Outpost Drive Introduce Every Side of Themselves on ‘The Outpost
Review by Lauren Page | @LiveWithLP
I think one of the most nerve-wracking things you can do as an artist is release your debut album. It’s the first real, physical documentation of the music you’ve spent years writing, playing live and touring with - suddenly available for anyone to listen to, dissect and fall in love with whenever they want.
But Outpost Drive? They’ve got this in the bag with their debut album, The Outpost.
Opening with Till Death Do Us Part, the scene is immediately set. It’s mysterious, atmospheric and begins with spoken-word vows that instantly make you wonder where the record is about to take you. Within seconds, I’m picturing dusty roads, an outback desert and the kind of wide-open landscape that feels perfectly suited to Outpost Drive’s sound.
The duo have cleverly built a reputation by bringing their American and English backgrounds together, creating music that pulls from different corners of country without ever feeling like they’re trying to fit neatly into one box. And across The Outpost, that really becomes their strength.
A few tracks had already been released ahead of the album, including Gracefully and Waterloo Rd, which have been on constant repeat in my playlists. But hearing them woven into the full tracklist makes them hit differently. Instead of feeling like singles dropped into an album, they suddenly feel like pieces of a much bigger story.
The two songs that really stopped me in my tracks, though, were Magnolia Tree and I Love The Rain.
There’s no denying Mary-Bragg and Willow have incredible voices individually, but when they come together, there’s something special about the way their vocals compliment each other. On these two tracks in particular, everything just clicks. The harmonies, the emotion and the stripped-back moments give their voices room to shine, and they quickly became two of the songs I wanted to go straight back to.
What I loved most about The Outpost is that I never felt like I could completely predict where it was going next.
For a debut album, that feels important. This is Outpost Drive introducing themselves properly, and instead of giving us 12 versions of the same song, they use the record to show exactly what they can do. There are softer moments, classic country influences and plenty of emotion, before they turn things up with the rockier sound showcased on Lord Have Mercy.
It makes the album feel like an introduction to every side of Outpost Drive rather than an attempt to define themselves too early.
You Have Won The Lottery and Make Up Your Mind were another two tracks I instantly warmed to. They feel inviting, warm and rooted in that classic country sound. Close your eyes and imagine sitting in a field at a summer festival, sun shining, drink in hand and Outpost Drive playing in front of you - that’s exactly where these songs transported me.
And then comes Let’s Find Something to Talk About.
Closing the album with a 5 minute and 42 second track is a statement in itself. Outpost Drive certainly weren’t going to quietly disappear after introducing themselves.
The country twang, storytelling and romantic lyrics make it a fitting final chapter and encapsulate what The Outpost does so well.
At its core, this is undeniably a country record, but it’s one that isn’t afraid to move between influences, play with its sound and let the emotion in the lyrics take centre stage.
For a debut album, The Outpost feels impressively confident.
It gives you a proper sense of who Outpost Drive are while still leaving enough unanswered that you want to know where they go next. They’ve showcased the vocals, the harmonies, the songwriting, the country roots and the rockier edge - and somehow made it all feel like it belongs on the same record.
What a cracking debut.
I’m utterly obsessed - and apparently I now need to make it my mission to catch Outpost Drive the next time they’re in Scotland.
The Outpost by Outpost Drive is out now