SONG OF THE DAY: Kimberly Cole – The Prelude EP

In this era of dance artists dropping random singles and collaborations, singer/songwriter/TV personality Kimberly Cole has stepped outside of the box and constructed a fully-realized EP that tells a story through six strong songs.? Starting off downtempo with the pretty, yet powerful “Heart I Didn’t Break” (which might be better known as “Picking Up the Pieces”), she belts out the lyrics with a growing intensity that matches the rising energy of the track.? Comparisons to Nicole Scherzinger are quite obvious.? Her bad girl persona comes out strongly over the edgy, shuffling pop beat of “Wind Up Dead,” sounding like a collaboration between Katy Perry and M.I.A.?? For “Found Better,” Kim changes her vocal timbre, going with a huskier, reggae-inflected tone as she tells off her ex over the downtempo dubstep beat. “Cruel” continues the dubstep and amps the intensity with some NSFW lyrics that really sound like an emotional catharsis. The most obvious radio hit comes next with “Let Me Go,” her take on the classic “love me or leave me” theme over an alternating house and dubstep beat.? The finale of the EP, “Everything,” sounds like a Nervo production aimed at festivals and top 40 radio at the same time. Throughout all six tracks, the constant is not only Kimberly’s strong vocal performance but the incredibly strong production which melds current club sounds with a polished pop edge.?

Image Courtesy of Crystal Ship.