Review: “Guilty” by Lexxi Raine

Lexxi Raine is a 25-year-old singer-songwriter hailing from Buffalo, NY. In the past, her music has been defined as pop-punk meets indie. The release of her third EP, entitled “Guilty,” on June 20, 2020, will be the stepping stone of her debut as an “aspiring country artist.” 

As an artist, Lexxi holds her own creative license and therefore maintains free will to explore different genres. However, I’ll be the first to admit this transition was far from convincing and, dare I say, contrite. Nevertheless, there is merit in even the most ineffectual of music as long as it means something to the author.

Throughout Lexxi’s latest EP, there’s the recurring sense that she’s attempting to merge from one genre to the other without really committing herself to the gig, leaving the music feeling generic and hollow. The root of this dilemma is that she doesn’t really commit to any element of the aesthetics of country or pop-punk, leaving the listener muddled at the repetitive and incohesive nature of the music they’ve consumed. The music lacks conviction, down to the very basics. “Guilty” contains a number of acoustically driven songs which are what I’m assuming makes this a “country” EP. However, the album is mainly a conglomeration of unenthusiastic three-chord songs with the occasional lilting spaghetti Western twang often associated with country music.

There are numerous facets that go into writing a song, and when music is coming to fruition, each detail involved only has worth if it’s serving the song. There’s no need to add anything to music if it doesn’t actively contribute to the music’s message. This is a common error made throughout the “Guilty.” One example of this fault is found within the EP’s opening number, “I Don’t Want Your Man,” when the song somehow finds its way into a key change at the 2:38 mark. It could have easily ended in E flat major at this mark, but instead, it modulates up a half step to E major for no real reason. Maybe the alteration was meant to once and for all drive home the point that the singer isn’t interested in the antagonist’s man, but I doubt that anyone who listens to the song would find any other meaning within the transparent lyrics. 

The entirety of this album feels as if Lexxi wrote down the first words that came to mind and then, instead of using that as a rough draft and evolving from there, she added what she considered a driving rhythm guitar and called it a day.

Not to be entirely unfair in my analysis, the song lyrics for many of the EP’s numbers are reminiscent of typical country songs. The pondering of an ex-boyfriend, the dismissal of trashy men, and the concept of messing around with love are all typical themes of women in country music, so at least “Guilty” has that going for it. The lyrics are far from polished, but I can respect their honesty in the eyes of the artist. 

I have never been one to groundlessly tear down a creator, so here are a few words of advice:

• When you’re writing a song, give it a few rounds of revision to make it the best it can be. A song doesn’t have to rhyme, but if all of the lyrics are plainly worded and choppy like a rambling stream of thought, it’s likely the song will be perceived as messy.
• As far as singing goes, cohesiveness is of the utmost of importance. If the vocal line doesn’t flow but instead sounds as if every word is forcibly articulated, not many people will find themselves relistening to your work. No musician I know has ever regretted practicing their instrument, and the same goes for the voice. Finding a vocal coach is a great step toward bettering your singing, but even if one isn’t available or affordable, the internet is a wonderful resource for learning healthy and safe techniques for developing the voice.
• Learning new chords and chord sequences will greatly improve your musicianship and open doors to the amount of new music you can write. While there are a tremendous number of excellent three- or four-chord songs, they often feature other heightened elements of songwriting — such as harmonics, rhythm, and instrumentation — that drive the song forward in originality and integrity. In other words: Practice, practice, practice!

And finally:

• Take everything with a grain of salt, including criticism. If you truly love music, then make music and don’t let any number of harsh words stop you. The world always needs more art, and whether anyone outside of you and your loved ones consider your music meritorious is irrelevant. 

Although I’m not particularly fond of this album, I encourage any reader to go out and form an opinion of their own.