Jennifer Alvarado
Songbird: Part One - EP Review
Songbird: Part One is a six song EP released by North Carolina native Jennifer Alvarado, who has found critical acclaim with Nashville insiders for her country work, as well as the CCM crowd for her work in that genre. This project expands her impressive catalog with a collection of songs that are a mix of pop-country, rock, and singer/songwriter. The common threads through them all are her voice, the production and her ability as a songwriter (she single wrote all six) - here’s our track by track review.
Rock This Way - The EP opens up with this straight ahead rocker featuring her lower register and great crowd sing alongs. You can hear the confidence in her presentation - like she’s standing right on stage staring you down, hard. The drums and electric guitar create a solid pulse that drives the piece. Bridge is a nice melodic change, and the overall vibe is one of positivity. Nice touch with the drum fills on the outro choruses. Solid production and tones - this EP is off to a good start.
Curious - Mid-tempo song that starts with a fade in, vocals and acoustic. Drum pattern is a surprise, leading to a bigger chorus than we thought we’d get - dig it - didn’t expect that. Second verse comes in and the steady beat has settled. Second chorus has the appropriate lift - just enough - nothing getting in the way of anything else as the curiousness builds. Nice breakdown after the bridge as she asks the listener (presumably the love interest) if they are curious about her, too? Once again, good production - the focus is the song and there’s nothing arrogant - nobody showing off.
Something’s Up - Tempo picks up again with this rocker. Full band start and comparatively subdued first verse sets up a very well structure pre-chorus (we love the chord changes and melody here). How the vocals fall rhythmically in the chorus really makes this a strong hook. Good emphasis on the downbeats - driving it into your psyche. Back to a subtle second verse and that great pre-chorus set up brings us back to this really strong chorus. This is our favorite track on the EP so far. Create backing vocal interplay with the solo section that sets up a powerful bridge. This song fits squarely in the country pop vibe - we can definitely see the crowd singing along - especially with how she breaks up the chorus vibe at the end, and brings back the “solo section” vocals. Great song!
Filthy Water - A very different vibe starts this one - dark, brooding, almost like a Euro-pop track. Kick pattern doubles down on the second half of the first verse to build intensity. With the chorus, she’s relying mainly on her vocals - and it works. She’s got a great soft edge to her tone that mixes well with the heaviness of the mix and the topic. As the song progresses, there are some nice additions to the drum patterns that continue to elevate the mood. Even though it’s a different vibe than the others - it still fits perfectly in this project. There’s been great consistency in her vocals - how she sings, how they’re mixed - all of it. It’s different style than the others but still a good fit.
Questions - Tempo and vibe change with this one - back to the pop-country vibe here with a mid-tempo, heartbreaker about the questions we all face when a relationship falls apart - and the answers we want. Love the way this track builds, and REALLY LOVE the bass fills on the back end chorus. Unlike the earlier songs, the chorus on this one is vocally busier - more words - but it works just fine and shows she’s comfortable composing in different rhythmic settings. Great guitar solo about 2:30 in - short, sweet and to the point. Afterwards, the song keeps building and lyrics fall right in the pocket.
By This Time Next Year - A hopeful song about moving on, wanting to find happiness after a bad break-up. Once again, clear production with a sparse feel that echoes hopeful thoughts. It’s like a meditative, swaying vibe - something you’d say while you manifest the future. There’s some beautiful acoustic riffs peppered throughout the track that is another style departure within the project. A nice way to quietly round out this solid project. Well done, Jennifer!
Jennifer has been writing songs since she was four years old - she’s obviously got it in her blood. This is a solid project with great consistency and depth to the writing. We recommend you check out her first EP that came out last year, “Playing with Fire.” She’s also a frequent visitor to Nashville’s writers rounds (she’ll actually be in town next week). She’s definitely one to watch!
Check it out now!