Age should never be the focus of a review, but at 14 years of age, Auckland’s Veronica Grace is definitely heading in the right direction with her self-titled album debut. Right off the cuff, her fresh yet sultry voice inspires a silver lining to her lyrics. Moulding country with airy pop gives the relatable references to Taylor Swift, our own Jamie McDell and the earlier influences of Brooke Fraser. A soft, non-offensive sound that can take you on a bare-foot walk amongst tall grass and sand on a sunny day. The use of fluid, lyrical story lines makes each track malleable to the imagination. Cleverly placed instruments including a nicely uncomplicated rhythm section made up of light percussion and acoustic guitar with occasional banjo woven into parts of some tracks, such as the opener I’ll See You Again. The album structure reveals the pureness of the vision this young artist has. Sagacious guidance likely came from recording musicians including producer Jesse Wilde, Stephen Small – who remixed Can’t You See and Fairytale, and Tom Healy, who mixed the album’s final track Daisy Chains, allowing more hints of bass and lifting the final lyrical message of independence. This album definitely provides Grace with a strong head start into her musical.