Haley's New Songs

[dswim2]

Lyrics are really important to me, so I'm glad that the songs this time around have a lot more depth to them. Her sound is definitely more organic and sassier( like you said.) One thing that I've noticed is that these songs work a lot better for just an acoustic set. Her last album was hard to transfer over to that type of environment. Show me your moves was too overproduced for my liking--as opposed to "Listen" which has a really organic feel to it. The lyrics were also pretty mundane compared to what she was coming out with. I can't really comment on 'listen" because we haven't heard the full version, but the instrumentals are flawless in my opinion. From the guitar, the xylophone at the beginning, the tambourine, the African drum style(?), and even a slight pop drum beat to it. Her voice also sounds really good on the song and I love the message; compared to her other songs, this one isn't about love. Unlike "Listen Up!", it's harder to pinpoint which songs I prefer, which I believe is a testament to how much she has evolved. But I would say "Better" and "My Cake" are definitely up there. These songs have given us some nourishment while we were in the Sahara Desert. My cake is just a really fun jam song and better showcases her bluesy tone and the lyrics are--in my opinion--the best she's come up with. The whole floating, sinking, anchor arc is great. AS for LIWFF and KMO, I'm thinking only one can make the album. They are both great songs so I'm fine with whichever one she goes with. They are also ballads that she seems to enjoy singing--unlike "Undone". One of the leaked songs, "Hard", is hard to get behind because to me it was a little bizarre for Haley. I'm still a little bit iffy on "Lover Girl' and "Good or Bad". The lyrics are both really creative--particularly "Lover Girl". I think I need to hear the studio version before I can get behind them. I agree with you on the lyrics; I hope she includes some songs with some diversity lyric wise. She said she wants to include some songs we haven't heard before, so I hope that includes "listen" because we've only heard a snippet. I've been waiting a long time to hear the full version.

In the end I'm hoping her EP has 8 songs:

1) My Cake
2) Better
3) Listen
4) LIWFF/KMO
5) New song
6) New song
7) New song
8) New song

However, it is Haley's decision and I'll be ecstatic with whatever she puts out!

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I think the EP is going to be stronger than "Listen Up!"[/align]