Although she’s titled her newest album Was Right All Along, and she is known at least as much for her online ubiquity as she is for her music, Allison Weiss isn’t always so self-assured. Lyrically straightforward and autobiographical, her singing and songwriting weave tales of uncertainty and broken hearts. It’s a form she’s practiced through multiple tours and short over-the-road jaunts, two proper albums, a live EP and two CDRs. If she hasn’t perfected it on Was Right All Along, she’s come damn close.

Recording in an apartment in downtown Athens this year, Weiss assembled the album with engineer Nate Nelson. A couple of items were tracked at Chase Park Transduction, but the majority were done in one room above Doc Chey’s restaurant. “We had to wait until 6 p.m. to start recording every day, so that we wouldn't disturb people working and vice versa,” says Weiss. “Everything was tracked separately, starting with drums and building off of that. All the guitars and vocals were done in the hallways. The best part of this whole situation was the fact that it felt so relaxed and intimate.”

The most immediate difference between the new album and her other releases is the comfort with which Weiss leads her band. The band seems to care about the songs in the same way she does. That is, when she presents her writing to guitarist A.J. Weiss, drummer Donovan Babb and bassist Alec Wooden, the result is not simply a fleshed-out version of an acoustic ditty, but a full-fledged realization of her intention. “Ultimately," says Weiss, "I have the final say 'cause I'm pretty set on the feelings I want the songs to convey and usually have a clear idea of what I want the parts to sound like."

"That said, Donovan and Alec are incredible musicians, and a lot of their ideas really take the songs to the next level. I love them 'cause they don't ever just take the easy route, and they both have a really solid sense of what's best for the song. As far as lead guitar goes, I write a lot of that, but so does A.J. It's definitely collaborative.”

The track “Fingers Crossed” exemplifies these tactics. It’s not immediately recognizable as a Weiss tune until the chorus, which is eminently memorable and tuneful. The second-best track on the record, “Try to Understand,” is nearly perfect. On both tracks, and much of the rest of the record, Weiss sounds more confident than before. Her voice is firm and even accusatory, whereas it used to be pleading.

“My songs are all written from personal experience. I basically write songs to try and say things that I am otherwise too nervous or cowardly to address in person," Weiss explains. “I don't write a lot of metaphorical stuff, mostly because I have a tendency to stick to what comes most naturally, which are songs about myself and all of my emotions. Ha! My favorite kind of music is full of hooks and melodies and makes you feel good. So, a lot of my songs end up sounding really happy and are actually kind of sad. I mean that in the least emo way possible!”

Not every song on the record is a winner. The opening track, “I Was an Island” is pretty unnecessary, and “July 25, 2007” doesn’t have the heft of the rest of the album and seems uncomfortably torn from a diary page—which, imaginably, may have been the point. Even so, Weiss has shown enough vulnerability in her previous work, and Was Right All Along is much better when she’s defensive and self-advocating.

Scribbled notes and an idea for a riff are the seeds for most of her compositions. “I recently found out I can record audio on my phone, so I've been doing a lot of that when I get an idea for a melody and can't work on it right away,” says Weiss, who is also a senior at UGA. “Also, I really like sitting down at a computer with a microphone and working on songs while recording them. I don't get a lot of time to do that right now but, hopefully, I will in the future.”

Her full band will be present at her Athens release show and a copy of Was Right All Along is included in the price of admission. If they can knock it out live the way they’ve done on the record, you won't see any attendees forgetting to take their copy home.

Gordon Lamb

WHO	Allison Weiss, Grape Soda, Dylan Gilbert
WHERE	Caledonia Lounge
WHEN	Wednesday, Dec. 2
HOW MUCH	$5 (21+), $7 (18+)