Too Much and Never Enough - Lauren Babic
After years of being the frontwoman for bands like Red Handed Denial and CrazyEightyEight, and recording countless covers of popular tracks, Lauren Babic is finally gearing up to release her first extended solo Metal project in the form of an EP titled Too Much and Never Enough. I had the opportunity to listen to this EP before its release on March 28th, 2025, and had ample time to sit with the tracks and find the EP’s strengths and weaknesses.
The first song, “Sanctuary”, feels like a Spiritbox clone in many ways. It feels like Lauren is holding back on this track though, with her vocals feeling too “light and fluffy”, especially when you compare the punch and range she displays not only on the rest of the EP, but her covers over the years. I can see why this track wasn’t selected as one of the lead single, as it feels the weakest on the EP. The instrumentation is rather straightforward and doesn’t do anything to break the status quo or break out of the mold. The next track, “Breathe You In” sounds like Paramore had a heavier low-end in their recordings and leaned a little more on the Metal side. The vocals in the chorus especially remind me of Hayley Williams, which isn’t a knock against Lauren’s vocals. Her vocals sound great and offer a nice dynamic against the more Metal-leaning guitar distortion and drum playing. “I’m Bored” has more of the vibe I was looking for after listening to Lauren’s other work and knowing she vocally leans more toward the Metal side than the Pop side. This song sees Lauren go through several different scream styles, ranging from lows, mids, fry screams, the strange scream/yell that falls into a flat note at the end, to even a classic Metal “blegh”. This track feels like Lauren trying to show off everything she can do on the unclean vocal side, though to the song’s detriment. I do appreciate her talent and would love to hear more tracks with this rawness and heaviness to it, just with a more focused approach to the vocals. At times it feels like Lauren is throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the equation. It’s a track I’d certainly toss on at the gym to get pumped, but not one I’d keep on a constant rotation as the vocal style change-up can be tiring. The instruments are yet again pretty straightforward like “Sanctuary” and don’t make my ears perk up more than any other modern Metalcore track from the past five years. The breakdown is slow and simple but effective and my favorite part of the track. Finally, “Let It Die” is the last track on the EP. The song’s instrumentation has more character and life to it than the previous tracks. There’s an even balance vocally from Lauren, blending the cleans and screams together effortlessly. There are moments where Lauren’s cleans has an almost 90s R&B feel to it before sliding into a more Pop-flavored sound and then eventually a Metal onslaught. “Let It Die” is a standout track for me!
Adam Bentley and Lee Albrecht did a decent job mixing and producing the EP. The vocals are not buried under the instruments, the bass is deep and heavy without overpowering everything else, and the guitars are quite clear. At times, the snare drum can be a little softer than I’d like, but that’s just a small nitpick. As for the project as a whole, I felt like this EP served more as a vehicle for Lauren to market herself and her skills, as seen on “I’m Bored” where she bounces between several vocal styles on just one track. I can’t fault her for it, considering you need to find ways to rise to the top in a heavily saturated genre, but it does weigh the EP down a bit. I think with future releases Lauren will be more focused and not feel this need to “prove” herself – a notion that is incredulous considering the hundreds of songs she has been featured on that clearly prove her abilities. I’m very interested to see where Lauren goes from here with more of a focus on writing original songs for herself rather than in a band environment or doing covers of other musician’s work.