Lightning’s usually surprising and terrifying, but not if it delivers a bout of surprisingly good tunes.

That’s what up-and-coming country songstress Tamara Laurel did on her debut EP last year, “Lightning.” A quick run-through on the 5-track collection gives one the impression that this might be a major label release, but it isn’t; production quality was simply superb.

Laurel marries folk and country smoothly in the opening track, ‘I Want You,’ an ode to that unattainable lover which recalls memories of a younger Taylor Swift to mind (for those who miss her old sound). ‘There Is A Line,’ on the other hand, goes along the Carrie Underwood route, illustrating generally who her musical heroes might be.

As the listening progresses, however, Tamara starts to make her own mark by remaining unabashedly wholesome and hopeless romantic on her lyrics. “You’re my sunset, my masterpiece, slipping through my fingers now,” she croons on ‘Sweet,’ a theme that resonates ’til the bittersweet end.

Track list:
1. I Want You
2. There Is A Line
3. Dying
4. Sweet
5. Pathetic

Related links:
Tamara Laurel’s official site
Tamara Laurel on Facebook
Tamara Laurel on Instagram

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