Indie Music Women’s Artist of the Day is…
Sarah Holburn of In Earnest (@inearnestband)
In Earnest is fuelled by the dual songwriting of couple Sarah and Thomas in their bid to encourage open and honest conversation around mental health. Their storytelling is a dialogue from two perspectives; a call from one who feels too much and a response from the other who must plead for them to stay alive.
Hailing from Southend-on-Sea, In Earnest is made a trio by the inclusion of Toby, who enhances the pair’s songs with thoughtful decoration and numerous instruments. Forgoing prominent drums/percussion and favouring intelligent arrangements, the band experiment with how full-sounding their live set up can be.
Their forthcoming debut EP was devised by whittling 30+ song ideas down to just 6 tracks, in which they explore themes of hope vs hopelessness, desperation, loneliness and identity in their rawest form. With influences ranging from alt-rock to folk and black metal, In Earnest propel forward with their own brand of genre-bending indie.
Sarah shared with me what it means to her personally to be an indie music woman artist:
“I’d love to share my story of struggles with mental health and encourage conversation around the topic. Song-writing is my main form of communication to people about how I feel, so it’s wonderful that an audience can hear what I have to say and begin to understand me.”
The first single from the EP, “Pull Me Under”, will be released on April 17