Vi Tran is a theater kid, but his emerging folk-pop career isn't an act. After moving to Kansas City five years ago, Tran immersed himself in acting — he's performed at the Coterie and the Unicorn — but songwriting never strayed far from his mind. Late February found Tran making the leap from full-fledged member of the local theater circle to rising star in Kansas City's singer-songwriter scene. Tran's debut EP, Goodbye, Summer, boasts five earnest tunes infused with sunny guitars and lovelorn lyrics. With light, airy percussion and frank, unadorned strumming, Tran's EP doesn't really bid summer farewell — each song is as sweet and frothy as a piña colada. With lighthearted melodies hinting at '90s radio rock, Tran's songs consider cheery infatuations, thwarted love and various other romantic fare. But Tran's lyrics aren't the draw here. What warms Goodbye, Summer is the freshness captured in Tran's melodies. Eager backup vocals trample some of his more delicate harmonies, but his EP's no-frills coffeehouse rock doesn't suffer. The flaws only enrich these simple acoustic tunes, like marbling in raw wood.
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