Emily Burgess – Are We In Love? | Album Review

Emily Burgess – Are We In Love?

www.emilyburgessmusic.com

self release

10 songs time – 31:22

The first solo release from Canadian singer-guitarist Emily Burgess finds her hushed vocal tones mining a new genre of music: pop blues-rock. Rock and blues-rock guitar inhabit light songs that mainly deal with aspects and trials and tribulations of love. The flower power cover contributes to the vibe. The guitar playing isn’t bad, even bluesy at times, but the overall effect for me is a wishy-washy feeling. Her wispy and in-distinctive voice seems out of place. The band is the standard guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. The Weber Brothers, whose band she plays in, contribute guitar, bass, vocals, co-songwriting and co-production duties. Nothing here stays in your musical memory.

“I Wanna Make You Mine” is a fine and rather catchy pop rock song that kind of grows on you. Some punk and new wave energy pop up in the charging “All I Wanna Do Is Love You”. The band slows things down on “Ain’t That A Woman?”. It works ok for the pop song it is. A ZZ Top rhythmic vibe permeates “Only One In Your Dreams”. Ryan “Rico” Browne’s spirited piano is a change of pace on “Could You Watch Me Walk?”

“Arrested” features a really interesting guitar riff. On a pop-rock level much of this album works. Hey, “Stand Up For Your Love” works quite nicely as a pop-rocker as well. Acoustic and electric guitars ring over what sounds like a bowed upright bass on the trippy closer “What Has Been Is All Within”.

Ok, this kind of music doesn’t do anything for me, but so what? There are plenty of folks out there who would probably eat this stuff up. The guitar skills juxtaposed against light weight vocals and sappy lyrics just don’t ring true for me. The production values and sound quality are there. I just don’t get it. If it works for you, more power to you.

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