Ray Goren is not your typical teen. At fifteen, most teens are in the middle of high school juggling difficult classes and enjoying a social life, while Goren is releasing albums and trying to make a name for himself.  Songs for You is Goren’s fourth album in which he shows off his talents by adding a sultry old-soul style to most of his songs. Five songs make up this EP, one of which is a cover of ‘Light My Fire’ by the Doors. It was produced by Grammy-winner Steve Jordan who thinks highly of Goren. “I’ve worked with a ton of great and legendary musicians in my career and Ray is one of the most gifted artists I’ve ever witnessed,” said Jordan.

Goren tries to add his own modern twist to older soul-full music. He plays every instrument in the songs, except for the drums. The instrumentals in his songs are appealing and give a great sound, but the voice, and lyrics don’t. The lyrics are not catchy like they should be. Also, the sound of his voice does not got with the rhythm of the songs. To me it sounds that at points his voice can’t keep up with the rhythm and his voice falls behind.

Now, the lead single, “Those days,” stands out the most in this album. It has this nice upbeat rhythm with lyrics inspiring unity, peace, and bringing a right direction to this world. Although the song has inspiring lyrics, they still don’t sit well with me. The song says the same basic things I hear all the time from people who also strive for world peace and unity. Not only that, but the lyrics feel a bit choppy. For example, “Why can’t we all come together? Why can’t we all turn to truth? Cause I’m tired of the same old thing. A right direction is what the world should bring.” This is the typical thing you hear from other people who also want world peace and unity. I would like to hear something different. Instead of asking why, Goren should sing about the bad things going on and give his view on how to fix them. The lyrics to this song will improve if Goren uses his own voice to address the problems of the world.

Next, along with “Those days”, “Down and out” is another song that has inspiring lyrics channelling not depending on others but rather helping yourself. Goren speaks about when you are down and no one is there for you, help yourself. You are strong enough to be the only support you need. This song is great for when you feel alone. Lyrics like, “And in the end I know the way and I look back on yesterday and I say keep on continuing on, cause what you’re doing is right and you’ve got to fight,” make this a song you can play wherever you are to get that boost of motivation that you are strong enough to help yourself move forward.

Another one of the more joyful songs is “Song for me.” Like “Those days”, the lyrics to “Song for Me” don’t stick. The message is that you should do, be, and say whatever you want without caring about the opinion of other people. The lyrics really have to be catchy for a message to get through to me. This song did not accomplish that and is something Goren needs to work on in general.

Feeling heartbroken? Listen to “It’s on you.” This is the slower jazz like song on the album. Goren expresses heartbreak in this song and is perfect to listen to for when you actually feel heartbroken. I like the slow jazz sound this song adds to the album. It gives the album some variety.

One of the songs I was excited to listen to was Goren’s cover of “Light My Fire” by the Doors. Loving the original song by the Doors, and knowing the talent Goren has, I felt this cover was going to be good. When I finally listened to it I was dissatisfied. It had a slower beat than the Doors’ version and I felt like his voice did not compliment the song. It was not horrible, but it was not my favorite part of the album as I hoped it would be.

Songs for You was an overall good album with a few flaws here and there. I like the variety the album had with the different types of beats. I also enjoyed how most of the songs had a good message to them that will inspire the listener. However, the biggest problem was the lyrics. They did not contribute to the delivery of the message in each song. They need to stick for the message to actually mean something. I recommend this album for personal inspiration or when you feel down and need some cheering up. I would give this album a 3 out of 5.