Album Review: Audrey Pearl, 'Long Term Plans' 

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• Audrey Pearl, Long Term Plans

(Self-released, digital)

There is no worse place to encounter a new artist than at a battle of the bands. With rushed set times and an icky competitive nature, it's difficult to get a real sense of what a band or solo act is all about.

Yet when I heard Audrey Pearl perform in a local singer-songwriter competition recently, her music leapt out, even on a bill stacked with similar-sounding artists. Pearl's songs had just a little more juice than her peers' that night, more melodic power and cleverness, better arrangements, and evocative lyrics that cut deeper.

Long Term Plans, the Jericho native's second EP, captures all the expert songwriting Pearl displayed live, accompanied by just her guitar, but here the tracks are blown out to full-band Technicolor. From the opener, "Never Go Back," Pearl wastes no time in establishing the EP's emotional palette.

"I thought that winter would last forever / skidding tires on empty streets / cursing out the shitty drivers, leaving me behind / the biting cold, the broken heat," Pearl sings, almost trembling, as if her voice might break at any moment from sheer emotion.

The EP makes clear that Pearl, a Berklee College of Music-educated songwriter, knows her way around a tune. She leaves no room for cliché or copycat writing on tracks such as "Dustbunnies." Rather than simply relying on her distinctive voice and melodic choices, she finds little moments in her tightly constructed indie pop- and folk rock-leaning tunes to sneak in sly surprises.

She also keeps listeners on their toes. From the indie-rock bop of "She's Holding My Hand," she pivots to the glacial ballad "Roommate Song," which lives in the tender world of singers such as Faye Webster. Both approaches fit Pearl like a glove. She could easily push into the rock-pop territory of, say, Olivia Rodrigo, but there's equal parts Phoebe Bridgers in her musical DNA.

Pearl will need to keep embracing that dichotomy. Much like at that singer-songwriter competition, there seems to be an endless supply of troubadours occupying that delicate sweet spot between pop and indie folk. Just let Long Term Plans play on Spotify and see what artist the algorithm serves up next — you might not notice the album has changed.

While Pearl does well over the course of the EP to avoid blending into the crowd, she comes perilously close on "Pale Yellow Moon," which you'll swear you've heard before in the changing room at Urban Outfitters or on a barista's mix at a coffee bar.

But those moments are few and far between across the EP's five tracks. Pearl's endlessly comforting voice, like honey on a sore throat, and her heart-on-sleeve songwriting make for a thrilling listen.

Long Term Plans is available on all major streaming platforms.