The grit and edge on Emily Long’s second album ‘Dirty Face’ (out April 5th) is a natural progression for the soaring voiced rocker. No longer a doe eyed newbie the Tucson transplant now residing in Brooklyn, NY spent the last year couch surfing while on tour playing hundreds of dingy rock clubs across the east coast. It’s these experience pared with Coheed and Cambria producer Chris Bittner, and the addition of drummer Zach Jones that drew out Long’s inner T. Rex.
(Download the first single and title track here: http://emilylong.bandcamp.com/)
“This work is different from the first in so many ways”, notes Long. “After we released the last album and Zach joined the band, it breathed new life into all of us. We knew we wanted to approach this recording differently.” Centered around Emily’s towering vocals, the lineup also includes finger-bleeding melody chemist Daniel Ryan Espy, clean and calculated Nik Lokenssgaard on guitars and amp-kicking bassist Bret Ritter. After striking the interest of Bittner, Long and the band headed to Applehead Recording Studio in Woodstock, NY and called upon the producer to deliver a competitively-spirited sound that would be new to the ears of music fans. “I knew I wanted a record that would rock mean and still be emotional. I knew Chris could do it,” says Long.
“Lyrics have always been important to me,” explains Long. “I believe they deserve as much attention as music or arrangements. These songs are about what’s going on around me. I’ve seen things in New York I never thought I would. There is sex, drugs and fighting. Though these things exist everywhere, it just seems to happen twice as fast and twice as often here. You can’t help but be a part of everyone else’s situation, but I take those experiences into a fantasy world where I explore what could happen next.”
The result is a sexually-charged set of lyrically-driven, dynamic rock ‘n’ roll songs. The title track “Dirty Face” is about a one-night conquest written from the female perspective. “All the Way” (co-written with Daniel Ryan Espy) compares marriage to a murder/suicide. The album also includes “Good Hurt”, which Long wrote as a comforting lullaby to soothe the ache of trying at love and failing.
Emily earned underground success with her debut LP, “When I Was In Love With”. After a string of SXSW appearances, placements on The WB’s “The Lake” and “Sorority Forever”, as well as on the Universal Records compilation “Bad Girls Don’t Cry” (alongside Amy Winehouse and Duffy).
Emily Long and her band’s appearance on Bettertv.com, and the stellar reviews which called her vocals “big and dramatic” in The Nashville Scene, seem to be just a taste of what is to come as they prepare to support the record with a string of national tour dates. “Dirty Face” represents a new height for the burgeoning group, and Emily’s best writing to date.
“I spilled my guts on this record and I just want these stories and feelings to come across to the listener in a relatable and moving way. Well, that and to rock your dirty little faces off.”
Watch a short video on the making of the record here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8_tkqV4UiM
Upcoming Tour Dates:
3/10/11 Fontana’s NYC
3/12/11 Pin Up’s Greensboro, NC
3/13/11 Slims Raleigh, NC
3/18/11 SXSW – Dog & Duck Austin, TX
3/19/11 Dean’s Houston, TX
3/25/11 The Tonic Room Chicago, IL
