Seraphina Lotkhamnga on October 27th, 2014

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Linda Perry has had the career of a hitmaker – whether writing songs for herself or for others like Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani. Now Perry (last spotted as a frontwoman in Deep Dark Robot, who played BBLA’s 2011 SXSW showcase), is known for discovering and nurturing other talents. Enter Candice Martello, aka Hemming, a singer-songwriter who won the competition on VH1’s “Make Or Break: The Linda Perry Project.” Martello initially got recognized as one-half of punk duo Omar, but Perry honed in on her solo material after hearing the bare-bones but heartrending ballad “Vitamins.” Since then Martello has embraced the name Hemming and this intimate side to her songwriting. Diving in with lyrics like “Swallow me whole without even thinking,” Hemming is not much more than a guitar and soft percussion, but Martello’s gritty, yearning vocals are what make this new persona so vulnerable and wonderfully free of pretense. Martello’s first single “Hard On Myself” is another guitar ballad but even its simple arrangement the melodies are dramatically sweeping at times. A full-length debut from Hemming is in the works. “Vitamins” is slated for a Nov. 4 release via Custard Records.

||| Stream: “Vitamins”

||| Also: “Hard On Myself”

||| Live: Hemming plays tonight at the Troubadour with Rachael Yamagata and the Doves & the Wolf.