Getting Over Him, by Lauren Alaina

Continuing on our theme of the recent music of Lauren Alaina, here is a collection of songs, many of which appear to have made it on the singer’s album (review forthcoming). If Getting Good was a collection that, however incoherently, sought to capture the singer’s views of the good life, this EP appears to be more focused on the singer’s attempts to overcome a bad relationship. Will a more focused theme make for a more enjoyable listening experience?

This EP begins with “Run,” which contains another connection between broken-down vehicles and broken relationships, a bit of continuity with the past EP, mixing a lot of thoughts about life and how it runs without ceasing. “If I Was A Beer” is an interesting song where the singer compares herself to a beer and wonders how much different life would be if that was the case, an admittedly pretty clever idea for a song. “Bar Back” is a somewhat fierce declaration by the singer that she is taking her favorite bar back as a place to forget him and that she won’t let him destroy her enjoyment of the place. “Getting Over Him,” featuring Jon Pardi, is a clever and witty song about the narrator’s attempts to get over a breakup with a fun rebound guy. “Seen You In Your Hometown” offers a perspective of how one sees someone differently from their public persona when one knows their family and background, and how that affects your calculations of whether someone is worth sticking with. “What Do You Think Of?,” featuring Lukas Graham, offers a reflective look back at a relationship, where two people ask each other what they think of when they think of each other.

I can say without hesitation that I enjoy this particular collection of songs a lot better than the first EP from this collection. Focusing on issues of relationship drama certainly makes for a compelling listen. If this EP does not answer all of my questions and concerns about the general tone and approach of Lauren Alaina, this particular EP certainly goes down a lot easier than the last EP did. If the songwriting and performance are often rather sharp, she seems somewhat reflective on herself as well, and the sort of strident approach that she takes to music certainly seems to go down better when she is either focused on her own behavior in witty and ironic ways or when she is aiming it at someone that the listener is not at all going to identify themselves with. It’s not a surprise that this EP was the more successful one at providing the basis for her latest album, and I’m intrigued to see what resulted in her album as a whole.