Of the myriad of talentless teens out there, I can’t figure out how Taylor Swift got so popular. There are several rumors as to how she acquired her alleged fame, one of which involving her father’s foot-in-the-door technique with the Nashville music industry, but this review isn’t about Taylor Swift. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the anti-Taylor.

Rose Walker isn’t someone who looks as though she has overcome much adversity or lived long enough to understand the nature of falling in and out of love. Looks can be deceiving. Rose’s new self-titled EP (SpringTree Records) is a six-song journey into the Utopia we left behind on our way to being an adult.

“Always for You” combines ethereal vocals and striking lyrics hitting the note somewhere between a love song and a sad song.

“Come Back Home” is co-written by brother Andy Walker. Sibling creativity seems to work for these two because their ideas synthesized perfectly in lyrics like “So maybe you’ll be another to leave me in the summer/for a beach boy coast adventure/you’ll be back by November to stay, so come back home.”

“Another Sometime” is the first song Rose ever wrote. The story goes that Rose’s father called Andy, insisting that he listen to the song his sister just wrote; Andy immediately jumped in, heading up the production of the album while throwing in some guitar, vocals and synthesizing for fun.

Rose’s songs aren’t solely piano driven, they’re ecstasy driven. It is physically impossible to be sad after listening to her music. The only remotely sad song on the album, “Voices,” says everything you ever wanted to say when your heart began to break for the first time.

Rose proves that one’s age is a relative term in the realm of music. Joni Mitchell wrote some of the saddest songs of her time when critics claimed she was entirely too young to know what she was singing about; just like Joni Mitchell, Rose is ahead of her time. Anyone who listens to Rose’s songs could never doubt that her character is as pure as her music.

“I don’t want my music to try to be something that it’s not. I want my character to shine through on every song I write.”

You can find Rose’s music at her Web site: http://www.myspace.com/rosewalkermusic as well as on iTunes and Amazon.com.