June 25, 2021 (Austin, TX) – Crows Feet Records singer/songwriter/guitarist Emily Wolfe today releases her highly anticipated new album, Outlier.
The album premiered exclusively on IDOBI as they praised the LP, “…the result is a record that makes your heart race as it runs through different influences and vibes…for every high and low and in between you’ve been feeling lately, Outlier will be right there with you. Tracks like “Vermillion Park” and “My Lungs Give Out” are the kind of songs you play when you think of the ones who make you smile most….it’s when she slows things down with songs like “Heavenly Hell” that you’ll get swept up in the bittersweet emotions as Emily gently rocks her way into your heart. The album is sticky & sweet; the bass rings in your ears and the songs make their way into your brain ’til you’re craving more. If “LA NY” and “Never Gonna Learn” don’t get you yelling “hot damn, this slaps” are you sure your volume is turned up high enough?
As early buzz and critical acclaim began to build with the release of two singles from the collection. American Songwriter said, “…genre-fluidity is still apparent in her artistry. The concept of “No Man” began as a Blues song, but as anger reared its head, “No Man” evolved into a transcendent rock track, leaning into electronic influences to better tell her story.” Atwood Magazine wrote: “Outlier is a dynamic and energetic frenzy finely balancing chaos with artistic control.” Parade Magazine lauded Emily, “Not only a showcase for her formidable guitar chops, Outlier perfectly spotlights Wolfe’s commanding vocal presence and newly expanded range. On the album’s radiant lead single “Something Better,” for instance, her voice drifts from tender to tough and back again with incredible grace, exponentially amplifying the song’s mood of dreamy longing.”
A 10-track album, Outlier was recorded in Los Angeles, produced by Michael Shuman, of Queens of the Stone Age and Mini Mansions, in his home studio. Emily and Michael, along with her longtime bandmates, Evan Nicholson (bass) and Clellan Hyatt (drums), took inspiration from a myriad of genres as they laid down the tracks.
“Before this album, my approach was to know exactly what I was going to do when I went into the studio,” says Emily, “But this time I wanted to leave room for a lot of creativity and weirdness. In a way it felt like jumping into the unknown with a blindfold on, but I just trusted that the risk would pay off.”
“Something Better”, the album’s radiant lead single, hears Emily’s voice drifting from tender to tough with incredible grace, amplifying the song’s mood of dreamy longing. “I wrote this song at a point in my life where I felt stuck,” she says. “But now with the pandemic, it feels more like a universal song about wanting change and not knowing when things are going to be okay.”
In the second single and the opening track to Outlier, “No Man,” Wolfe presents a powerful introduction to Outlier’s aesthetic, bringing jagged synth and blistering guitar work to the track’s message of fearless self-sufficiency (sample lyric: “Don’t need no man to tell me how to work my machine”). “That song was written after a few situations where I had people telling me I needed a man to help me out with certain aspects of my music,” says Wolfe. “It came from a place of frustration and rage, but really it’s about how I don’t need anyone but myself to do what I want to do.”
With its delicate collision of so many eclectic sonic elements, Outlier marks a significant departure for Wolfe while retaining the unbridled intensity she’s shown in sharing stages with such acts as The Struts and The Pretenders among many others. Outlier perfectly spotlights Wolfe’s commanding vocal presence and newly expanded range in her playing and songwriting.
One of the most groove-heavy and glorious moments on Outlier, “LA/NY” unfolds as an emphatic refusal to conform, matching its soulful urgency with an undeniable sweetness (“I can’t be L.A./I can’t be New York/But I can be yours”). And on “Vermillion Park,” Wolfe shares a harmony-laced piece of storytelling threaded with vividly detailed teenage memories (loitering a local park after dark, listening to Joan Jett in the back of a car). “That one starts out as a song about a relationship I had in high school, but by the end it’s about who I am now and my relationship with my wife—who’s really the inspiration behind most of my songs,” says Wolfe.
The IDOBI premiere was accompanied by a first-person essay by Emily in honor of Pride month. She wrote in part, “Releasing a record during Pride month is something very special to me. Pride month is about bravery and celebrating who you truly are. It’s about not hiding from anyone even if it means feeling like an Outlier. As part of the LGBTQ+ community, I want to recognize how far we’ve come. Seven years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to get married to the love of my life, but I’m now happily married to her. Though there is so much work left to do, Pride month gives us a time to celebrate each other and help one another continue to normalize differences in sexual orientations and expression.”
In celebration of Pride Month, Emily will also participate in the Epiphone: For Every Stage Pride Celebration live streamed on June 30 at 6 PM CT. Artists will celebrate inclusivity, and perform for Epiphone’s combined 1.5 million followers.
In tandem with the release of Outlier, Emily also announced her US Summer/Fall tour including dates with the legendary Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The tour will take her through the Southeast, Northeast and back to the Midwest, with more dates to be announced. (see dates below)
Photo Credit: Beth Garrabrant
The Outlier Tour:
June 25, 2021 Paper Tiger San Antonio, TX
June 26, 2021 Lightstream Backyard Concert Series Cedar Park, TX
July 24, 2021 Vol. Summer: Festival of The Arts Pasadena, TX
October 15, 2021 Stickyz Little Rock, AR
October 16, 2021 Hernando’s Hideaway Memphis, TN
October 17, 2021 3rd And Lindsley Nashville, TN
October 18, 2021 The Grey Eagle Asheville, NC
October 20, 2021 The Pour House Music Hall Raleigh, NC
October 22, 2021 Arts Avenue Chattanooga, TN
October 24, 2021 The Southern Cafe & Music Hall Charlottesville, VA
October 26, 2021 Mercury Lounge New York, NY
October 27, 2021 The Recher Towson, MD
October 28, 2021 Dc9 Nightclub Washington, DC
October 29, 2021 Sound Waves at Hard Rock Hotel Atlantic City, NJ
(w/Joan Jett & The Blackhearts)
October 30, 2021 Count Basie Theater Red Bank, NJ
(w/Joan Jett & The Blackhearts)
October 31, 2021 Kung Fu Necktie Philadelphia, PA
November 2, 2021 Space Ballroom Hamden, CT
November 3, 2021 Middle East Nightclub Cambridge, MA
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