Early in 2012, I caught a concert at the Evening Muse featuring two artists who have gone on to bigger and better things since then. One, Rachel Platten, is becoming a household name thanks to her hit single, “Fight Song.” The other, Bess Rogers, entertained the crowd with her singer-songwriter stuff as well as a few entertaining songs from her alt-country cover band, The Flux Capacitors. Anyway, while Rogers toiled around the East Coast as a solo artist, she later teamed up for a 2013 tour with Hannah Winkler and Lelia Broussard. Those three, along with drummer Zach Jones — who joined the tour as a drummer for all three artists formed the Secret Someones.
While Rogers, who did a stint as Ingrid Michaelson’s guitarist, and Broussard, who was the runner-up in Rolling Stone‘s 2011 “Choose the Cover Contest,” might have found success on their own, the new projects collaborative effort is worth a listen on this debut EP.
It should be no surprise — based on their touring history — that each singer takes turns at lead and singing backup vocals for the others. With a trio of talented songwriters all under one “roof,” the lyrical content here is strong — balancing strong imagery in some songs with pop simplicity in others.
The music leans toward catchy pop-rock. Acoustic versions of a handful of the songs are available which also showcase more of the lyrical content — usually centered around love and heartbreak — and harmonies.
Overall, it’s a fun listen that, and while it isn’t groundbreaking in the musical sense, it shows what happens when a group of talented songwriters collaborate for the greater good of the music instead of having one force driving the band forward.
This article appears in Best of Charlotte 2015.
