Emily Zuzik has displayed a boldly restless spirit over the course of six solo albums, various pop
and rock bands, and numerous collaborative projects with acts such as Tedeschi Trucks/David
Bowie bassist Tim Lefebvre and electronic outfit Woves. With her alluringly listenable new EP,
age + alchemy, the enterprising singer and songwriter subtly pushes her boundaries further and
digs deeper as she goes.
With conscious sonic references to seminal influences from late 1970s and early ’80s New York
City rock, the six hook-laden tracks of age + alchemy chart a relatable process of personal
transformation. Zuzik’s vivid imagery depicts San Francisco (autobiographical rocker “Easy”),
Memphis (the shimmering gospel waltz “Between Midnight and Memphis”), weary drives
between “interstate signs and painted white lines,” and youthful gigs and revels in far-flung
barrooms. But the journey the Pittsburgh native chronicles isn’t about geographic pitstops; rather,
her songs trace how emotional earthquakes and life experiences shaped her into the wiser being
she’s become. Even the alchemy-referencing title alludes to transformation.
“The whole thing is about transformation and a bit about the journey,” Zuzik says from her home
in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband and daughter (who sings harmony on two
tracks). “I like the idea of alchemy because it’s also transformative; it’s the bridge between magic
and science.
“The songs are all stories of life viewed through a mature lens. It’s not rose-colored glasses of
youth and exuberance. That’s not to say it’s the end game like Leonard Cohen’s last album,” she
assures with a laugh. “But it’s at a point of midlife. There’s a lot going on and it changes how
you see the world and how you interact within it. Time is much more elastic.”
Anchored by soulful, sympatico bassist/producer Ted Russell Kamp, age + alchemy smoothly
pivots from the country-rock flavors of Zuzik’s 2020 album Torch & Trouble to explore an edgier
mix of rock, pop and folk with a touch of jazz (the sensuous “Taking a Walk”). The centerpiece
is “The Case for Slowing Down,” written by Zuzik and Kamp “all in one sitting,” though its seed
had been gestating in Zuzik’s mind for a while:
“So if you're much too much in your head now
and you're losing sleep every night
It's time to put the foot on the brakes and
find a way that's working right.”
“I can hear that being something you might hear on a Tom Waits album from the ’70s,” Zuzik
says of “The Case for Slowing Down.” “The songs go different places than where we went with
the last album. ‘Taking a Walk,’ which I wrote in 2007 or 2008, was one I played a lot at shows.
I always call it a love ditty; if I could write a Brill Building song, that’s how I would put it. We
made it dreamier in the studio, more like ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’ or one of those Paul
Simon tracks.”