Cassadee Pope is finally back with some new music. Three years ago, she released her debut record Frame By Frame, which spawned the Top 5 hit single "Wasting All These Tears." Her new record is coming, but in the meantime she released an EP, titled Summer, just in time for the season! For this new project, Pope has written and recorded many amazing songs, some of which are included on her EP. But instead of picking one of those songs to be the single, or even "Let Me Go," a track Pope previewed a year ago, surmised to be the new single, her team chose "Summer."
It's not that "Summer" is a bad song. Pope sounds good, and it's an emotional enough song to appeal to those listeners who are fans of songs like "You Should Be Here" and "Die A Happy Man." The lyrics are pretty solid, especially the end of the chorus, when Pope sings:
"He drove away the first of September, but I remember, yeah I remember he talked like and he walked like and he looked like and he burned like summer."
The main problem with "Summer" is not the songwriting, which is pretty solid, but it's the production. Cassadee Pope just had a No. 1 song with Chris Young and has been touring with him, and it seems that his influence hasn't been the best for her music. Her producer is now the same one who produced his album. His album was incredibly bland, production wise, and this song is as well. The rest of Pope's EP is very interesting production wise, and on her debut record, that is what made her music stand out: the clever mix of country pop and rock. The other songs on the EP all have an evolution of that very Cassadee Pipe sound. But this song sounds like a Chris Young song. It's just bland.
Maybe I'm wrong and this will be a huge hit. But in the past, with women in country music, the songs that are new and different are the songs that do well. Pope's best seller to date was "Wasting All These Tears," a song that didn't necessarily approach any new territory, but it was beautifully written (thanks Caitlyn Smith!) and Pope was given the opportunity to show off what made her famous: her voice. In this song she isn't able to do that. I think it's great that Pope is trying to be a more of a songwriter, but she has to remember that she is famous because she has an amazing voice, and this song does not do her voice justice.
Overall rating: 3 crowns
Maybe I'm wrong and this will be a huge hit. But in the past, with women in country music, the songs that are new and different are the songs that do well. Pope's best seller to date was "Wasting All These Tears," a song that didn't necessarily approach any new territory, but it was beautifully written (thanks Caitlyn Smith!) and Pope was given the opportunity to show off what made her famous: her voice. In this song she isn't able to do that. I think it's great that Pope is trying to be a more of a songwriter, but she has to remember that she is famous because she has an amazing voice, and this song does not do her voice justice.
Overall rating: 3 crowns
RSS Feed
