AVA JOE ANNOUNCES DEBUT EP TRY ME

Enchanting singer-songwriter Ava Joe announces her debut EP Try Me, which will be released on 9th May via AWAL/Au Contraire Recordings (Oscar Jerome, Ted Jasper/Berlioz). She’s the spiritual daughter of the London soul scene, guided by the star of Amy Winehouse as equally as the unsettling undertones of Radiohead. Her voice is time-defying, rich with experience that belies her years. 

Try Me is an invitation as tempting as any: across its five tracks, expect stories from a songwriter who knows matters of the heart all too well. Power, domination, love, submission and heartbreak are the tangled forces Ava Joe commands over smokey, late-night standards and timeless Americana heat. The effect is a body of work that is as unforgettable, timeless meditation on womanhood and femininity. 

Speaking on the story surrounding Try Me, Ava Joe shares: “All these songs were written about a time when I was deep in the midst of many dark and turbulent relationships with men. During this era of my life, I felt very lost and lonely and I wanted to challenge my boundaries and see how far I could walk down this self-destructive path. I was chasing danger and chaos because it was the only thing that made me feel anything. l am so proud to be able to turn these turbulent times into art with the hope that other young women who have fought their own battles with men and love listen to these songs and feel heard and seen – because that is what I do this for. This project ultimately conveys the not-so-pretty parts of womanhood and what that looks and feels like.“

The announcement is accompanied by a taste of what’s to come with her new single, ‘Eleanor Close’. The guitars play out like the score for Western or a film noir – backlit with silver-screen proportions of love, tragedy and seduction. 

It joins the EP’s forerunning singles ‘Black Summer Babe’ which plunge us into the deep end of a melancholic summer, ‘Black Smoke’ and the dream-like ‘Polly Pocket’. Already, Ava Joe’s particular magic has been critically embraced by The Line of Best Fit, Wonderland, Notion, The Most Radicalist and more. 

From the early-aged gifting of a karaoke machine at Christmas which saw her discover artists like Lady Gaga and Lily Allen, the 23-year-old singer has always been drawn to confessional storytelling – a gift which she’s been developing since her early teens through music. Coming up through the London gig circuit and performing at venues including Ram Jam Records and Mascara Bar in Dalston, Ava recently performed her first headline show in London at a sold-out Paper Dress Vintage. This is only the beginning of Ava Joe’s unfolding story. 

 

Tour Dates

5th May – Liverpool – Sound City
9th May – London – Ram Jam (EP Release Party, TBA)
22nd May – London – The Social (TBA)
24th May  – Bristol – Dot To Dot Festival
25th May  – Nottingham – Dot To Dot Festival
22nd May – London – Soho House Festival (TBA)

Ava Joe – Try Me Artwork

Tracklist
1. Polly Pocket
2. Black Smoke
3. Try Me
4. Black Summer Babe
5. Eleanor Close