First thing one notices when listening to Natalie Hiong‘s new EP is the sound production — a marked improvement from her debut EP certainly. This time around, everything one hears seems more organic and more ‘human’, and it’s much easier to get into the songs itself. Natalie has also improved in the vocal department and extended her range of singing styles as well. No longer relying on the cutesy little girl vibe of her debut EP, one senses that this is a chanteuse now coming into her own.

The songwriting itself? Well, it’s satisfying to find Natalie address personal life issues on songs like “Beautiful Mess” and “Go Fly a Kite” but similar to most of the songs on her debut EP, the songwriting gets a little naive and unformed. The songs are very poppy definitely but lack a certain distinctive edge. The songs sound like a mixture of Sara Bareilles and Christian Contemporary Music — although this is not necessarily a bad thing from a strictly commercial perspective.

A step forward from her debut EP no doubt, Beautiful Mess will most likely go down well with the mainstream pop crowd.

Natalie Hiong will launch the Beautiful Mess EP on Sunday 17 March 2013 (the day after she opens for Marie Digby) at 5pm at Hood Bar & Café Bugis +. Admission is FREE.

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