Mickey Guyton is breaking through.
Following a string of impressively and achingly intimate singles that included “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?” and “Black Like Me,” the country singer has returned to the scene with Bridges, her first EP in five years. The six-song collection, all co-written by the artist herself, more than lives up to the songs that preceded it. Quiet in some places, yet forceful in others, and all centered on her expressive and practically crystalline vocals, Bridges is the perfect reintroduction to the sole Black woman signed to a major country label.
“This EP proves that in your darkest moments, you can have your biggest breakthroughs,” Guyton said in a press release when the project was announced. “I think back to all of the obstacles in my life and career, including writing and recording most of this EP in quarantine during a time of social unrest, and how it has all led to the birth of this beautiful project. I hope these songs provide others with the same happiness and strength they have provided me in these uncertain times.”