Listen to the Super Chill New EP From Music's Next Big Powerhouse Singer

Eryn Allen Kane is a name you need to know.

Every decade or so, a new powerhouse talent emerges from the shadows of mainstream pop radio and blesses the American airwaves with a fresh voice. There was Whitney, there was Mariah, there was Christina — and even if you haven’t heard of her quite yet, next is going to be Eryn Allen Kane.

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The Detroit native and current Chicago transplant just released her latest EP, Aviary: Act II, a five-track compilation that details nostalgic stories of love and loss and the unavoidable mortality of life and death.

The singer had a breakthrough year in 2015: her debut EP Aviary: Act I caught the attention of not just fans but also legendary singer Prince (yeah, that one) who invited her to contribute vocals to his post Freddie Gray trial anthem “Baltimore”, had a small but memorable role in Spike Lee’s controversial “Chiraq” (you can’t miss her impressive curly golden mane) and consistently collaborated with Chicago’s golden boy, Chance the Rapper.

Eryn’s impressive range quite literally takes her listeners to church – her honest and poignant lyrics depicting the rollercoaster-like experience of love take charge as the sermon we didn’t know we needed to hear (most evident in the track “Honey”). And her raspy vocals, which are layered over the harmonizing notes of her background gospel singers, are mixed with melancholic trumpet melodies and a classic rock guitar. It all sounds like a rainy soulful Sunday...which happens to be the opening title track to the EP.

The EP’s standout track however, is easily “How Many Times,” a song penned to reflect on the ongoing violence occurring not just in south and westside Chicago, but across the globe. With a world and media that’s seemingly become numb to daily announcements of death and destruction, maybe a voice like Eryn’s can finally get the right people to stop and listen.

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