Review: Emily Wolfe – ‘Outlier’

What’s that you say? Fuzzy guitar tones mixed with catchy pop melodies and vocals that whisk the listener away on the fluffiest of fluffy clouds? Tell us more, please. Intrigue-meter firmly in the red as ‘Outlier’, the new album from Austin, Texas-based singer-songwriter and shit-hot guitarist Emily Wolfe crackles to life with Trent Reznor-like industrial touches meshed with gnarly modern-blues riffs on opening track ‘No Man’. Where do we sign?

Genre-bending to the max, Wolfe is a breath of fresh air in what is, let’s be honest, a very crowded marketplace. Close your eyes and throw a dart (especially in Austin) and chances are that it will land somewhere near a singer-songwriter, but unlike the vast majority of her male counterparts, Wolfe doesn’t seem to dwell on the woe-is-me line that is running through modern-day solo artists. Okay, Harry Styles gets a pass as his material is cheerful; but the others? C’mon guys, lighten up. Along with St. Vincent, Wolfe is successfully taking a whole heap of styles (rock, electronica, blues, pop), popping them in a blender, and pressing the switch. And again like Annie Clark/St. Vincent, Emily Wolfe is a fantastic guitarist; drool with delight over the big-ass licks on the aforementioned ‘No Man’, crank up ‘Something Better’ and listen to her wail, marvel over the fuzz-filled ‘Damage Control’…the list goes on.

There’s a great deal of Goldfrapp-Esque poppy electronica to admire on ‘Outlier’; ‘Cover of Virtue’ with its dreamy, soaring vocals, throbbing bass, and lighter-than-light guitar licks, meshes seamlessly with pulsating electronics, ‘LA/NY’ and ‘Heavenly Hell’ are sublime and some of the tones that Wolfe coaxes out of her guitar are gorgeous (especially the subtle country twang on the latter), ‘Never Gonna Learn’ features some of the best electronic-pop vocals this side of Lauren Mayberry, with Wolfe mashing together so many styles that it will make your head spin (the guitars though are never far away), and then there is the ultimate moment on the album – ‘Damage Control’. Four minutes to truly lose yourself in, ‘Damage Control’ might just be the most infectious slice of electronic pop heard this year so far, and keep listening for a dramatic turn to the left that involves a stunning guitar solo mid-song. Donna Summer-sized disco grooves, fuzzy guitar riffs, and a thumping drum sound – what’s not to like?

The standout tracks lift ‘Outlier’ a few levels above the average singer-songwriter fare, with the result being quite the perfect album for those moments when you want to lock out the white noise of the outside world and just dance.

Available now, more information, here.

Connect with Emily Wolfe, here.

Photo credit – Beth Garrabrant

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