Reviewed by Tony Cummings

The 21 year old singer from Houston, Texas is a hard artist to pin down stylistically. Although one reviewer suggested the opener "Chimneys" "would fit perfectly into a playlist next to Lorde, Rihanna and Beyonce" in truth she doesn't resemble any of those singers. And though she's been featured on the hip-hop site Rapzilla and there is a snatch of rapping from the lady on "Chimneys" and from Thi'sl on "Celebrity", 'Stix And Stones' would better be labeled electronic pop though such a phrase might lead you to expect driving rhythms made for clubland which are distinctly absent on this six song (plus one remix) EP. HillaryJane's voice is sweet and clear but with a nice bittersweet edge perfectly suited to her challenging lyrics. The title track addresses the modern blight of bullying, "Chimneys" pinpoints a dishonest relationship ("You're only blowing smoke like a chimney when you're lying to me") while "Celebrity" takes a much needed swipe at today's bling-obsessed stars ("What we gonna do with all this money? Nothing at all"). Production is from the Grammy-winning duo 808XELITE (Lecrae, Papa San) and is decidedly adventurous - catch the slowed down voice on the close of "Wild Side" - but I'm not convinced that some of these slow and mid-tempo songs wouldn't work better in stripped down acoustic versions. And maybe that's what Infiltrate Music think as an acoustic remix version of 'Stix And Stones' has now been released.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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