Album Review - Kat Graham "Against The Wall"

I'm back, bitches! I had a relaxing mini-vacation and I am now back at it yet again. Kat Graham continues to surprise me. To be honest, I've never watched The Vampire Diaries, so I had no idea who she was when she ever-so-suddenly broke out onto the music scene. Thankfully I kept tabs on her, because she dropped an EP (we all know how much I love EPs) and this one is HOT.

The EP opens up with the track we had already heard previously, "Put Your Graffiti On Me." The song has been out since April, so it really hadn't had a lot of time to grow and develop before the Ep was dropped. I can't quite tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing. The lyrics are still fun and the style is something I've not heard from the pop genre. It's beats are off tempo, it's got tons of backing vocal distortions. It's just Kat Graham.

The experience continues with the second track, and my personal favorite, "Heartkiller". That same uneven feeling keeps up in this song, throwing conventional rhythms out the window. Oddly it works -- well. The song is all about catching a man in a web of lies, and turning him down flat out. The message of female power laced throughout the lyrics really makes it much more relatable. The song gets you moving, and feels so simple yet genius at once. This is the realm I love to have pop music in the most: maybe not mind blowing, but unique.

"Wanna Say" has a much  broader draw to it. It is a bit slower, but still has a lot of power behind it. This one falls in sync more with the current style of power-pop ballads you hear on the radio. The lyrics aren't the most inspired, but the beat keeps me jamming the entire song, unable to skip this one. The R&B inspired beat really has a lot going for it, if not to the point to where it actually outshines Kat a bit.

The short ride ends with "Supa Dope", a song that I had a very hard time taking seriously just going by the name. That being said, I now claim to be "Supa - Dope - Funky - Fresh" whenever possible. Lyrics that are pompous and self centered often draw me in (because I totally am, ya know?) so when she says she's the leader of a band while you're just a stadium fan, and tells you that she knows you like what you see, I am already sold. This song has a much stronger rock influence, showing a bit more variety from the artist, meaning her debut full album (which is being recorded now) could go in several directions.

My only complaint is that the EP is too short. I know that sounds like I'm sucking up, but I love Kat from what I've heard so far, and I wish the best for her in the future. As far as what else I know about her, she has a bit of a ways to go as far as live singing. Her Ellen performance was a bit rough on the ears, despite how hard I was cheering her on. A lot can be to blame for a TV performance going horribly bad (Jimmy Kimmel's lives always sound horrid).

With a recording contract, a hot TV show, and a video that has everybody turning their heads, she will remain in the spotlight for a while. Hopefully the full album turns out to be similar to "Against The Wall", as this is exactly what I love to hear from my faves.