CD review: Christina Perri

Artist: Christina Perri

Album: The Ocean Way Sessions EP

Label: Atlantic

Rating: 5

If Britney, Rihanna and Ke$ha are the head cheerleaders of the music world, then Christina Perri is whatever you call the quiet girl who spent lunch strumming her guitar behind the bleachers. And as everyone found out at the 10-year reunion, she turned out to be way cooler than the cheerleaders. As the 23-year-old singer-songwriter croons in her fantastic EP The Ocean Way Sessions, “Karma tastes so sweet.”

Perri’s raspy, powerful voice and bluesy melodies are a far cry from most of the processed pop hits of the Top 40, which is part of what makes her tracks (rRecorded live at Los Angeles’ Ocean Way Studios) so darn refreshing. The hypnotic single “Jar of Hearts” shows off her achingly passionate vocals, while the cheeky, revengeful “Bang Bang Bang” hits an infectious level of euphoria. She relaxes on “Tragedy” and “Black + Blue,” making it all the more obvious that when you have as much talent as she does, all you need is a guitar and lyrics written straight from the heart.

Give these tracks a listen: “Jar of Hearts,” “Bang Bang Bang,” “Black + Blue”

For fans of: Florence + The Machine, Colbie Caillat, Alanis Morissette

– Erin Migdol