“Somebody’s gotta wear a pretty skirt / Somebody’s gotta be the one to flirt,” RaeLynn so innocently croons on “God Made Girls,” her single and the first track off her EP Me. The young Rachel Lynn Woodward, best known for competing on The Voice and subsequently becoming the apple of Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert’s eyes, has arrived in bright pink lipstick and platinum blonde hair, ready to flirt up a storm. There is not a single song on Me that will let you forget this. RaeLynn packs a punch, but this punch is not always thrown with sass. Sometimes, it’s her age that hits you.
Me is five tracks, two of which we’ve already heard (“Boyfriend” in 2012 and “God Made Girls” in 2014). “God Made Girls” is a memorable first impression, partially because of its controversial subject matter. The “girls” mentioned in the song are almost designed to meet every need that “boys” could ever have. It’s like a “Perfect Wife” checklist that disregards the concept that women can posses any flaws. Regardless, it’s hard to deny that it is a well-crafted song. The way the verses build into the choruses is seamless, and RaeLynn gives such an innocent, twanged vocal performance that matches the music perfectly.
“God Made Girls” is a soft side that shows itself for three minutes and thirty-four seconds. After that? Forget about it. It’s not as though “God Made Girls” isn’t cut from the same cloth as the remaining four songs, but it’s certainly the furthest RaeLynn strays from being young, wild, and free. “Kissin’ Frogs” follows the opening track, as an ode to making the mistakes that young girls are known to do. It’s refreshing hearing a twenty-year-old say that long-term relationships aren’t even on her mind. Being single becomes a celebration.
Of course, by the next song “Careless,” she’s wishing she cared less about the boy she likes so much. “Boyfriend” then tells the story of a girl so desperately wishing she had her arch-enemy’s boyfriend. Last track “Better Do It” is RaeLynn’s best Miranda Lambert impression. “If you say it / you better do it” is repeated throughout the post-chorus. The whole song is the sonic equivalent of an eye-roll. RaeLynn is unimpressed with a boy that isn’t giving her enough attention, and her growl shows that it is she that is something you don’t want to miss. It’s not inconsistency in themes so much as it’s an obvious sign of RaeLynn’s young age. Me reads like a country girl’s freshman-year diary.
The confidence, though sometimes immature, is undeniably real. It is in RaeLynn’s youth that she shines. She so firmly takes a stance on who she is and what to expect that from her that it works in her favor. She is unapologetic for her misplaced blame and sometimes-childish views. In that sense, she is amazingly genuine artist.
Rating: 3.5/5
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