It’s difficult for EPs to get somebody hooked till the last song. There are just a few songs to select from, and more often than not, only the ones we usually hear on the radio get the attention. It is not the case, though, for RaeLynn, who just released her EP, which she delightfully called Me. RaeLynn’s youthful exuberance shines through all the songs. Each song is special in its own way, and the EP is nothing short of addictive. Me is a very simple name for an EP, but there is probably nothing more appropriate than that. It is very rare that singers of RaeLynn’s age sing something as natural and fresh as her. It only goes to show that maturity should not be forced, for it must come effortlessly. That is what RaeLynn did with Me.
The EP starts with the perennial Billboard Hot 100 mainstay, “God Made Girls.” It’s the type of youthful country song with the right amount of innocence, as well as assertiveness. It has enough of RaeLynn’s capacity to captivate her listeners with her lovely Southern drawl. It’s something that truly represents RaeLynn as a performer now. It works well for her, for it’s something that you would not have hesitations of repeating over and over again.
It was followed by the light and breezy “Kissin’ Frogs,” that RaeLynn delivers with proper restraint in the verses, which helped the chorus gain proper momentum. The lyrics also did not need to be too deep. It just equates the amount of charm the song requires. Meanwhile, “Careless” sparkles in the EP because it allowed RaeLynn to pull off some serious storytelling skills. There are way too many singers doing the same thing, but RaeLynn has this extraordinary delivery that makes listeners get involved with everything she says.
“Better Do It,” on the other hand, stands out as the best in the EP. It utilizes RaeLynn’s youthfulness to the optimum. Albeit it does not have the best lyrics among the songs in Me, it still emphasizes the kind of rationality of the teenage population. It also has enough of the growl the world learned to adore from RaeLynn. As Blake Shelton once said to her, she proves that country can kick ass. Lastly, “Boyfriend” may not be the best song from Me, and it could have been placed as the first track instead, as the warm-up song of the EP. However, the honesty in RaeLynn’s delivery saves any limitation the song has.
Me is a fair shot from RaeLynn to establish herself as a bankable artist. Nothing really underperforms in Me. It’s actually a brilliant attempt from RaeLynn to make her fans, and even non-fans, to anticipate what she is capable of doing when she finally releases a full-length album. However, the safety in the approach of Me provides the most limitation in the EP. RaeLynn did not incorporate the spunk she masterfully does, which is evident in her covers of Maroon 5’s “Wake Up Call,” Miranda Lambert’s “Hell On Heels” and Jason Aldean’s “She’s Country.” If she only incorporated some of those, her EP could have been so much better. On a positive note, though, RaeLynn is one of the most promising artists around. This is just the start from her. If this is what she is capable of doing now, it is worth to anticipate what she can do when her artistry ultimately peaks.