Thursday, October 24, 2013

Cassadee Pope Releases Enjoyable Debut

Cassadee Pope rose to fame in the Warped Tour circuit with her pop-punk band Hey Monday. Their music was an energetic dose of pop-punk that featured a very pop edge but also rocked hard. Hey Monday took a hiatus and Pope released a mediocre EP that was basically Hey Monday lite. Then she participated and eventually won The Voice. With Blake Shelton as her coach Pope adopted a country sound and that later manifested in the first single "Wasting All These Tears." The single was a great first country outing for Pope and her debut album Frame by Frame followed this month.
The album starts on a high note with the album's five best songs. "Good Times," "Champagne," "Wasting All These Tears," "I Wish I Could Break Your Heart" and "Everybody Sings" are all catchy and memorable. "Good Times" is a fast paced song about enjoying the good times with a bit of  a rock edge and is the best song on the album. "Everybody Sings" shows a bit of Pope's pop side with a Gwen Stefani "Hollaback Girl" inspired breakdown during the bridge. "I Wish I Could Break Your Heart" is a rock inspired song as well as "Champagne."
Other good songs on the album are "This Car" and ode to falling in love in a car and "One Song Away" a breakup ballad about being one sad song away from a breakdown. "Easier to Lie" is an anthem for cheaters all over and despite being a sleazy track, is an emotional look into the mind of a cheater.
Some of the songs that aren't as good include "You Hear a Song" which is a misguided attempt at a love song and just comes off cheesy. "11" is a Taylor Swift inspired song that deals with a child dealing with the divorce of her parents.
However the album closes on a high note again with "Proved You Wrong." This song is a fast-paced country rocker that is similar to Pope's solo material.
While this country debut is a good album, it isn't truly pure country. The music is more pop and rock with country influences mixed in. Pope should return to Hey Monday as soon as possible. Her music with her former band was far more memorable than these songs. But judging by her "I'm going back to my roots" spiel that isn't likely to happen anytime soon, if not ever. 

 

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