RELEASED 6TH SEPTEMBER 2019

Favourite track: October

An EP that is perfect for summer days with picnics and polaroids.   

I’m not sure where I had heard of Canadian RnB singer, Alessia Cara, before. Perhaps it was the song ‘Stay’ with Zedd but I can’t be sure. But as always, give me an EP and I’ll want to listen to it so when I saw This Summer I was like “ooooooh I need to review this!”.  The cover art is very cute with a photo of Cara smiling and making her hands into a triangle as the title of the EP is scribbled in white over it. I like the idea of it being called This Summer as it brings the music right to the present. It’s almost saying “ok guys this was summer 2019 in six songs so get ready” and I can’t lie…I’m curious now.

The first track, ‘Ready’, has a very old rock-kit beat and repetitive synth which then becomes more of a Reggae beat as she begins to sing. The music builds in the chorus with some vocal effects in the background as she layers the singing into a catchy melody. The song is about someone not being “ready” for her yet and her waiting until they are. The raw acoustic guitar and audio opening to ‘What’s On Your Mind?’ makes the song quite funky and upbeat. The beat is quite summery and rock-kit sounding again and the harmonies and build-up of “oooohs” make for a sweet sound. Her vocals are lovely and very listenable. I like the variety in this song as we get times when it’s reduces from an intense mix of vocals and instrumentals to a simple vocal gospel style chant and then brought back to the main tune.

The upbeat, happy, summery sound mixed with the ‘real’ lyrics make ‘Like You’ sound like a Lily Allen song. The beat is very much a drum kit beat, with some old piano sound that seems like it’s came out of a toy box or fair ground and then more vocal layering and ad-libs. ‘OKAY OKAY’ has a really good chorus that I could imagine in a chick-flick. There is something very 90s girl group about the sound of it. I like the clapping and the snare with the harder beat and bass. This song is a bit more fierce than the others with the idea of “making it” at the forefront. ‘Rooting For You’ is a stripped back acoustic song with a soft warm wave sound in the background and a country folk guitar. Then all of a sudden with the chorus we get a new beat and a harder plucked bassline, some crazy brass sound synths but we do get the acoustic guitar still running through. The final track, ‘October’, has a lovely melody for the chorus. It’s actually more of a Pop album than an RnB album which surprised me. However, there is something really seasonal about this music and it’s perfect for a summer’s day.

This EP is great for a day-time road trip in the summer. If you have an open top car, take that one.