EZLA - Outcasts (2017)

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Written by Daniel Boyer, posted by blog admin

Nashville based act EZLA brings an unique sensibility to bear on her first studio release Outcasts. Rarely are young writers and performers so fully formed in their artistic vision as theirs an obvious unity in her musical and lyrical presentation alike missing from other performers in her stylistic range. EZLA definitely embraces a recognizable electronic sound, but there are a variety of instruments making their presence felt throughout the course of this five song EP and she consistently manipulates seemingly conventional structures into vehicles for her own highly individual use. In this age where traditional gatekeepers of music have fallen, EZLA has managed to amass tens of thousands Spotify streams of her music, so she’s established a connection with an ever increasing audience certain to bear further fruit with the release of Outcasts. It is an admirable release from anyone, but as a debut, it reaches marvelous heights.

The EP’s first single and title song “Outcasts” casts an appealing commercial spell, there’s no question, but it’s an equally challenging track with unexpected musical twists and a vocal performance quite unlike anything you’ll hear from Top 40 acts. In the hands of a lesser singer and writer, the dark lyrical content might come off a bit forced or melodramatic; EZLA makes things work differently however. She sounds wholly believable in her role as a quasi dark chanteuse in the making and her evocative words never lapse into overstatement or self indulgence. The intense rhythmic power of “Skeletons” is another commercially tinged number that, nonetheless, provides EZLA with another compelling forum to make a personal statement. The foreboding imagery marking the lyrics is, once again, never too heavy handed. She orchestrates things to crackle with just the right amount of dissonance laid over the consistent electronic pulse. The EP’s straightest love song comes with “Satellites” and it sparkles with strong sentiments of devotion unhampered by the dark overtones of the earlier cuts. She shows her vocal flexibility by commanding these lyrics with the same conviction we’ve heard with the first two songs.

EZLA takes listeners back to darker territory with the penultimate number “Hangman”. It is the typical wont of moody young performers to fall prey to histrionics and overwrought lyrics, but it’s worth noting how EZLA once again overcomes such expectations with a track that conjures an ample amount of dread without ever straining believability. She closes Outcasts with the track “Psycho Killers” and it comes across with more imagination than any of the earlier songs while still retaining the musicality that defines the release as a whole. Outcasts is a powerful EP release that gets EZLA’s career off to a fast start and promises that a full length effort from her will undoubtedly be a musical event in whatever year it emerges.