Ray Goren, a fifteen year old guitarist, recently released his EP Songs for You, attempting to attract a broader music audience.

Well known throughout certain blues circles since age twelve, Goren’s surprisingly prodigious talent continues to impress fellow blues artists and fans. Songs for You provides quality content and a strong statement. With several more years to grow and expand on the talent he fosters, Songs for You quickly demonstrates, to any willing listener, the skill he possesses to create enjoyable songs.

In his first song on the EP “Those Days,” Goren laments on repetition and the uncertainty of the future. The song’s catchy tune additionally warrants a curiosity of the next four songs.

Also paying homage to musicians of the 1960s, Goren covers a classic, “Light My Fire” by The Doors. Void of the recognizable keyboard that introduces The Doors song, Goren instead uses backing vocals to initiate the first verse. The cover plays significantly shorter (the original song plays for a length of 7:07 while Goren’s cover only reaches 3:58). Furthermore, the cover’s tempo sounds slower than the first version, lacking the four minute long instrumental break characteristic of the psychedelic/acid rock music scene of the 1960s. However, “Light My Fire” holds its own as a cover, despite the alteration in genre.

Spelling out his precociousness, Goren begins his bass-heavy fourth song, “Song for Me” with the line, “I’m a club hopper, when I want to be/I’m a ladies man, when I want to be.” Goren includes personal stories and characteristics in “Song for Me,” making the track the strongest on the EP.

On the other hand, “Down & Out” alludes to times of despair. Similarly, the slow-paced love song “It’s On You” concludes the EP on a weaker note though, should not negate to the audience his previous accomplishments within Songs for You.

The Chant’s Grade: B+