Caught in the Carousel

Laura Warshauer

Laura Warshauer EP
Island Records

Laura Warshauer

Laura Warshauer's eponymously titled debut EP is a 7-song showcase of a young and engaging New Jersey singer-songwriter. Warshauer reminds me of Shawn Colvin and Joan Osborne—slightly nasal and throaty, but capable of quite nice range—and this short collection works as a break-up album, moving through bitterness, denial, and renewal. At times defiant, other times vulnerable, Warshauer seems to find catharsis in a well-crafted song.

Sometimes hindsight is a four-letter word, as we find with songs like "Sweet 17," which is reminiscent of Colvin's work on A Few Small Repairs. "Convince Myself" reminds me of Relish-era Joan Osborne, while "December Night," full of energy and longing, brings back memories of The Bangles' Susanne Hoffs. "Please Don't Lie" is one of the best tracks on the EP, as Warshauer belts out one last grasp for something that sounds like it should've ended long ago. With "Black Crow," Warshauer returns to a clearer, more mature voice and a pacing backbeat that has the earmarks of a woman with one foot out the door. Warshauer reverts to that throaty, almost childish voice in "Breathe Again," as she exalts in her freedom. "My Fault," a superb song, is another pacing, hammering track that reminds me of something from Alanis Morrisette's Jagged Little Pill and will be disturbingly familiar to anyone who has endured a toxic relationship. Here's your after-school-special PSA: If you find yourself identifying too closely with the lyrics, get out.

Warshauer is good, but one wonders at the decision to limit the release to a seven-track EP. I don't want to believe that she doesn't have more material or that Island Records would stint in its support.

—Lyn Dunagan