Album Reviews

Emily West

All For You

Artist:     Emily West

Album:     All For You

Label:     Sony

Release Date:     08/14/2015

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Emily Wests debut album is a haunting blend of heartbreak and majesty. Her pop vocals have country, broadway and jazz twists, accompanied by an impressive vibrato, giving her sound a nostalgic touch of old-school Hollywood.

The overall music production is conceptually ethereal and grand, but is exhaustingly similar all the way through, leaving little room for West to explore her vocal abilities. Having said that, her original song, Bitter,is exceptionally well-structured and performed, definitely being one of the standout tracks. The chorus breaks into a folk arrangement, giving the track the hopefulness and optimism it pursues, paralleled with Wests beautiful lyricism. In contrast, the arrangement of Sias Chandelier,although powerfully sung, has a choppy and awkward arrangement.

The highlights of the album are definitely Wests original songs, and it would have greatly benefited her to have featured more of her original work, following her persona on Americas Got Talent was as the singer/songwriter who deserves a second chance. “Gloriannastrikes me as a very heartfelt plea, with the light guitar strumming pushing along both the trepidatious listener and her delicate voice.

Her efforts in this body of work do seem restricted, with her covers lacking differentiated personality. Sea of Loveand True Colorsare, however, two mesmerizing covers where West really prevails in showcasing her unique vocals and emotional expression. With the clever and genuine lyricism in Battles” to top it all off, I look forward to hearing more of Wests original songs.

—Jason Kwan

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