Bradenton's Sam Woolf releases EP

We haven't heard a whole lot from Sam Woolf since his fantastic run on "American Idol," and his appearance at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall with other finalists from the show.

He's apparently been hard at work in the studio. The 18-year-old Braden River High School alumnus has just released a five-song, 21-minute EP called "Pretend."

Woolf finished fifth on the 2013-14 season on "Idol." Almost all his performances featured songs by other artists.

But "Pretend' consists entirely of Woolf originals. Danny Blume, who produced the album, co-wrote some of the some of the songs with Woolf. (Blume won a Grammy Award in 2007 for producing the Klezmatics' album "Wonder Wheel: Lyrics by Woody Guthrie.")

The songs on "Pretend" are stylistically similar to the covers Woolf chose for "Idol." They're melodic slow to mid-tempo numbers with heartfelt lyrics, highlighted by Woolf's pristine vocals and Blume tasteful arrangements.

You can stream or download "Pretend" at cdbaby.com/cd/samwoolf.

-- Marty Clear

This story was originally published December 23, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton's Sam Woolf releases EP."