EP Review: Alicia Witt - 15,000 Days

A couple years ago, I talked briefly about the album "Revisionary History" by Alicia Witt. The red-headed actress you are bound to recognize if you have watched any amount of tv over the last twenty years was taking steps with her music career, and I heard something in that record that made me believe there was a bright future in the offing. Fast forward to today, and we get the next episode of her musical story in the form of "15,000 Days", a new EP that sees Alicia growing as a writer, and finding a sound that she can call her own.

If her previous work was a bit incomplete, and searching for an identity, this EP is everything coming together. Alicia's voice and piano are still front-and-center, but there is a lush and organic flow to the music that comes across like a classic singer-songwriter album from the past. It's warm and inviting, while still having layers of depth to come back to.

We got our first tastes from the preview tracks "Younger" and "Still Sorry". The latter leads off the EP, and immediately marks the difference between this recording and her last one. A processed drum line softly enters, followed by a mournful guitar figure. Alicia and her piano float through the verse, and then the chorus unloads a punch. The layered harmonies are gorgeous, and there's a sense of Elton John's late-career renaissance to it. The melody is delicious, and deftly balances the brightness that comes with a pop song with a more somber timbre.

"Younger" follows, and it's easy for me to still hear why it captured my attention and demanded I anticipate this EP. If ever a song can sound restrained and propulsive at the same time, it's the feat mastered here. Alicia's melodies aren't in your face aggressive, but over time the subtleties begin to stay with you longer. A paper cut lasts longer than a punch to the jaw. "Younger" is both the paper cut, and the kiss that makes it better.

Then we get "Earful", another slow burn of a song that wades into the water carefully, before the bottom falls out and you wind up neck deep in another lovely melody. As with the rest of the songs, Alicia keeps herself restrained, never pushing her voice to do more than it can. She sits in the sweet spot of her range, which makes the music feel relaxed, sweet, and comfortable for both her and us.

"Satellite" is next, and pulls back on the reins. It is a song that moves slowly, soothing you with the tinkling pianos and harmonies, until you almost don't realize the song has gotten into your head. We then finish things off with "Blinkers", which delivers us Alicia's most lilting melody, while the music swells behind her. It's the song that obviously had to close out the EP, and does so with aplomb.

Knowing the story of this EP, and how it came to life, it's hard to complain. That said, I can't help but feel a bit of sadness the rest of the songs from the sessions weren't able to be finished to make this a complete album. The EP is magnificent, but a full album would be among the better releases of the entire year. Still, I'm thankful for what we have. "15,000 Days" is beautiful music, and a monumental step forward for someone who is now an artist with the light of a bright future fully ablaze.