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Plucky NYC songstress Boyce grew up in New Mexico, getting her start as a keyboardist for Nickelodeon’s tween pop Naked Brothers Band before studying jazz piano in Cincinnati. In January she followed up her charismatic 2010 self-titled debut with the energetic, chugging single “Hands Untied,” which highlighted her belting voice (having seen her play twice, I can attest she brings it live, too!). I was expecting this six-song EP to continue in that vein, but Boyce goes in the opposite direction, turning down the volume considerably.
Beginning with the breathtaking, uplifting “Like It’s Suicide” and the equally elevating, heartfelt stunner “Not a Wasted Love,” her singing sounds beautifully stark and vulnerable. Each is peppered with just the right amount of guitar and piano by Boyce and her musical partner Chris Cubeta. Those qualities continue on the anguished, devastating slow-burner “Broken Hearted Girl” (featuring a jaw-dropping vocal performance that floored me), the reassuring “All Right,” and the yearning, country-flecked “Perfect Wheel,” all oozing with candid, naked emotion.
But the standout might be the poignant jazz/lounge piano closer “To Amy” (about Amy Winehouse; the song’s scornful line “Guess you learned well from Mr. Hathaway” tipped me off!), which Boyce turns into a scathing, no-holds-barred condemnation of celebrity worship. She doesn’t mince words: “And the fall is captivating/How we claw to watch you rise/Every single word from your mouth sounds like pleading/Seems like someone could’ve lifted a hand/But the money’s too good.” Tough love, indeed! By stripping things down and laying bare her soul, Boyce knocks one way out of the park. This is a record to cherish.
