Betsy Lane came on my radar through her performances with Song Suffragettes. The first performance I saw of her was "Southern Crazy". Honestly, I wasn't that impressed. The song was good, and her vocals were good, but it didn't have the 'oomph' and uniqueness that the songs by the other girls had. But I did end up checking out her EP anyway. I'm glad I did. I was blown away. Her EP is amazing. It shows all of Lane's strengths and has the descriptive personal songwriting I always look for.
The best example of this is "Drunk Because of You", the fourth track on the EP. The beginning is produced somewhat like the beginning of "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss. The lyrics speak of a typical night of bumping into an ex, but the story line is a bit different. Instead of acting confident and walking on, the girl in the song says she fine, then picks up a glass of wine and opens her heart a bit too much to him. Lane sets up the story in a way that pulls the listener in and makes them feel for the girl. It can become a tearjerker if you listen to it too many times.
Two other key tracks of the EP are "Grenade" and "What About 18". I'm a big fan of the ballads, as it shows, and on Lane's EP, the ballads are the best tracks. "Grenade" is the opposite of the Bruno Mars song. In Mars' song, he sings almost pathetically that he would do anything for this girl but she doesn't even love him. Lane's track is much more powerful, complex and just a better song in general. She sings about the fact that her ex made her so crazy she's now hurting everyone else in her life. This is a fact of life that few singers sing about. When something hard is going on in your life, you're definite more likely to be short tempered and mean. Lane touches on a subject that not many singers have touched on, giving her a leg up in the songwriters world. "What About 18" is a song that speaks about the age that is missed in all of the country songs. She becomes nostalgic in this song, remembering everything amazing and awful about being 18 that everyone seems to forget. It's a thought provoking song hat really peeks into Lane's life more that any of her other songs. This song also name drops Taylor Swift, Dan & Shay, and Deana Carter, which makes it really modern and up to date, which will appeal to listeners.
Two other key tracks of the EP are "Grenade" and "What About 18". I'm a big fan of the ballads, as it shows, and on Lane's EP, the ballads are the best tracks. "Grenade" is the opposite of the Bruno Mars song. In Mars' song, he sings almost pathetically that he would do anything for this girl but she doesn't even love him. Lane's track is much more powerful, complex and just a better song in general. She sings about the fact that her ex made her so crazy she's now hurting everyone else in her life. This is a fact of life that few singers sing about. When something hard is going on in your life, you're definite more likely to be short tempered and mean. Lane touches on a subject that not many singers have touched on, giving her a leg up in the songwriters world. "What About 18" is a song that speaks about the age that is missed in all of the country songs. She becomes nostalgic in this song, remembering everything amazing and awful about being 18 that everyone seems to forget. It's a thought provoking song hat really peeks into Lane's life more that any of her other songs. This song also name drops Taylor Swift, Dan & Shay, and Deana Carter, which makes it really modern and up to date, which will appeal to listeners.
"Southern Crazy" is the low point in the record for me. It seems to almost copy Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, making just another murder song, which were good before a zillion of them came out. The song doesn't seem to be Lane at all. I wish the record were named What About 18 instead or honestly any other song except this song, because it's the oddball on the EP, and doesn't describe it and Lane's talent at all. The title of an album should be a title that encompasses the theme of the record and should also be a song that can represent the record as a whole. "Southern Crazy" does not do that.
The two other songs on the EP are interesting stories and beautiful lyrics, but aren't produced as well as the other tracks on the album, and therefore don't standout. But "This Time" and "Fell Through" are still very good songs.
Betsy Lane has a lot of talent. A lot. She has the ability to bring these stories through her lyrics and produce the songs in a way that reflect the track perfectly. The one major problem with this extended play was not the content, which was amazing overall, it was the cohesiveness of the EP. There were songs that seemed like they all belonged together and songs that seemed like they should have been on a different EP entirely. Lane could create an amazing album an have a radio breakthrough if she stays true to herself throughout the whole record and makes sure that all of the tracks really work well together. Because again, she has the talent to do that, and I think will in the near future.
Best tracks: What About 18, Grenade, Drunk Because of You
Throwaway tracks: Southern Crazy
Overall rating: 3 and a half crowns
The two other songs on the EP are interesting stories and beautiful lyrics, but aren't produced as well as the other tracks on the album, and therefore don't standout. But "This Time" and "Fell Through" are still very good songs.
Betsy Lane has a lot of talent. A lot. She has the ability to bring these stories through her lyrics and produce the songs in a way that reflect the track perfectly. The one major problem with this extended play was not the content, which was amazing overall, it was the cohesiveness of the EP. There were songs that seemed like they all belonged together and songs that seemed like they should have been on a different EP entirely. Lane could create an amazing album an have a radio breakthrough if she stays true to herself throughout the whole record and makes sure that all of the tracks really work well together. Because again, she has the talent to do that, and I think will in the near future.
Best tracks: What About 18, Grenade, Drunk Because of You
Throwaway tracks: Southern Crazy
Overall rating: 3 and a half crowns
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