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Emily White
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Every Pulse
Squeezed Fresh Productions
Release: 9/20/2005
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Rated:
Review by:
Gisele Grignon
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These days, including - let alone, opening - with a track
reminiscent of a ‘70's protest song (Dixie Chicks are you
listening?) isn’t considered the most commercially viable route
to take. Whether Emily White was aware of this, or she blatantly
defied it, is irrelevant. This is a gutsy move that rewards the
listener with raw, candid and just plain invigorating
music.
Comparisons to Lisa Loeb are easy and therefore rampant, but
not quite on the mark. For those who are only comfortable
investing time or cash in a new talent if they can first pigeonhole
them, here goes: think Buffy Saint-Marie for the content, plus a
voice coupled with musicianship that combines a sprinkling of
Indigo Girls (not surprisingly listed on White’s bio as one of her
influences), and an endearing, rougher around the edges Mary
Chapin Carpenter.
“My brother and I” is a personal favorite due at least in part to
the emotional groundswell of brass and drum, as opposed to her
usual singular acoustic accompaniment. This is not at all a slam
against her musicianship - like her vocals, White’s playing is
infused with a hard-to-resist appeal. This one’s more raw than
the similarly themed, Mary Chapin Carpenter account of her
childhood marred by her big brother’s departure and the
disintegration of her family. And on some level it’s much more
poignant than Mary C.’s - and White pulls it off without
sacrificing a sense of hopefulness.
Barely half way through White’s slice-me-open-and-peek-inside
production, you’ll be shaking your head and wondering, 'Why,
oh why" is this not given commercial radio airplay? Why indeed.
In an audio landscape littered with gum smacking,
falsetto-straining and overly produced musical damsels in
distress, White is a breathtaking, clear-headed, sometimes
gut-wrenching orchestration of lyrical candor and unrestrained
talent.
p.s. to White, the DePaul University music production and
engineering student with a minor in French:
Bravo Emily, Tes mots, ton allure, ta musique sont une
contre-pointe a la fois emotionelle, honnete et encourageante!
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