Emily Wolfe - Outlier (Album Review)
Imagine for a moment you have your career path mapped out. You can see the road ahead; you know where you’re going, or at least where people expect you to go. Do you drop into cruise control and take the highway or throw a hard left and take that unpaved back road? It will be an adventure, and you might initially lose a few followers along the way, but the rewards could well be worth the risk.
Emily Wolfe took the brave option and ‘Outlier’ is the result. Wolfe is considered by those familiar with the Austin, Texas singer-songwriter and guitarist to fall into the blues-rock genre and has a signature guitar model with Epiphone already in the bank, so you know people are taking notice. For 'Outlier' Wolfe takes ideas hinted at on her 2019, Ben Tanner produced, debut album and expands on them considerably. The spiky, grungy, bluesy guitar tones are still there, but in conjunction with producer Michael Shuman (Queens of the Stone Age), the songs have been given a more pronounced pop sheen. Impressively the duo has accomplished this without losing any of Wolfe’s considerable sass or spark, and that pop sheen feels more like 80s darkwave Carpenter Brut than bright sparkly pop, which is just fine with me.
The hard-edged bluesy stomp of opener ‘No Man’ finds Wolfe laying her cards on the table with what could well be a new anthem for female empowerment if enough people hear it. “I don’t need no man” Wolfe claims with total, unflinching conviction as guitar cuts through a pounding rhythm track and thick as molasses synths. Insistent keys lay the groundwork for ‘Cover of Virtue’, seemingly at least three songs in one 'COV' gets as anthemic as a song has any right to get via a cleverly arranged pre-chorus/chorus combination. ‘LA/NY’ is a massive hit in waiting, pulsing keys, sweet vocal harmonies, plenty of light and shade, even a guitar solo. If there is any justice, Wolfe should be rubbing shoulders with Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande on a radio near you and this feeling is further enforced by the catchy pop-rock of recent single ‘Something Better’.
The quality remains high with the harmony-driven bounce of ‘Vermillion Park’ and the deceptively simple ‘Damage Control’ hitting the spot before 'Heavenly Hell' brings things to a gentle conclusion. If you like pop to have rough edges, or your blues-rock to reference 80s synth-pop and electronica, then this is the album for you (you might not know that yet, but trust me you will). ‘Outlier’ might not have worked, but thanks to strong tunes, interesting choices in the production department, and Wolfe’s personality which shines brightly throughout, ‘Outlier’ is one of those albums you really should hear.
To quote John Surge, “These five songs represent a real cross-section of the music we make”. John is referencing a new EP aptly titled, ‘Maybe You Don’t Know Me’. The ‘Almost Time’ album from last year was well received, but Surge still had a host of material that wasn’t quite right for that record but worked well in his live set. A live set that had gotten John noticed on the LA country scene in the first place. Surge re-connected with highly regarded Texas producer Tommy Detamore {Doug Sahm, Jim Lauderdale, Sunny Sweeney, Jesse Daniel} and reenlisted many of the ‘Almost Time’ crew including his right-hand Haymaker guitarist Randy Volin, plus Brennen Leigh on harmony vocals, Brad Fordham (Dave Alvin/Hayes Carll) on bass, Tom Lewis (Junior Brown/Raul Malo) on drums and Floyd Domino (Asleep at the Wheel, Merle Haggard) on keyboards.