Auburn Road 2016
Teen talent aplenty, three friends’ first EP shows a perspective way into the future.
You will be forgiven for thinking alongside TLC lines of this Sacramento trio who may be forgiven for thinking of themselves as a country-pop ensemble while possessing enough riffs to rock a joint and not only glide the dancefloor as the title track of the girls’ debut has it. There’s a deep creative rapport between Kristen Brown, Paxton Martin and Alicia Paulson – childhood friends that move from high school lectures to stardom on infectiously textured harmonies now – and their EP is shaped like a live show, high on adrenaline and low on autotune, so it’s easy to imagine the young ladies on-stage.
Starting with acoustic strum and unison hum and flowing towards luxuriant a cappella of “That Lonesome Road” through “Tuff Girl” where groove and guitar drive go hand in hand, the trio unfold a wide emotional spectrum. As “Friday Night Lights” gloriously compromises its glimmer promise with Appalachian pining, and “If It Wasn’t For You” shifts into a heavier territory, there’s an open question as to the band’s further development. One thing is for sure, though: this ROAD should last long.
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