Back in April, I opened my mailbox to find a large padded envelope. I went inside my house, opened the package and found an advanced copy of PJ Pacifico’s album Outlet. I popped the Compact Disc into my car stereo and discovered PJ continues to pleasantly amaze me with his music. Outlet is PJ Pacifico’s best album to date!

PJ Pacifico has delivered another exquisitely crafted lyrical album. On his first two albums, PJ has always shown his ability to use conversational colloquialism in his songs but on Outlet, PJ has interwoven the stylistically simple with the seductively intricate illustrations of an American poet. On “Home With Me”, PJ compassionately sings “Love somebody/ Set them free/ Never meant that much to me/ When you’re the lonely soul/ Being let go/ It sounds more like a mockery/ It’s the summary/ Of the symphony/ Playing the song of subtlety/ Like the seven silent seconds/ After I asked you quietly/ Will you come home with me?” against the backdrop of his sweetly whispering acoustic guitar as he shares the story of his ten year relationship with his wife. PJ uses his lyrics on Outlet to weave a tapestry of heart, soul and compassion that allows the listener to connect with these songs through common themes that are consistent with those in our own lives. Outlet is proof that true artists continue to perfect their craft. Throughout Outlet, PJ has woven these wonderful poetic expressions into his writing that reinforce his arrival as one of America’s next great lyricists.

PJ has experimented with his musical sound on Outlet as well and the results have been met with rave reviews. But in classic PJ Pacifico style, PJ does not allow his music to become pigeonholed into one specific category. As he recently stated in an interview, “The album is cool to me because in the past I was told to “pick a lane”, genre wise. A lot of my stuff was all over the map in the past. I kept that in mind while recording, but still bounce around between folk/pop/rock with a hint of country. I guess that might be the P.J. Pacifico lane.” Outlet is classically set in the “PJ Pacifico lane” and as a listener I wouldn’t want it any other way. Between the rock driven “Fold Up You Heart,” the mellow, guitar songs like “Home With Me” and “New Song” or the twinkling of the piano keys that sound like falling rain in “Waiting,” Outlet is saturated with spellbinding riffs that are delightfully woven into each song that compliment and add to the sophisticated brilliance of the album. The added bonus is found in the diversity and complexion of PJ’s voice on “Lake Shore Drive” and “Ships In The Night.”

PJ Pacifico’s strength has always been in his ability to tell a story. Outlet is a great storytellers album that PJ delivers with great emotion and soul-searching honesty! Outlet creates a kaleidoscope of colors that surround and envelope the senses of the listener in an eye opening exploration of the world we live in. As though PJ is singing to an exclusive concert of one, PJ invites all of us to join him in his music, embrace the revelations we find and share our interpretations with the world around us.