Adam KeysEsme Patterson – We Were Wild (Xtra Mile Recordings)
Genre – Rock
It’s been quite the year for Esme Patterson – a third album, a world tour with Frank Turner and a string of critically acclaimed headline solo shows.
We Were Wild is everything anyone could have hoped Esme Patterson would become, and much, much more.
Singer / songwriter Patterson, is now three albums in, and the third is definitely the charm with this all killer no filler album, that brings in electric guitars to create a much heavier sound than we have previously heard from her.
This heavy sound will catch many by surprise in the album’s opener Feel Right, and it’s not just the guitars that deliver more force. Esme’s vocals are sharper, louder and happier than before, with effortless changes of pitch in the feel good opener – almost Joplin-esque minus the hardships and torment in her vocals.
Francine takes you the other way. The happy, upbeat start is gone as Esme twists and turns your emotions, revealing a deeper, darker side with the steady beat of the symbols and dreary, murmuring vocals with the repetition of ‘You don’t belong to me’, bringing the song to a close.
This theme continues with The Waves; a wonderful blend of soft rock and gripping vocals, to create the album’s most emotional number, and a true work of art.
Wantin’ ain’t Gettin’ sees another twist to the tale of We Were Wild, as Patterson dawns an acoustic guitar and sings in the softest southern vocals in a classic country track that goes completely against the grain, but strangely fits nicely with the flow of this roller coaster ride.
Throughout, Esme drags you from pillar to post, taking you on a journey that explores her talent. From fast to slow, darkness to sunlight, this is an album filled with incredible song writing, and one that could give Esme Patterson the attention she deserves.
RUSHONROCK RATED: 8/10 Deep, soulful and full of surprises!