Rating: NNNN
Detroit-born Alex Winston is a pop artist with a sunny sound and a fluttering soprano that sometimes recalls early Kate Bush. Her six-song debut mini-LP, co-produced by the Knocks and Charlie Hugall, is jammed with uplifting hooks that exude a sprightly, pastoral beauty. There’s a definite Americana influence, but that’s nicely accentuated by satisfyingly modern pop beats.
Her songwriting has a charmingly understated sensibility, and the chorus on the title track glides along a lilting melody without coming off as too kooky.
These days pop artist bio writers apply the term “operatic” to performers when there’s nothing overtly operatic or classical about their music. Those descriptors get applied to Winston, but in pop the highest-valued currency is catchiness, and she has plenty of cred in that department.
Top track: Locomotive
