The latest five-song EP release from Ray Goren, “Songs For You,” just isn’t up to par.

Although each song is a magnificent poem, written with heart and clever word play, it doesn’t stack up. The vocals are lacking in most songs, solely because the style of music does not fit with Goren’s voice.

While the cover of The Doors “Light My Fire” has a great haunting instrumental, the vocals are juvenile. His voice trembles when he goes into his lower register. For most of the song it does this, until the last minute or two. These mere minutes are a saving grace for this song. He pulls the upper register off beautifully. Each note exercises his old gospel sound with strength and expert conviction.

Hidden in the messy ‘Songs For You’ is a song that is pure magic. “It’s On You” is a classic sounding love song. Goren taps into jazzy R&B sounds to compliment the clever lyrics of this song. With “Drowning on dry land” and “Shot that you took was a part in the book” he blames someone for a stir of emotions coming through this song: regret, sorrow, hope, and most of all, love. With each verse, listeners can feel all of Goren’s heart.

All-in-all, this album is a stepping stone in Goren’s path to greatness. With a little more guidance his sound will be perfected and Goren should be a known singer-songwriter in the industry similar to Shawn Mendes and John Mayer.