True Blue - Solitary Queen

You can swap 'true blue' with synonyms like genuine, authentic, unvarnished, straightforward, candid... All of those fit this artist, but what's most endearing about her songs is that they're not preoccupied with trying to fit any specific descriptor, no matter how long you shuffle through your rock-music thesaurus. Singer/songwriter Alexandria Berry writes, records and performs under the moniker True Blue - and what I find so refreshing about the EP that she's releasing this Friday is threefold.

First, her songwriting: the propulsive arrangements of her expressive guitar combined with her melodic voice seem to pull everything with it, the bass, the drums, and you the listener. The harmonic progression of "Firestarter" all but lifts you into the air and flourishes around the tailing vibrato of her gliding vocal melody. 

Second, her rhythmic riffs and guitar fills. Berry's voice attains its own mellifluous elegance on songs like "Look What You've Done," but there's always something about it, maybe it's the mid-low intonations she's swooning into through the bridge, just this twinge of something guttral that calls back to a 90's kind of shambolic indie-rock...But I'm getting off topic, because I want to not only emphasize how she's able to sufficiently fill a soundscape with just her guitar playing, but I also want to indicate that their are some sweet, shreddy, psychedellic-sounding guitar solos coming your way (once you hear it...), giving extra luminescence to the bridge of each of the four songs.

And third, I just have to go back to being this pure, unadorned sound--something that is perfect..as is! True Blue. The single streaming above is from March, which doesn't appear on the EP, but nevertheless gives you an effective impression of what to expect on Solitary Queen. When she arcs up into the choruses of "Only If You Want To," she hits the kind of sweet, dulcet, vulnerable yet resolute tones that can make you close your eyes as you bend through them...presuming you've got headphones on and presuming you're listening as intently as I am....True Blue!

Alexandria Berry is a Detroit-based singer/songwriter and her debut EP, as True Blue, comes out this Friday, with a show at the Ghost Light in Hamtramck. 

Also at the Ghost Light, you'll see Fight, Dear Darkness, and Gala Delicious. CLICK HERE for more info.