A Precious Thing (EP) Grace Cummings

• 1 A Precious Thing 04:18
• 2 Ramona 04:30
• 3 Common Man 04:17
• 4 On and On 03:52
• Total Runtime 16:57

Info for A Precious Thing (EP)

Ramona is a work of raw truth rendered in its most resplendent form. In a departure from the self-produced approach of her 2019 debut Refuge Cove and its 2022 follow- up Storm Queen—an album whose abundant praise came from the likes of MOJO, who noted that Cummings “unleashes her psyche in a voice of throaty, Diamanda Galás-style intensity”—the Melbourne-based artist worked with producer Jonathan Wilson and dreamed up a lavishly orchestrated sound that fully accommodates the depth and scope of her vocal prowess. With its visceral reflection on grief and self- destruction and emotional violence, Ramona brings a stunning new grandeur to Cummings’ music while refusing to soften or temper its unbound humanity. Recorded at Wilson’s Fivestar Studios, Ramona came to life in collaboration with a stacked lineup of musicians that includes harpist Mary Lattimore and string arranger/multi-instrumentalist Drew Erickson (Weyes Blood, Mitski, Lana Del Rey).

Also an accomplished stage actor, Cummings imbues all of Ramona with an unbridled theatricality—an element on glorious display in the album’s title track. “I wrote that at a time when I wasn’t doing well and had the sense that other people saw me as a weak little bird,” says Cummings, who mined inspiration from Bob Dylan’s 1964 song “To Ramona.” “I didn’t want to be myself so I decided to be Ramona instead, full of intensity and melodrama. For me there’s a lot of safety in putting on a costume or a mask; sometimes it feels like the only way to express any true honesty or vulnerability.”

Cummings hopes that Ramona might provide her audience with a similar sense of relief and release. “A lot of the time the only way for me to process what’s happening in my life is to write about it,” she says. “So it’s a deeply personal record. But I hope that people come away from this album feeling like the songs were written just for them. Because they were, in a way. Watching the deeply personal evolve into something that’s shared by so many different people makes me feel less lonely in this world.

A „soon-to-be-iconic voice“ (Rolling Stone), Grace Cummings is a contemporary folk musician from Melbourne, Australia. Her songwriting is influenced by 20th century poets and luminaries, from Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan to Brett Whitely and Van Gogh, reflecting a strong connection to the Australian landscape.

Grace Cummings

Grace Cummings
Powerfully voiced Australian folk artist Grace Cummings made a quick rise within Melbourne's indie music scene, landing a contract with Flightless Records, which issued her debut album, Refuge Cove, in late 2019. Her dynamic performances and intense songwriting earned her international attention, and she signed with U.S. label ATO Records for her 2022 sophomore outing, Storm Queen. Cummings teamed up with acclaimed producer Jonathan Wilson on her third long-player, 2024's lavish Ramona.

With her throaty vocals, acoustic guitar, and harmonica, Cummings conjures the sound of the early-'60s folk revival, singing with great command her poetic musings to a minimalist accompaniment that alternates between fevered strumming and delicate fingerpicking. She'd barely begun gigging locally when a Facebook video of her singing Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," caught the attention of Flightless Records, the label run by Melbourne psych favorites King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. By the beginning of 2019, Cummings was opening regional shows for J Mascis and Do Re Mi and working on her first album. Released later that November, Refuge Cove bore a vintage analog tone and presented Cummings' earthy folk songs in a spacious, all-acoustic setting. By late 2021, Cummings had joined the roster of American imprint ATO Records, which released her follow-up LP in January 2022. While maintaining the organic feel of her debut, Storm Queen found the singer leaning into different textures and instrumentation to frame her turbulent songs. For her third full-length effort, 2024's Ramona, she worked with producer Jonathan Wilson (Margo Price, Father John Misty) on a dramatic set of songs that paired opulent orchestral arrangements with Cummings' assured storytelling and powerful vocals. (Timothy Monger, AMG)

This album contains no booklet.