#bluebiird

First single ‘Black Coffee Morning’ sees a weary soul unravel across a loose, mellow sprawl of gently plucked guitar and fuzzy reverb, before roaring to life with exuberant brass and audio samples of cheering kids. ‘Sailor’ then has Osment navigate the stormy seas of love, a deep cut of folk pop heartache born ‘out of madness’ as the singer/actress, in a powerful symbol of rebirth, seeks to ‘burn it all down.’

‘Honey Heartbreaker,’ on the other hand, oozes with wistful horns that gorgeously meld with swooning girl group-esque tones in an ode to a ‘pretty persuader,’ while the slightly menacing final track ‘Lie Lie Lie’ sees her maintain her resolve, beating a wayward lover at his own game amidst a haze of stuttering synths and lounge pop piano.

Standout ‘Good Girl,’ however, is pure soul. A sparse campfire ballad, Osment displays sheer will beneath a fragile heart as she pleads: ‘Just give me one more try, just one more night,’ wringing every last ounce of emotion from each word while demonstrating the best of the EP’s richly layered harmonies.

Bluebiird’s When I Loved You is haunting yet heartfelt. Unlike some of her peers, the retro motifs never feel forced, its rough-hewn arrangements enveloping you like a soft, velvety blanket. Equally as beautiful is Osment’s ability to switch between a delicate falsetto and a bluesy trill.

Most surprising however, is her knack for storytelling. On ‘Black Coffee Morning,’ she paints a picture of domestic bliss you just know is five seconds away from shattering (‘Just too tall to comfort/Just too big to hold/But I'll fit you inside my future/At least that's the lie we told’). On ‘Good Girl,’ you can feel the chill of the drink, feel the smoky cloud hanging in the air, able to hear the ice rattling at the bottom of the glass. Like her 60s and 70s foremothers - Joni, Stevie, Carole King - Osment turns the mundane into magic.

Short but sweet, Bluebiird’s debut EP is simply lovely…