Grace Vanderwaal - Perfectly Imperfect

Grace Vanderwaal
Perfectly Imperfect
2016
Spotify

America's Got Talent star and also child Grace Vanderwaal is here with her debut EP Perfectly Imperfect. First and foremost I have been dreading tackling this review for awhile now, not because I may not like it but more because of Her age. I didn't watch Her much on AGT, but the 12 year old took the show by storm with her incredible voice and ukulele playing. The thing is I want to like this record for more than just Her age, I want to like it because it is good, and it is. I was fully prepared to rip apart another corporate cash grab, but Vanderwaal has the fucking goods. She simply does not sound 12, not vocally, not lyrically, not in anyway shape or form. "Light The Sky" literally gave me chills when the hook came in. The way to make this EP really suck would have been to stick her with a producer who was going to shove some straight up bubblegum pop down our throats while Grace slowly fades into obscurity. Well that certainly does not happen. The album is very bare, usually Grace and one instrument, but occasionally will explode with a glorious bursts of huge sounding music. The switch from vocal and ukulele to full big band should be jarring but Vanderwaal steers us expertly through those moments and really allows them to soar.

"Beautiful Thing" is just piano and Grace for most of it, but at the end both turn the volume up to 11 and take the song to a whole other level. For music heads writing this EP off would be so simple, but they would be missing someone who not only choose stellar songs at 12 years old, but also kept Her imagine and spirit intact despite what we can assume was a barrage of corporate offers. It shows a set of balls well beyond her age. The vocal growl that Grace is able to get to on "Gossip Girl", is simply mind blowing and reminiscent of Oh Wonder. I think the takeaway from this record is just how damn good it is, when it really didn't have to be. The female empowerment songs could have been totally pandering, but they aren't, some of the more youthful lyrics could have been off putting, they aren't. Grace simply excels at being totally herself from start to finish, and Perfectly IMperfect is better for it.

8.0 out of 10