Tackling her personal journeys through bouts of mental illness, Hannah Byers’ debut EP Illuminated Dysphoria is a lyric driven record that’s draped in musical beauty. Please read on for our glowing review of the album, as well as a background on this artist.

Currently based out of New York, Hannah Byers has let the listener eavesdrop on the inner workings of her life through a debut EP titled Illuminated Dysphoria. Through swirling soundscapes, an outrageous production, and her imagery-filled lyricism, you get a glimpse of an artist that you otherwise would have been unfamiliar with. With that being said, we’ve sincerely enjoyed our multiple listens and can’t wait for everyone to go through this experience.

Relatable to so many who live with similar problems, Hannah has truly laid it all out there for anyone to connect the dots. Coming in at 6 total tracks, spanning right around 21 minutes in length, Illuminated Dysphoria serves as an open diary that takes chances with its themes, but is as cohesive as ever sonically. Even putting the message aside, the craftsmanship presented here is downright astounding. While the instrumentation featured definitely sets a tone, base, and a mood for what you can expect, every facet of the record was necessary for this all to come together. To be honest, any pointless production gimmicks feel like they would have taken away from the seriousness of it all.

As the record kicks off with its solemn opener “The Silent Cry”, it quickly transcends to more upbeat passages that you’ll unconsciously find yourselves grooving to tracks like “Bliss”. Hannah’s vocals act as a much needed constant throughout shifting sounds and styles, although she’s already mastered her role as a storyteller in communicating everything. If anything, we’re already looking forward to a follow up record, hopefully one that provides an update. We wouldn’t want to hear anything that deviates too far from this particular sound as we found it to fit the vibe immaculately, but at this point, we fully trust that Hannah knows what she’s doing.

In the meantime, we’re urging everyone out there to check out the important links below in order to listen, follow along, and of course to stay up to date with more information and news. Enjoy!

Listen to Illuminated Dysphoria

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Hannah Byers tackles her experiences on debut EP, "Illuminated Dysphoria"