EP REVIEW | Kate Voegele “Wild Card”

Singer/songwriter Kate Voegele sure has come a long way since the release of her very first EPs The Other Side (2003) and Louder Than Words (2005). Discovered by Myspace founder Tom Anderson in 2006 after posting her songs on the social media network, the Cleveland-native signed with Myspace Records (Interscope) and released her debut full-length album Don’t Look Away, in 2007. Following the release of the album, Voegele got what we could call the opportunity of a lifetime: promote her own music on the CW’s series One Tree Hill as musician Mia Catalano. Though she was only set to appear in a couple of episodes, she ended up joining the cast as a regular for four seasons, during which she released and promoted two other albums, A Fine Mess (2009) and Gravity Happens (2011).

Now, almost three years later, Kate Voegele is back with a brand new EP, The Wild Card!

This brand new album definitively has a more mature and country vibe to it, most likely due to the fact that Voegele is now a married soon-to-be 28-year-old, who left Los Angeles for Nashville and who is no longer restricted creatively by a label. The EP includes 4 original songs, that were all written and produced by the singer, as well as a cover of “When I’m Gone,” that you surely all already know from the movie Pitch Perfect.

The EP kicks off with “Just Watch Me,” that fans got to hear early when pre-ordering the EP. With this track, the singer reassures her oldest fans: she’s grown up, but hasn’t changed. Through the lyrics, Voegele encourages people not to let other people set goals for them. “Everybody’s telling me who I ought to be / Who am I and where I gotta be / The last thing I need are voices in my head.”

“Just Watch Me” is followed by “Carousel,” which, in my opinion, is the track where you can hear the slight country twang the most, the undertones giving the song a special something. It’s very different from what older fans were used to hearing from Kate, but it’s a good different. The song has a very unique twist and let me tell you one thing, it’s been on repeat since the EP came out!

Now, “Ooh La La,” and “Caught Up In You,” the two following original tracks, are very different and yet, very Kate Voegele-ish. . “Ooh La La” is very catchy love song, while “Caught Up In You,” which features musician Inland Sky has more of a soothing twist to it. Yet, older fans will be able to find the kind of music that made them fall in love with Voegele’s voice all these years ago in both songs. “We actually wrote this song in about twenty minutes!” Voegele shared about the duet.“His [Inland Sky] voice is really beautiful and unique, and I’d never done a duet type track before,” she continued.

The fifth and final song, as I mentioned before, is a cover of Anna Kendrik’s “When I’m Gone” from the movie Pitch Perfect. It was definitively not what I, or anyone else really, was expecting when the tracklist was first revealed. We were expecting another original song, but we were SO happy when it turned out to be this cover.  Just like she had done with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” back in the days,  Voegele managed to make the song her own, giving it an even more special warmth.

Overall, The Wild Card – EP is just pure genius! It’s the kind of album you can either relax or jam to. If the full-length album Voegele is currently working on is anything like this EP, you can be sure we’re in for a treat in 2015!

Buy The Wild Card – EP on iTunes NOW, and make sure to catch Kate on tour this fall!

Kate’s WILD CARD TOUR kicks off TONIGHT (11/05) in Charlottesville, VA!

For VIP and General tickets, head to KateVoegele.com!