Val Emmich, "Songs, Volume 1: Woodstock" (5/5)

Last fall, Val Emmich went into the studio to record his long awaited indie release, Sunlight Searchparty. Out of the 25+ songs he recorded, only 14 made it onto the album. This collection of b-sides, titled Woodstock, is what didn’t make the cut the first time around.

The album starts on a high note with the song “So Bright”, a short track whose primary instrument is the piano. “So Bright” is relatively quiet and doesn’t sound much like past work of Emmich’s, which is what makes it the perfect track to set the tone of how the rest of the album will be – different than expected. Woodstock then continues on with some emotional, energy-infused tracks, such as the cheater’s remorse song “Please Don’t Accept My Apology”, and “Please Stop Calling Me”, a song about always getting into troublesome situations. Powerful, belted songs aren’t all Emmich is good at, however. He also knows how to bring it down a notch, which can be seen perfectly in the soft, acoustic love song, “Softee”.

Emmich baffles the mind throughout the entire record, depicting his versatility and talent through writing straightforward, sincere songs alongside brilliant & unique melodies. “Power Trip” is one of the best examples of his unmerciful lyrics, as he blares “I’d like to have a word with you / I’d like to physically hurt you / I’d really like to wrestle you down, and make you my own” to show his frustration of being led on by his love interest.

When first listening to the album, it became quite clear to me that many of the songs on the record seem to cover one of two topics: relationships, or finding yourself. “Please Don’t Accept My Apology”, “Trite But True”, “Power Trip”, & “Softee” portray the former, while “Break”, “I Spend My Whole Life Waiting”, & “Glue” are all examples of the latter. This can be seen clearly in Glue’s lyrics, “I don’t enjoy this role I play / I really really want to make a change / I hope someday I wake up and say: / ‘I’m running out of time’”.

I’m ecstatic that Val chose to release these songs as b-sides instead of keeping them hidden away. All of the tracks on Woodstock are amazing, and even though they have a tone that doesn’t exactly fit that of Sunlight Searchparty, that doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve to be on a full-length album themselves. This record continues Val’s streak of writing remarkable music, and I’m seriously beginning to think it’s impossible for Emmich to write a bad song.

Favorite Track: Trite But True



Reviewed By: Cathy