Listen to the EP here.
Bio: Kelly Blonde is an up and coming songstress from Campbell, CA. She began singing at 3 years old, sitting in with her mom & dad’s wedding band. After high school she moved to Los Angeles to further pursue her passion by studying at the L.A. Music Academy. Immediately after graduating she was hired as a background vocalist for Columbia Records artist, Coheed And Cambria. After touring the world and playing some of the worlds most prominent venues and festivals (Madison Square Garden, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Bamboozle Festival), she moved to Hollywood to record her own material. One of her most exciting shows was opening for her long-time idols, Hanson at the Anaheim House of Blues. Her sound is a fun, poppy mix of her influences including Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Carrie Underwood, and Fleetwood Mac.
Bio: Kelly Blonde is an up and coming songstress from Campbell, CA. She began singing at 3 years old, sitting in with her mom & dad’s wedding band. After high school she moved to Los Angeles to further pursue her passion by studying at the L.A. Music Academy. Immediately after graduating she was hired as a background vocalist for Columbia Records artist, Coheed And Cambria. After touring the world and playing some of the worlds most prominent venues and festivals (Madison Square Garden, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Bamboozle Festival), she moved to Hollywood to record her own material. One of her most exciting shows was opening for her long-time idols, Hanson at the Anaheim House of Blues. Her sound is a fun, poppy mix of her influences including Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Carrie Underwood, and Fleetwood Mac.
There's a good reason Nashville is called "Music City": there are musicians everywhere. That's one of the things I love about it. You can walk into just about any bar on Broadway and find talented musicians there playing music for you. As a music blogger, it never occurred to me that Nashville would be a good place to advertise my blog and maybe gain some more exposure. I decided to do just that, and that's when I received the request to do this review. I'd never had anyone request a review, so naturally, I got really excited. Now, here's my review of Kelly Blonde's EP, Weapon of Choice.
On first listen, Kelly Blonde's voice gives a ZZ-Ward-meets-Miranda-Lambert feel. It has all the soulfulness of ZZ Ward's acoustic rock-RnB, plus the take-no-crap-from-anyone attitude that we've come to know and love from Miranda Lambert. That is the first thing I noticed: The songs have personality. That's important, especially in country. You can't have a good country-rock song without some attitude.
The first track, "The Wedding March", is the one that immediately brought ZZ Ward to mind. The catchy, sing-along chorus reminds me a lot of a song like "Put the Gun Down", and to give another Miranda Lambert comparison, the chorus even sounds a bit like that of "Mama's Broken Heart". But I digress. The lyrics to the chorus are hooky and sound like they're made for the live setting. "You're shell-shockin' me / With those shiny diamond rings / Make sure everybody sees / You're attached to somebody." That sounds a lot like a chorus ready for a big crowd sing-along, to me.
The second track, "Take Off Runnin'" offers a different, slower feel from the EP's opener. It's a blusier number about watching a man whom you love just running off, despite your best attempts to convince him otherwise. As with the EP's opener, it has good radio and live potential.
The EP's third track, "Why You Gotta Go & Break My Heart", is a drastic change from the rockers that the first two songs were, slowing down to a soft, mournful country ballad with acoustic guitars and the mournful wail of a lap steel to match. The song is reminiscent of breakup ballads from other Nashville songstresses like Kacey Musgraves and Carrie Underwood... and I guess I have to mention Miranda Lambert too, right?
The fourth track, "Vampire", picks up the pace again. Here, attraction is being compared to a vampire, presumably not as a compliment. "Run away girl, he's a vampire, don't listen to his lies." The lyrics also refer to a guy being a soul-sucker, so in this case, being compared to a vampire is probably appropriate. Of the five songs on this EP, this one is probably the most upbeat tempo-wise, and is also the most rockin'.
The EP closes out with its title track, "Weapon of Choice". Starting out slow and picking up tempo about 40 seconds into the song. However, even with the slower start, it's still pretty awesome. In the song, the narrator talks about finding her place in the world, and how her new place in the world has become her "weapon of choice". "I finally found my own voice, and now it's my weapon of choice." I think it's for that line alone that this song is my favorite on the EP. Music is both mine and many others' weapon of choice. Whether you're in the business as an artist, manager, or producer, I think you can relate to using it as your weapon of choice.
In conclusion, Kelly Blonde's debut EP offers something for everyone. If you like big, country-rock shout-alongs, you'll like this EP. If you like slower heartbreak ballads, you'll like this EP. If music is your weapon of choice, then you'll definitely like this EP. Whichever one you are, definitely give this music some eartime and you won't regret it.
Overall: 8/10
Favorite songs: I like all of them, but if I had to pick just one, it'd be "Weapon of Choice".
On first listen, Kelly Blonde's voice gives a ZZ-Ward-meets-Miranda-Lambert feel. It has all the soulfulness of ZZ Ward's acoustic rock-RnB, plus the take-no-crap-from-anyone attitude that we've come to know and love from Miranda Lambert. That is the first thing I noticed: The songs have personality. That's important, especially in country. You can't have a good country-rock song without some attitude.
The first track, "The Wedding March", is the one that immediately brought ZZ Ward to mind. The catchy, sing-along chorus reminds me a lot of a song like "Put the Gun Down", and to give another Miranda Lambert comparison, the chorus even sounds a bit like that of "Mama's Broken Heart". But I digress. The lyrics to the chorus are hooky and sound like they're made for the live setting. "You're shell-shockin' me / With those shiny diamond rings / Make sure everybody sees / You're attached to somebody." That sounds a lot like a chorus ready for a big crowd sing-along, to me.
The second track, "Take Off Runnin'" offers a different, slower feel from the EP's opener. It's a blusier number about watching a man whom you love just running off, despite your best attempts to convince him otherwise. As with the EP's opener, it has good radio and live potential.
The EP's third track, "Why You Gotta Go & Break My Heart", is a drastic change from the rockers that the first two songs were, slowing down to a soft, mournful country ballad with acoustic guitars and the mournful wail of a lap steel to match. The song is reminiscent of breakup ballads from other Nashville songstresses like Kacey Musgraves and Carrie Underwood... and I guess I have to mention Miranda Lambert too, right?
The fourth track, "Vampire", picks up the pace again. Here, attraction is being compared to a vampire, presumably not as a compliment. "Run away girl, he's a vampire, don't listen to his lies." The lyrics also refer to a guy being a soul-sucker, so in this case, being compared to a vampire is probably appropriate. Of the five songs on this EP, this one is probably the most upbeat tempo-wise, and is also the most rockin'.
The EP closes out with its title track, "Weapon of Choice". Starting out slow and picking up tempo about 40 seconds into the song. However, even with the slower start, it's still pretty awesome. In the song, the narrator talks about finding her place in the world, and how her new place in the world has become her "weapon of choice". "I finally found my own voice, and now it's my weapon of choice." I think it's for that line alone that this song is my favorite on the EP. Music is both mine and many others' weapon of choice. Whether you're in the business as an artist, manager, or producer, I think you can relate to using it as your weapon of choice.
In conclusion, Kelly Blonde's debut EP offers something for everyone. If you like big, country-rock shout-alongs, you'll like this EP. If you like slower heartbreak ballads, you'll like this EP. If music is your weapon of choice, then you'll definitely like this EP. Whichever one you are, definitely give this music some eartime and you won't regret it.
Overall: 8/10
Favorite songs: I like all of them, but if I had to pick just one, it'd be "Weapon of Choice".