Her debut EP, Tell Me What You Want, is characterized by funky, bright instrumentation with a mellow groove that harkens back to an age before Auto-Tune.
Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Earhart shows off an impressive vocal range throughout the six songs. Whether she’s singing low and level, like in “Tell Me What You Want,” or soaring into the upper registers, as in “To the Top,” her voice never sounds strained. The instrumentation, arranged by Earhart and songwriting partner Lyn Olson, complements the vocals well.
“Brand New Day” has a leisurely, bluesy guitar and running, locomotive percussion in the background. “You Get What You Need,” my favorite of the EP, features sonic, echoing guitar chords along with staccato vocals and catchy lyrics.
Like much of modern pop music, the songs are not particularly profound, but there is passion here not found among formulaic chart-toppers. Earhart has talent, and this release showcases it well.
I wish Earhart would release an “unplugged” version featuring just her, a microphone and an acoustic guitar. For all the interesting music here, her voice is the No. 1 reason to give it a listen. —Alyssa Grimley
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