Rebecca Roubion, FIELDS EP – CD Review

The girl and a piano formula, in the hands of Rebecca Roubion, takes a fresh direction with her new EP, FIELDS. For one thing, Roubion’s got a crystal-clear, controlled voice that could be mistaken for the crooning harmonies of Swedish duo First Aid Kit. For another, her piano skills give a slight nod to the Louisiana jazz this LSU grad grew up around. And yet another, the four tracks on this airy, moderate-tempo EP are each wrapped in a different bow—from the Randy Newman-style jazz romp of “Vacherie Girl,” to the swelling strings of big-voiced torch song “Here Lies My Pulse,” to the final chorus of “Doorway,” which fades out like the last slow dance at the sock hop. Her Nashville-based production team manages to tie it all together with a sharp sound that still feels organic. The standout is the short opening track, “Love Me Now,” driven by her bass lines on the piano and a galloping rhythm as she sings “You want to test the waters now / Now that you broke the ice.” Roubion, who moved to Nashville after doing the bar and café circuit in south Louisiana, released FIELDS in late November, and its follow-up, FORESTS—what she calls a darker set of songs—should be out later this year.

—BENJAMIN LEGER