5 Weeks in LA - EP

Just 16 years old at the time of its release, Sydney songwriter Evie Irie decamped to Los Angeles to record her empowering debut EP. Recalling the preternatural depth and raw honesty of early Lorde, 5 Weeks in LA unpacks the emotional triumphs and failures Irie experiences on a daily basis. She calls out her anxiety by name on opener “Bitter,” but doesn’t let it tear her apart: “Life will let you down/Try not to get bitter,” she sings. Bringing a rock edge to widescreen electronic pop anthems, she describes falling for the wrong person on “Stupid Things” and imagines a self-fulfilling prophecy in the refrain of “The Optimist”: “I could be happy all the time.” There’s surprising variety across these songs, especially when Irie slows things down for the aptly titled piano ballad “Vulnerable.”