At the tender age of 20, this artist has a lot to say about the ups and downs of romance. She lights into boyfriends for mistreating or taking her for granted (“Are You Happy Now?,” “Love Me Like That”), yet remains upbeat about the prospect of finding Mr. Right. Branch longs to be bound forever to a soul mate (“One of These Days”), sings to the true love she hasn’t met (“Where Are You Now?”) and tells a special guy in her life that she’d gladly spend her last days with him (“It’s You”). Reconciliation is the goal of “Finding Your Way Back. ”Passing references to prayer enhance several tunes.
There’s nothing explicitly sexual about “Tuesday Morning,” but Branch beseeches a boy, “Please don’t drive me home tonight/’Cause I don’t wanna go.”
Love. Heartbreak. Working through mixed emotions and relational stress. With one small hiccup open to interpretation, Branch handles those subjects responsibly on Hotel Paper.
