Lea Michele’s “Louder” Might Make You Turn Up The Radio

Many “Glee” fans rejoiced as Lea Michele, known best for her role of Rachel Berry on the hit television show, released her debut album “Louder.”

The album was released on Feb. 28. It debuts her powerful voice in her first album, consisting of of 11 songs, including the previously released single “Cannonball.”

“Cannonball” opens the album as the first song with an infectious pop sound. The song demonstrates her strong voice with different vocal ranges. The beat is very catchy and the variety of vocal sounds add interesting complexity behind the singer’s main voice.

“On My Way” continues the album with a very strong, high-spirited song with a fast foot-stomping beat.

“Burn with You” begins weak, but the sound builds as the song goes on. It is a love anthem that is slow, but the song adds a great, different side to the album.

Her song “Battlefield” turns the tide of the album from the previous song’s focus on love, instead giving a picture of heartbreak. The metaphor of love being a battlefield has always been overplayed in the music genre. This song does not really distinguish itself from other songs with similarly cliché lyrics and identical titles, except for its slow tempo.

The fifth song in the album, “You’re Mine” is one of the weaker songs on the album. The song begins with too much repetition that makes the song begin to sound redundant early on. However, Michele’s voice shows exceptional range, as she hits the higher notes in the song and then stepping down to the low notes with equal mastery.

Another weak song of the album is “Thousand Needles.” Although her voice sounds extremely powerful as the song builds to full strength, the tone of the song is difficult to pay attention to. About three and a half minutes into the song, it moves into a bridge where Michele’s voice is barely audible. Although this is provides emphasis on what the song is about, it makes the song extremely weak compared to the overall sound of the album.

The titular song “Louder” brings the album back into a high-spirited tone. The beat quickens, slows, and returns to quicken, repetitively mixing up the structure and creating an engaging rhythm. The variety of sounds in the song conforms to what current pop music sounds like with the quick beat and electric sound in the background. However, this doesn’t really detract from this track and it remains a solid, fun ride.

“Cue the Rain” returns to the slower sound with a sadder tone before exploding into a powerful sound as the subject of the song is searching for the object of her love.

“Don’t Let Go” opens with a sound similar to Gotye’s song “Somebody I Used to Know.” The song takes on its own sound as it develops a fast-paced beat. However, the song’s sound and lyrics seem to blur into what one would listen to what is already playing on the radio daily. It does not distinguish itself from other modern pop songs enough to make it a standout, though.

“Empty Handed” takes the album back to a slower beat and a curious tone. The back-and-forth beats a minute into the song are attention grabbing. The then song begins to build into a stronger sound, which mirrors Christina Perri. The track is a standout and arguably the best track on the record.

The album closes with the song, “If You Say So.” The track opens with a piano and single vocal voice with a different, softer sound compared to the other songs on the album. It is a strong song that demonstrates how strong Michele’s voice and how impressive it can be when reaching down to softer tones. The repetition of the line, “It’s been seven whole days,” emphasizes the sadness and longing of the song well and leaves the album on a reflective note.

The overall album is weak in many spots, but the songs “Empty Handed,” “If You Say So” and “Longer” strengthen the album. Expectations were set high from Michele’s performance on “Glee.” With this in mind, even though it was her first, the album was overall disappointing. However, the young singer has time to grow and develop her own sounds.

In addition to the release of her first album, “Glee” fans can expect her Michele’s book, “Brunette Ambition” to be released May 13, 2014.