It has been a while now since Emily Osment announced that she was working on an album. I was starting to wonder when she would release something, now the time has come that she is releasing something. The EP All the Right Wrongs with only six tracks. Which seems not a lot but looking it’s impossible to know how much time she’s had for it, the focus will be on the music. It’s at least not pretending to be an album, though a play time of 19 minutes seems even short for an EP.
When Emily first announced that she was signed to an independent label that was sort of exciting, in general they seem to give their artists a bit more freedom. Thing is that she signed with Wind-Up Records which is independent but also the biggest independent record company out there. That however comes with perks like a sold distribution and some funds for production etc. The writing credits are unknown at the time of writing but to my knowledge Emily did have involvement with every song on the EP. Now to the music though this is going to be short.
Now looking at the favorite artists she lists in interview and the fact that she signed with a label which is more rock got my hopes a bit for something new. Something that most of the artists in her age group don’t release (mainly her fellow Disney stars, though they’re not going to be compared here as such). There is some rock there but there’s also a whole lot of pop.
The first single from the EP, All The Way Up, I actually see as the weakest track on the EP. Just seems a bit generic but the first versions of that song already leaked something like a year ago so it’s safe to assume that she developed a bit since then. The themes lyrics wise are what they should be, those of a teenager. She still is a teenager so she should write songs based on what she knows. A song like I Hate the Homecoming Queen fits in that, not sure if Emily went to a normal high school but if she did I wonder who has to feel offended now.
There is some variation in pace on the EP, songs like What About Me are a bit slower pace than the rest. Which is welcome seeing albums which go on in one and the same pace tend to get a bit boring, there has to be some variation. All in all the songs are enjoyable and quite alright, her singing voice is more distinctive than I had expected. You can hear it’s Emily Osment so the amount of computer involvement seems limited.
Now what I find important is that there is some personality to an album (or EP in this case) so does it feel like Emily? I would say so, the themes fit her age and it sounds personal enough. The best tracks I would have to name What About Me, Average Girl and Found Out About You so the three slower paced songs. Not that the faster paced ones are bad, I just like the other three better. In the end I couldn’t help but get a little Avril Lavigne feel to the EP, that’s not a bad thing I’d say. End result? I’d say a strong start but I hope she comes with more soon. You can’t build a music career based on six songs. Four out of five.
Tags: Emily Osment
