Nashville

Talented female singers who once might have been young pop-rockers are now often shuttled over to the country music capital of Nashville, to see if their instincts might be more agreeable for the modern country-pop style. Brooklyn-based Risa Binder relocated to Music City after critics compared her to Taylor Swift with her debut pop album, 2011’s Paper Heart. This 2014 follow-up five-song EP takes up the country challenge. Like many pop singers who go country, Binder’s pop instincts aren’t eliminated. You can hear them on the fast-moving “Gotta Have You,” where pianos, electric guitars, and drums pound out a song that straddles the line. Other songs on the EP—“Burning Down the Dark,” “Nashville,” “Ready to Fall”—allow for more acoustic guitar and pedal steel guitar to guide the music to the country side. Genres, however, end up rather irrelevant. Each song on this EP has a bright, appealing sound for people who like potential hit singles with catchy choruses and bright, enthusiastic vocals.