Nashville-by-way-of-Washington-State singer-songwriter Bailey Bryan has said she titled her new album Fresh Start as a tribute to reinventing herself after a relationship breakdown. But there's a lot more to it than that. Four years after she released the country-inflected So Far EP, wearing her Taylor Swift influences on her sleeve, Bryan, now 23, sounds like a different person. This extends to her voice, which packs more husky gravitas than the bright-and-light chirpiness of her early work. But more than anything, it's about her style. This isn't a case of a country artist dropping in a trap beat here or a lite-rap line there. Where she once sounded like a Red-era Swiftie clone, now Bryan sounds like a full-fledged pop star trafficking in hip-hop. Bryan has dubbed her new vibe "Sensitive Bad Bitch"; you could also call it "sounds like Halsey." That's especially true on the glittering title track, naked and plaintive "Sober," and "Roster," the TikTok equivalent of a torch song: "You've been actin' different, baby, where the time go?/ Think about it all day, used to make plans/ Now I'm lucky if you call, like 'Wanna smash?'/ I mean, yeah, but I know I deserve better." There are also shades of Camila Cabello on the pretty "Don't Call Me" and Miley Cyrus on the slinky, bottom-heavy "play w/ me." After taking life cues from Swift (she told NPR: I heard [Swift's first album'] and I was like, "I wanna do that"), Bryan has said she wants to be the next Drake; indeed, she's covered a handful of the Canadians rapper's tracks, even collaborating with Kyla, who Drake sampled for "One Dance," on a version of that hit. Fresh Start is fun and intriguing, but still begs the question: Who is she, really? What will Bryan sound like five or 10 years from now? It's hard to say, but she's doing a good job of being Miss Right Now. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz