Glorious indie vibes from New Yorker on confident debut.
The spirit of Liz Phair, Fiona Apple and the late great Jill Sobule emanates from this fantastic first record, and these eleven songs show Emma Gerson (aka lucky break) is a name to look out for. The album was mixed and mastered by Grammy-nominated Jessica Thompson and was recorded with Gerson and her friend and co-producer Elliott Woodbridge in a studio in Burbank. They did all the instrumentation together; Gerson was on acoustic guitar, Woodbridge did everything else. And what a confident and truly enjoyable listen it is.
It opens with Big Swing, a dreamy, guitar-drenched ode to the challenges of reaching adulthood. This new feeling is a difficult one, and she’s voicing her feelings of being all at sea. An opener that captures the imagination of the listener from the get-go. Burning String has a strident combination of guitar strumming and violin strings on a song that challenges the notion that love will complete us. Gerson says of the album that it “captures my life from 19 to 23 as I was going through major transitions, finding my inner compass and figuring out how to live in alignment with my values.”
Gerson’s voice superbly suits the feel these songs have; emotionally angsty, but with this lovely dreamlike feel. This is perfectly demonstrated on the fantastic Camp Song, an incredibly catchy tune, which looks back on Gerson’s experiences as a summer camp counsellor, with all the inherent natural potential it had.
Dealing with the outcome of breakups is integral to the emotional core of the album; Crush, with its 90’s indie feel, remembers a relationship that ended due to things her ex said to friends after he ended a phone call with her, but forgot to hang up.
The haunting Darklight is a powerful message where Gerson hopes her ex will be spooked by her forever. “Every time you kiss her lips, You’re gonna see my face, You’re gonna make a silent wish, She never took my place, I wanna be the nicotine between your teeth, Wanna be the smoke that makes it hard to See without me”. Powerful stuff and an album highlight. Head Down is an edgy guitar-drenched song with Gerson’s vocals shining, and Pictures Of Herself is just under two minutes of indie wonder, an incredibly catchy slice of musical mastery.
This is a highly accomplished album; Gerson shows an emotional and musical maturity that astounds, and in Woodbridge she has a perfect companion. We’ll be hearing a lot more of her, and it’ll be fascinating what her next musical step will be. Whatever it is, it’ll be good.
