There are some things you really have to be a girl to understand. Self esteem for one, or at least self esteem as defined by women's magazines. You have to love yourself without a man in order to be able to land a man, but you don't want to be like one of those girls with no self esteem who always has to have a man. Now here's how to get him to ask you out. Which gets to another thing you have to be a woman to understand—men hunt, women get pursued, yet all the books on strategy are written for women. Its a weird place to live, and it leads to more conversations about what relationships should be than time spent figuring out what a specific relationship does that works or doesn't. And it is, the realm from which most of the songs on Amber Hayes' new album come. This is unfortunate, because Hayes herself has vocal chops and country sensibilities that are worthy far better material.

The EP opens with one of its stronger tracks, the title track “C'mon,” a song reminiscent of Rhianna's “Rude Boy” that allows Hayes room to belt and growl with the best of them. “Easy On Me” slides into the worst of Cosmo territory, finding Hayes simpering “Its only been two weeks and you're more than okay to me,” before launching into a chorus of questions seemingly read out of a self-help book. “Right As Rain” a song that transforms a story about sitting in a storm cellar into life lessons from Mama, fares better, largely due to Hayes' delivery. “Can't Take It Back” has the best vocal performance on the album, but is lyrically the weakest song, taking a girl from the insults of her father to the praise of her lover without any character development in between. “Wait” is a promising piece of fluff, with frothy lyrics about diving into a relationship and figuring it out from there. The EP closes with its strongest track, “Home,” proving what Amber Hayes can do with superior material. There has been a wealth of music about small town living, but Hayes gets what most singers don't—home isn't the place, its the feeling. Its “a trailer in East Texas where the door open wide or a West Virginia house where the light is always on...a view from the rear view that always gets to you...home is home.”

Amber Hayes' EP is a sampler of an artist with a tremendous voice and the kind of material that made Chely Wright, Jamie O'Neal and Kellie Coffey so forgettable a decade ago. However, “Home” does show that she gets what it takes to make a really good, unforgettable country song. Its all about the details, finding those details people really never notice and highlighting them to make a song universal. Its when Iris Dement is “gonna take a beer from the refrigerator and go and sit out in the yard and with a cold one in my hand, I'm gonna bite down and swallow hard.” Its also about the moments in a life, not about speculating what those moments will bring. Its Lucinda Williams lamenting about “the empty bottles and broken glass, busted down doors and borrowed cash.” In a sea of Americana women with strong writing skills and points of view, these songs make Amber Hayes come off a bit young and weak. However, it took a couple of albums for Elizabeth Cook to get past the cutesy fluff of “Stupid Things” and “Cupid,” so smart money wouldn't write Hayes off after a single EP. Amber Hayes has a bluesy growl reminiscent of Janne Browne and Lacy J. Dalton. Here's hoping future album find her singing material more worthy of that voice.

You can support Amber Hayes by purchasing this album at Amazon | iTunes.