Juliet Simms is a name that many may be familiar with for one reason or another. She has achieved a reasonable mainstream following as a result of her stint on the US version of The Voice on NBC whilst gathering a following from the rock world as a result of being the wife of Black Veil Brides frontman Andy Biersack. However, her music more than speaks for itself and with the release of this EP there’s no limit to what she can achieve on her own.
Despite having problems previously with a number of label deals falling through for a number of reasons we have here Juliet’s first release in a year and simply put, it is exceptional. Opening with Get Ready we get the first showing of Juliet’s voice which is one of the finest in music today with a pop rock like sound that is simply great fun. The fun is carried on to the next track, Say Hello, where the more pop sounding element of the music is combined with an excellent blues guitar line and a catchy as hell chorus.
The more pop orientated sound takes the attention on the obscurely catchy Tidal Wave before one of the highlights of the EP My Last Whiskey Tears is given its airtime. This track is country rock of the finest standard with Juliet’s encapsulating voice not letting the listener go and containing a chorus that is ready to blow all listeners away.
Towards the end of the EP you get a true sense of how talented Juliet Simms really is with a trio of acoustic tracks. The first of those acoustic tracks comes in the form of Frances, which shows off the pipes she has again but in a more emotional way than heard previously in the EP with her even adding some rasp to her vocals reminiscent of Courtney Love’s better days. The second of these acoustic tracks is Phoenix and this again sets about showing off the variation of singing styles Simms can hit as well as how much of a talented song writer she really is. The chorus here is made for massive arenas with some of the vocal melodies even reminding the listener of Kurt Cobain, further proof there is no limit to the voice of Juliet Simms.
The most evident proof of this comes on the EP closer, Found Missing. A much more sad and emotional affair than the two previous acoustic traps, this song is incredibly beautiful. The emotion shown in the chorus here will have even the thickest skinned of people reaching for a tissue such is the power of her voice. A genuinely incredible way to finish was it is a simply perfect EP.
Juliet Simms could easily be picked up by a massive label and turned into the next big thing in music but this would take away her artistic freedom. The thing with this EP is, it can’t be described easily at all. At times Simms sounds like Kurt Cobain, Pat Benetar, Courtney Love all the while maintaining her own personality and not letting any influences take attention away from her and her music. This EP shows songwriting of multiple different genres done in the best way imaginable.
10/10 – Genuniely perfect songwriting done by one of the best singers I have heard in a very long time.
Highlights – My Last Whiskey Tears, Found Missing