Taryn Leia Prescott's second release 'Young And Free' is a refreshing breeze on a warm July afternoon. Contagious melodies, tightly-crafted rhyming couplets and some pleasingly quirky instrumentation all combine with delightful effect in this catchy summer EP.

If previous release 'Songs of the Bride' was a meditation on marriage, then these five songs take the exploration of those themes of love and longing in a fresh direction. Still drawing inspiration from the twists and turns of her relationship with teenage-sweetheart and now-husband Peter, Taryn here casts a nostalgic eye back to the years before marriage, and the resulting collection of songs is an unabashedly enjoyable tribute to young love.

Opening track 'I Am Here' claims that "there have been days when my tale seemed a lazy man's poem without rhythm or rhyme", but the songs presented here are far from committing the crime of poetic laxity. Rather, the carefully crafted lyrics reward repeated listening and reveal an endearingly whimsical set of images. Take for example the confession in 'All Your Time For Me' that singing "love songs in the rain//... fills the ocean in my soul//with the downpour in my brain".

But neither can Taryn be accused of being more a writer of poems than a real musician. She clearly has a gift for writing a memorable tune but also manages to avoid the pitfall of same-ishness that the songs of so many aspiring artists fall into. From the opening track's doo-wop backing chorus to the melancholic violins which close the EP, there is a wide and wonderful variety of influences here on display.

The 'Young and Free' EP is being released in celebration of the first anniversary of Taryn's marriage. It will be available for free download from her official website www.tarynleiaprescott.com, together with all of her other recordings. Why such generosity? Because, as Taryn muses on her blog, "the best things in life are free" -- or better, she suggests, "the best things in life are gifts".