Local Album Review // Brooke Surgener // ALL IN
4.5/5 stars
If you're at all familiar with the music scene in Erie, there's a good chance you've seen or heard Brooke Surgener perform. (If you're familiar with this publication, there's a good chance you've read about her, too). The singer-songwriter and creative of many hats never seems to stop moving, and on her latest EP, she breaks new ground to stunning results. ALL IN takes the songwriter's acoustic pop foundation and applies just the right amount of sheen to transform it into something that feels completely new. "Burn Out" is a better pop song than anything you're liable to hear in the current Top 40, managing a delicate balance of twangy guitars with massive, '80s pop synth. That twang is a hallmark of the release – never enough to fully pin Surgener down as a country star, but enough to lend ALL IN a distinct texture and atmosphere (see: the pedal steel on "In the Room" and "Houston"). Her sultry voice has never sounded more at home than it does over these arrangements, and with any luck, the sounds that make up ALL IN will continue to pave her new path forward.
