Emily Wells

Dirty EP (Creative Control)

By Emily Becker
Published: August 1st, 2009 | 12:39pm

Like a cross between Chan Marshall and Joanna Newsom, Emily Wells blends gritty intensity with complex and varied song structures; she can even make a violin melody feel like hip-hop. Wells released Dirty, her latest EP, on her own label, Creative Control. Dirty follows 2008’s The Symphonies: Dreams Memories & Parties. From her ever-changing, multicolored hairdos to her choice of instrument — which ranges from violin or guitar to a child’s plastic echo microphone — Wells defies categorization.

“Fair Thee Well and the Requiem Mix” and “America’s Mercy War” are culled from i>Symphonies, as is “The Sunshine,” which Wells remixed for Dirty. Her cover of the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy” bridges the gap between the EP’s older and newer material. The previously unreleased tracks, “Whiskey and Rags” and “Take It Easy, San Francisco,” are less symphonic, and feature Andrew Bird–style violin finger-plucking. Dirty offers listeners a taste of Well’s many talents, and just like an amuse-bouche, the EP should both excite and increase expectation for a proper follow-up.

—