Time has moved so slowly over the last few days and weeks and months that it's hard to believe that it has only been about three and a half months since Lennon Stella released her debut full-length album Three. Two. One. - but it's the truth. And today, the emerging pop star is back with an EP of alternate versions of six of the tracks from the record, and I'm listening.
I hit play on the Three. Two. One. Alternate Versions EP knowing nothing about the sound or vibe I was going to hear. I think I was preparing myself for a straight acoustic vibe that would come from her country music background, but that's not really it. The pop shines through in both her voice and the arrangements of the songs, as they should. The stripped-down nature of the first five songs on the EP also allows the songwriting to come to the front of the frame and standout.
Back in the review for the original Three. Two. One. album I wrote about the songwriting speaking to her roots in music and it being the family business. All of that is still true here. Perhaps even more so because the true test of a song can come when you take away the arrangement and build it into something new to see if it still works. And these songs still work.
Related: Three. Two. One. Lennon Stella Album ReviewThe Golf On TV (ft. JP Saxe) live version might be my favourite track after a couple listens. As a duet it's got a little something extra special to offer, and the line "some people watch golf on tv, and neither of those things make sense to me..." is so simple and I would never have thought to write it and I think it's great.
These new acoustic versions of Lennon Stella's songs are also going to give her something to turn to in her live show. On her Love, me tour back in Spring 2019, we saw her sing Polaroid and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun in a stripped-down fashion. And when she's finally able to get out and tour this new album, it makes sense that a song like Pretty Boy or Older Than I Am gets that same treatment on stage.
Note: It really is a bummer that the Three. Two. One. Tour had to be cancelled this year. It's a shame that the pandemic robbed us of all of the live music opportunities that it did - but this one was pretty high on my list of shows I wanted to see in 2020. Here's hoping that there's a chance for Lennon to reschedule sometime in the not too too distant future.
Earlier I said that these songs still work. This EP also makes me appreciate the original Three. Two. One. album more, because now I know how versatile these songs are, and that's pretty impressive. As a music fan, that's a nice bonus I didn't expect to get.
At the end of the EP, the Goodnight (Dyrtybyrd Remix) comes in almost like a bonus track. After 15 minutes of stripped-down, acoustic style offerings, we get a pop song with new production and glitz. Don't get me wrong on this - I dig it. It's just a turn I wasn't necessarily expecting as I settled into the groove of the first five songs.
Acoustic versions of new songs are a trend that we can get behind. And on the Three. Two. One. Alternate Versions EP, Lennon Stella does a good job of offering fans a new twist on songs they've come to love over the last few months that they've been missing out on a lot of their favourite things. It also gives everyone another example of the talent she holds and we can't wait to see what she does with it next.
Check out the EP tracklist and hit play to listen to the whole thing now.
Lennon Stella, Three. Two. One. Alternate Versions EP Tracklist
1. Pretty Boy (Acoustic)
2. Fear Of Being Alone (Acoustic)
3. Since I Was A Kid (Acoustic)
4. Golf On TV (ft. JP Saxe) [Live]
5. Older Than I Am (Acoustic)
6. Goodnight (Dyrtybyrd Remix)
