★★★½
With his second EP release,Outside The Lines, Western Australia-based Riley Pearce takes a punt at the ‘sensitive singer-songwriter’ gig.
It is a seven-track sampler of immersive vulnerability and wanderlust in the fine indie-folk tradition of Bon Iver, Angus Stone and Dustin Tebbutt. It also reflects a musician coming into his own and offers an even more mature sound than his 2013 debut EP We Are Fools. Feel the feels.
Inspired by a recent six-month jaunt to Montana, Outside The Lines was recorded at Perth’s Debaser Studios. It opens with ‘Brave’, Pearce’s single from late last year. This slowly unfolding gem measuredly reveals its fragile narrative as it slinks into brassy harmonies. Pearce sings, “She tells that I will be alright / And for a second it feels like I believe her / ’Cause I forget the way that I felt … I’ll be coming back for you.”
The instrumental ‘406’ is a beautiful albeit brief inclusion, while title track ‘Outside The Lines’ is a sun-drenched toe-tapper that picks up the gentle pace. ‘Roskie’ is another highlight with its fingerpicking salute to roots rock. It’ll make a great addition to any summer road trip soundtrack.
Delicately textured, Outside The Lines places Pearce on the map of artists to watch.
Riley Pearce’sOutside The Lines is out now throughMGM.
