 4-song collection.

From beginning to end, each song evokes a more-or-less different emotion. The uniquely crafted title track, “I Don’t Hear You Anymore”, is gentle and emotive. Dominated by a finger-picked acoustic guitar, the song is utterly expressive.

But the mood changes a bit in the second piece, “Was It Ever Really Anything?”, which features Feelds. This dreamy track leans more into indie-rock and incorporates a gritty blues guitar as well as a big chorus which is super uplifting.

On “Ride”, The Money War show that, despite raising three young children, they still have time to innovate. The track has a lulling vibe to it, thanks to the minimalist sound.

Completing the EP is “Somebody Loves You”, a song that offers unfeigned reassurances. This was actually the first single to be released and nicely sums up the well-written and well-produced project — the challenges notwithstanding.

“The songs are special to me because they remind me of moments in the last year where I felt desperate to express myself,” says Ollivierre who’s also a full-time producer working on other artists’ music.

“Every now and then, I have this insatiable desire to create something that embodies my own vision and expresses Carmen and me as The Money War. In the past, we often had numerous songs to choose from, but nowadays, with three young kids, our time has significantly decreased. Therefore, a song only progresses beyond the ‘idea’ stage if it strongly demands to be realized.”

As you listen to the whole EP on Spotify now, connect with The Money War on Facebook / Instagram.

This review was made possible by SubmitHub